EFFECTS OF ENERGY ON ENVIRONMENT

In our modern era we can say that the discovery and development of energy sources from primary fuels i.e (Natural gas & Petroleum) or secondary fuels i.e (wood & coal) has really been the reason for the spike in knowledge explosion and innovations. But the conversion if this energy from one form to another often affects the environment and the air that we breath in many ways, at such it's an exigent situation that we need to face and proper solutions.
The history of energy sources dating baby to the 1800's shows that fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas have been powering the industrial development and major activities carried out, and this has come along with numerous undesirable consequences. Ranging from the air we breath, the water we drink, and even to or farmlands, the environment has been paying a heavy toll on us. The combustion of these fuels mentioned earlier on has been the source of our daily environmental pollution such as acid rain, smog, climate change and even global warming. This has become a real threat to human existence in terms on of our vegetation, sea-life, and human health. The effects on the human health could take from short term problems i.e ( Irritation to the eyes, nose and throat, headaches, nausea etc) and long term problems i.e ( cancer, asthma, pneumonia, and at times brain damage). It is estimated that over 10,000 people in the United States alone die each year due to cancer, heart and lung diseases due to air pollution.
Numerous elements and compounds such as benzene and formaldehyde are known to be emitted during the combustion of coal, natural gas and wood in power plants, engines of vehicles, and furnaces. The largest source of air pollution in the world comes from or motor vehicles, and the pollutants released by these vehicles are grouped as hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and carbon monoxide.

The hydrocarbon emmisions are a large component of volatile organic compounds emmisions. And mostly children are susceptible to these damages caused by air pollutants since their organs are still developing. Governments throughout the world have already taken actions against air pollution by the introduction of green energy, which takes from solar energy of wind energy.

Global Warming and Climate Change.

It's observed in most parts of the world for vehicles exposed directly to the radiation emanating from the sun, that the interior chamber of the vehicle has a higher temperature level than the outside. Practically this happens due to the thickness of the glass which has the ability to transmit over 85% of the radiation in the visible range and is blocks the unseen infrared radiation, this part is usually trapped by solar panels. Hence this increase in the interior temperature is as a result of the thermal energy build up in the closed vehicle, and this phenomenon is known as the GREENHOUSE EFFECT.
Similary one could say that the greenhouse effect is the by which radiation from the planets atmosphere warms the planets surface to a temperature above that of space beyond the planets atmosphere. Hence this phenomenon is explained on a larger scale on Earth which warms up during the day by absorbing the heat from the sun and cools down at night by radiating a certain amount of this heat energy back into space as infrared radiation. The water vapor ( 36 - 70%), ozone ( 3 - 7%), carbon dioxide ( 9 - 26%) and other gases such as methane ( 4 - 9%) and nitrogen acts like a blanket and helps the earth warm at night by blocking the beast radiated from the sun, which makes them greenhouse gases.
The greenhouse effect on Venus is particularly large because its dense atmosphere consists mainly of carbon dioxide. Venus experienced a runaway greenhouse in the past, and it is expected that Earth will in about 2 billion years as solar luminosity increases.

When excessive amounts of these gases trap too much energy it causes the temperature of the earth to rise and the proportional change in the climatic conditions of some other location, and this unforeseen and unwanted consequences lead to Global Warming. Another major effect of this energy changes is smog: It's that dark yellow or brown haze that forms a large stagnant air mass and hangs over populated areas on cozy days. This is made up of numerous chemicals including dust, carbon monoxide, soot, volatile organic compounds and ozone. This ozone in question irritated the eyes and causes a major damage to the lungs. In order to improve the air quality in some areas with critical ozone challenges like China, reformulated gasoline that contains at least 2% oxygen is made available.

Another unwanted harmful contribution of fossil fuels and other chemicals used and flared directly into the atmosphere is the Acid Rain. This occurs when mostly older plants that burn high sulfur-coal, motors that emit these gases and also volcanic eruptions releases this sulphuric acid into the atmosphere which in turn reacts with water vapor and other chemicals present in the atmosphere to form sulphuric acids. The acids formed are then dissolved in the clouds, fogs and snogs, which are then washed down to earth by rain or snow.

Generally it is observed that mechanical energy, thermal energy, and even electrical energy are obtained from the conversion of the chemical combustion of fossil fuels.,which enables motor vehicles, gas cookers, power plants to contribute to the current pollution crisis. The beauty about electricity on the other hand is that it has zero emissions and 0% pollution to the environment even as it is converted to other forms of energy. Therefore the use of renewable energy should be promoted across the globe, with necessary incentives to make our world more habitable and better for human existence.

Sources:
#Chemical-Thermodynamics By
-R.K Rajput
-Cengel & Boles
-H.I Hart
#eschool-today.