Energy and the Environment?

Question

There is no energy source without an environmental impact. Discuss the enviornmental impact of the three fossil fuels used in the U.S. Rank these fossil fuels in order of their "enviornmental friendliness" and justify your ranking.

Answer 1

It is the most difficult science of ranking the fuels based on environmental impact. There are direct and indirect impacts. Direct impacts include air pollution, water  pollution etc. Indirect impacts include public health issues etc. In US, regulations restrict the direct environmental impacts.  We are talking more than the environmental impacts and now we are talking about availability of fuel and the economics of producing cheaper fuel. For example, nuclear energy is clean fuel but when there is a release, it has the highest indirect impacts. How can you calculate this cost. Solar energy is good, but are highly inefficient and more over disposal of the used photovoltaic cells will become a serious environmental problem. Changing to other so-called alternate fuel has a tremendous impact on the resources, which many people do not realise.

In m opinion, considering a balance between availability, environmental impacts and economics, the best fossil fuels are: Natural Gas, Low sulphur Oil and Hybrid fuel.

Answer 2

Fossil fuels impact the environment in several ways, one are the effects of mining the fuel, second are the emissions from burning the fuel of two basic types toxic pollutants and CO2, which causes global warming, and third are the collateral impacts from distributing the fuel. To pick three natural gas, Oil, Coal.

The cleanest is natural gas, which is fairly low impact to mine, it is normally a byproduct of oil drilling, it is usually distributed in pipelines to the point of end use and so that is also fairly low impact, it produces the least amount of both toxic emissions and the lowest amount of CO2 per watt of generated power.

The middle fuel for impact is oil. Oil has a similar mining impact as natural gas. The distribution however has more impact because oil must be refined. It is distributed to pipelines but often not to the point of end use. There are further distribution impacts from trucking and from large numbers of distribution points such as gas stations. Oil produces more emissions both toxic and more CO2 per watt.

Coal is the dirtiest of the fuels. Coal mining is very high impact because of the need to remove overburden. It does avoid the need for refining generally. Distribution is generally by rail and is of moderate impact. Nearly all coal consumption is to industrial sites and so there is no network of small distribution stations. Coal produces the most toxic emissions including notably radioactive partials, of which coal is the worlds largest emitter, Coal also emits the greatest amount of CO2 per watt generated.