What are the Problems with the Use of Fossil Fuels
Limitations of Fossil Fuels
Scientists at Sandia National Laboratories, New Mexico, have succeeded in producing fuels like petrol and methanol using sunlight and carbon dioxide.
The two main limitations of fossil fuels are their limited availability in nature and the air pollution caused due to their use.
- Limited availability: Fossil fuels take millions of years to form. If we run out of the existing stock of these fuels, we will not get more until natural processes have regenerated them.
- Air pollution: Use of fossil fuels adds many undesirable substances, called pollutants, in the atmosphere. These pollutants adversely affect the life of organisms. Pollutants can be in the form of particles or gases.
Some of the main air pollutants and their harmful effects are given below.
- Carbon monoxide is a colourless, odourless, and tasteless gas. It is produced by incomplete combustion of fossil fuels. Exposure to carbon monoxide can cause headache and dizziness and can even lead to coma and death.
- Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have increased due to the widespread combustion of fossil fuels. This can lead to an increase in the global average temperature, which, in turn, can cause the melting of polar ice caps and glaciers, resulting in a rise in sea level and submerging of coastal areas.
- Sulphur dioxide is released when coal is burned. Use of fossil fuels like petrol, diesel, and coal also releases nitrogen oxides. These gases react with oxygen and water vapour present in the air to produce dilute solutions of sulphuric acid and nitric acid, which fall on Earth as acid ram and damage plants, aquatic life, soil, and buildings.
- Soot particles are introduced in the air due to the incomplete combustion of wood and fossil fuels like coal and petroleum. These particles can enter our bodies when we breathe and trigger asthma attacks and cause wheezing, coughing, and respiratory irritation.
Biofuels are fuels obtained from renewable biological sources like crops and animal wastes, which can be used to supplement or replace fossil fuels. Ethanol, methanol, and biodiesel are examples of biofuels.
Conservation of Fossil Fuels
Keeping in mind the limitations of fossil fuels, the need of the hour is to conserve them to the extent possible.
Conservation of fossil fuels can be done by
- Judicious use of the existing resources.
- Use of alternate sources of energy like tidal power, wind energy, solar energy, and nuclear energy to meet our fuel and energy needs.