An examination of the biotic and early history of the environment and the dilemma facing the modern world calls for the need to explore and discover the factors that cause harm. Over the years, the human race has been evolving and with so an entirely new understanding of energy utilization and output, therefore, introducing the use of fossil energy to meet their needs. This has caused natural hazards over the centuries. As such, the human race migrated instead of facing the consequences, but in this day, such a measure is difficult to incorporate. The understanding that these catastrophes are caused by energy production has led to researches been conducted and education of the world at large.
Fossil fuel comprise of petroleum products that come out of the ground that my comprise gases, and trace minerals mixed with them. The refinery process leads to the production of fuel used daily. The overdependence on fossil fuel has caused an increase of risk exposed to the humanity on a personal, national, and international level. On a personal level, the excessive use of fossil fuel leads to the reduction of the ozone (O 3) layer in the atmosphere due to the production of greenhouse gases. The ozone blocks ultraviolet rays from entering the lower atmosphere, which may cause human health problems. Spillage of tankers transporting petroleum products may cause loss of lives because the products are highly flammable and when in contact with a flame, it may cause disaster.
Proceeding, national risks include global warming caused by the degradation of the ozone layer. Global warming may cause a number of problems. Some of these include the issue of food security and dilapidation of the environment. Climate change has caused the risk of starvation in third world countries that solely rely on traditional agriculture to produce food for their nations. This includes most African countries and some eastern nations, for example, India. The environment has also had a taste of global warming. An example is the melting of glaciers in Greenland at an alarming rate. Hurricane Katrina, which caused loss of a great number of lives, was also because of global warming.
Petroleum by- products consist of the most products that promote environmental dilapidation in the modernized world. These by-products contain sulfur and nitrogen compounds that after reacting with the environment produce secondary toxic compounds that are exceedingly toxic to many organisms and humans. Oil spills on the ocean is disastrous because it destroys the shoreline and rescinds the marine ecosystem. Oil spills near the shoreline may seem to disappear fast, but the oil seeps in the soil draining to the sources of water providing to both humans and farming causing health complications. Oil pipes may also explode on the ground from a mining area rendering the area economically useless though if cleaned usually is used for real estate.
In conclusion, several efforts are taking place to accommodate these risks. Most of the common ones include the use of renewable sources of energy. This may include solar energy, wind, and nuclear energy. Other measures include the establishment of carbon tax in several nations. This may include South Africa and India. Finally, since the use of leaded gasoline is a leading contributor of Lead to the atmosphere, the use of unleaded gasoline reduce the emitting of greenhouse gas drastically.
References
Berinstein, P. (2001). Alternative Energy Facts, Statistics, and Issues Westport, CT: Oryx Press
Mclamb, E. (2011) "Fossils Fuels vs. Renewable Energy Resources: Energy's Future Today."
Ecology. 2011 Retrieved on October 3, 2011 from
<http://ecology.com/features/fossilvsrenewable/fossilvsrenewable.html
