Research About Energy Sources and Pollution Potential (Essay Sample)

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Energy Sources and Pollution Potential
For centuries, fossil fuels have dominated energy production and use. These fuels formed a foundation for the success of the industrial revolution and other landmark technological developments. The recent concerns over their contribution to widespread pollution and climate change have led to the emergence of new energy sources and their adoption as alternatives to fossil fuels. However, the alternative energy sources also have their weaknesses. Some lead to pollution although at relatively lower levels compared to various fossil fuels currently in use. With this in mind, examining the pollution potential and weaknesses of wind energy and biofuels along with those of natural gas and oil can shed more light on possible benefits and problems of the emerging alternative energy sources.
The continued use of fossil fuels has led to technological developments that have improved efficiency in the extraction and transportation of oil and natural gas. However, it still remains contentious whether the new and innovative technologies have minimized the pollution potential of oil and natural gas at the extraction and transportation phase. Hydraulic fracking is a significant development in the extraction of natural gas. However, the technique has attracted concerns because of its negative environmental impacts. It involves pumping a combination of chemicals, water, and sand at a very high pressure to retrieve the trapped natural gas (Fuller and Howarth 19). Despite the effectiveness of this technique in retrieving the natural gas beneath the deep shale rock and similar rock formations, it is associated with methane leaks and extensive water pollution (Fuller and Howarth 19). It also causes water shortage because hydraulic fracking requires huge quantities of water to retrieve the trapped natural gas. Every hydraulic fracking event requires approximately five million water gallons, which indicates the reason for its association with water shortage (Fuller and Howarth 19). Further, it involves introducing large quantities of toxic and carcinogenic chemicals into a well. On top of this, hydraulic fracking introduces harmful metals, radioactive components, and hydrocarbons into the environment (Fuller and Howarth 19). The toxic effluent from the wells can have adverse effects on the ecosystem and the health of people residing adjacent to oil and natural gas fields. It is even more troubling because of the existence of poor disposal mechanisms for the resulting waste. As such, the frack wastes lead to the contamination of aquifers, especially due to methane gas leaks. Natural gas is also responsible for methane pollution (Fuller and Howarth 19).
Just like hydraulic fracking, Keystone pipeline poses significant environmental and public health risks, especially taking into consideration that it will carry the dirtiest oil in the present day (Whatley and Suh 20). The tar sands pipeline promises to improve the energy self-sufficiency of the United States and oil delivery for reduced gas prices. Even so, the pipeline might lead to disasters such as the one experienced in Arkansas in 2013 as a result of pipeline blowout. The incident unloaded over 150,000 gallons of tar sands oil leading to the pollution of a lake and the eviction of about 22 families (Whatley and Suh 20). The Keystone pipeline threatens to pollute rivers, streams, and lakes across three states, especially due to construction works and pipeline blowout events. Therefore, the pipeline would expose communities and vast ecosystems to adverse effects. In addition, the tar sands crude produces approximately 17 percent additional carbon pollution when compared to the normal crude oil (Whatley and Suh 20). The high pollution potential of oil and natural gas extraction and transportation processes implies the need for alternative energy sources.
Wind energy emerges as a good alternative to fossil fuels, especially taking into account its widespread adoption across the world. In 2008, wind energy alone accounted for about 42 percent of the total electricity added to the US power grid (Bode and Linowes 16). The country has sufficient wind to generate adequate electricity, which in turn can curb fuel prices and limit global warming. Wind energy promises to deliver clean energy with the commitment towards renewable energy providing opportunities for job creation in the manufacturing industry (Bode and Linowes 16). However, the proliferation of wind farms has caused a significant threat to migratory birds, bats, and other wildlife. Wind turbines also produce severe noise and pulsating thuds, which have adverse health effects (Bode and Linowes 16). In addition, the electricity grid cannot rely solely on wind energy because of the unreliability of this renewable energy source.
Biofuel is another alternative energy resource that promises to deliver green energy. The opponents of this energy resou...