Fossil fuel production and use must be terminated as soon as possible due to their numerous repercussions.
Attention is largely directed toward greenhouse gas emissions when concerning the environmental impacts of fossil fuel production and use.
This focus, while understandable, tends to overlook a variety of other critical issues, including: air pollution, noise pollution, contamination of the soil and water, land degradation, and elimination of biodiversity.
Industrial activities (e.g. power plants, manufacturing facilities) and other human activities (e.g. household heating, transport) that rely on fossil fuels for their energy cause significant air pollution.
Atmosphere
Particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, and other harmful materials from fossil fuel burning cause a wide range of diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, lung cancer, asthma, and other respiratory illnesses, particularly in vulnerable groups like children and pregnant women.
More than 99 per cent of the world’s population lives in areas where air pollution is above WHO air quality guidelines.
A Harvard University study on global mortality from fossil fuel pollution has found that over 10 million deaths in 2018 were due to fossil fuel pollution, accounting for about one in five deaths worldwide.
A BMJ study estimated that 8.34 million excess deaths per year globally are attributable to fine particulate and ozone air pollution from fossil fuels. Air pollution has also detrimental effects on nature and the built environment.
According to estimations by the International Energy Agency, in 2022, fossil fuel production and use was globally responsible for the emission of about 125 million tonnes of methane into the atmosphere.
Drilling
Although the concentration of methane in the atmosphere is too low to have any direct effect on human health, methane plays a significant role in air pollution, albeit indirectly.
Namely, it contributes to the formation of ground-level ozone. Ozone harms not only human health but also vegetation, damaging forests, and grasslands and reducing agricultural production.
Fossil fuel production and use must be terminated as soon as possible due to their numerous repercussions.
The drilling and other processes in the fossil fuel industry also lead to noise pollution.
A study conducted in 2023 in Xiamen, China revealed that offshore exploratory drilling may cause significant underwater noise, harming aquatic life and species behaviour.
Another study conducted in the US shows that residents living close to oil and gas well construction and drilling in Colorado experienced high levels of noise pollution.
Toxic
The fossil fuel industry also damages human health and the environment due to leaks. Severe spills occur at practically every phase, i.e., extraction, refining, handling, transport, storage, and usage.
Spills ensue, for example, from offshore drilling and big transporting vessels.
Recent oil spill disasters, including, the Gulf of Mexico Spill in the USA, the Oriental Mindoro Spill in the Philippines, and the Lima Spill in Peru have had a devastating impact on fishing communities.
Fossil fuel industries also pose a significant risk due to the disposal of toxic waste. For instance, the Shell Deer Park Chemicals fire resulted in the disposal of hazardous chemicals into the Houston Ship Channel.
Years-long oil extraction in Nigeria has led to chronic water contamination from petroleum and toxic waste.
Habitat
Fossil fuel mines and power plants are also known for their disposal of heated water into nearby water bodies, which can also disrupt fish populations and aquatic ecosystems. In Siberia, oil spills continuously poison people, animals, and plant life.
Mining and drilling generate significant amounts of waste materials that contaminate the surrounding environment.
In Brazil, Indonesia, and other countries the accumulation of large amounts of mining waste causes habitat destruction and presents significant other environmental risks due to extensive mining activities.
Mountaintop removal mining remains a significant issue in Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
This technique involves removing the tops of mountains to access coal seams, leading to the burial of streams and significant habitat destruction.
Shrinking
The process of hydraulic fracturing (fracking), which is used to extract natural gas, might result in the contamination of groundwater with chemicals.
A complex examination of the geographic expansion of shale gas drilling in Pennsylvania from 2006 to 2015 provided evidence that public drinking water quality has been compromised by fracking, leading to serious health effects in children.
Every year, 24 billion tons of fertile land are lost. Since 1970 wildlife populations have decreased by an average of 73 per cent. One of the main causes is fossil fuel production.
In Brazil, fossil fuel production represents a significant threat to the Amazon forests. Another notable instance of significant deforestation is Yasuni National Park in Ecuador, where oil extraction activities have caused irreversible environmental damage.
Landscape fragmentation, i.e. a process of shrinking and isolating significant habitats into small patches, is also characteristic of fossil fuel production and use.
Energy-intensive
Among others, fossil fuel exploration and extraction are one of the main causes of landscape fragmentation. In the US, Wyoming and Montana are the top states for coal mining and their mines are responsible for the widescale destruction of native grasslands and habitat fragmentation.
Both fossil fuels and the materials needed for the extraction, processing, and use of fossil fuels (e.g. sand and gravel for cement production, iron and other metal ores for production of equipment) are finite materials in the Earth’s crust.
Most of their reserves are foreseen to be depleted within the next decades. Recycling is not a solution. Efforts to recycle even a small part of fossil fuels have not been very successful.
Recycling metals is extremely energy-intensive. Moreover, complete recycling of metals is impossible.
Admonition
For example, after 10 recycling rounds at 80 per cent efficiency, only about 10 per cent of the original material remains, i.e. repeated recycling results in enormous losses.
Thus, even if we do not take into consideration the climate and environmental impact of using fossil fuels, by using them we are sacrificing all future generations just for a few decades of profligacy.
All of the above indicate that fossil fuel production and use must be terminated as soon as possible due to their numerous repercussions.
It is high time that we heed the admonition of the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu: “There is no greater misfortune than not knowing what is enough. There is no greater fault than the desire to possess”.
These Authors
András Lukács, a geophysicist, is president of Clean Air Action Group (CAAG), a national association of Hungarian environmental NGOs, which has been active for more than 35 years. Aydan Gurbanova holds a master’s degree in Environmental Sciences and Policy from Central European University and currently is a volunteer at CAAG.
