Aiyanna Nicholson

Professor Mattias

ENGL 21003

27 february 2022

                                                       Fossil Fuel Sustainability

Fossil fuels are natural resources made from decaying plants and animals that can be found within different layers of the ground. Once these natural deposits are found, they are then burned so they can transform into different forms of energy. Without realizing it, fossil fuels are a big part of our everyday lives. From what powers or modes of transportation, to how we heat our homes up, we rely on this source of energy to survive. As with everything else in life, fossil fuels come with its downfalls. The main argument for this topic is how toxic fossil fuels are to the environment and how it essentially “piggy backs” onto global warming by emitting harmful  pollutants into the air. Additionally, fossil fuels fall under the classification of being a nonrenewable resource. In simple terms, once they are all used up, there is no way to replenish them. With this in mind the surplus use of them presents us with an impending if not inevitable future of being completely deprived of a huge energy source we have both exploited and depended on for a long time. In acknowledging both the positive and negative, there is a clear debate surrounding fossil fuels which brings up the controversy of whether or not they are sustainable or even worth continuous use in the future. 

To establish the first argument against fossil fuels sustainability, there is evidence that these fuels have negative implications on our health. More specifically, heart problems are a development that can be attributed to the emission of fossil fuels. John Kotcher is a research scientist who created a study that dove into how fossil fuels affect our health, and which of those health problems concerned Americans the most. In this same study, he notes how it has already been confirmed that gasses released from fossil fuels contribute to air pollution which then causes cardio-pulmonary issues along with many other health problems (Kotcher, et al., 1). As seen in the article, fossil fuels’ original damage to the environment immediately translates onto those that have to breathe in the polluted air that’s contaminated with all of these toxic gasses. Assessing another source, Jerry Mcnerney, is an author of a book that exposed America’s history with fossil fuels along with the effect that the fuels have had on American society. In his book, Mcnereny reveals that miners who work in unsanitary environments to extract coal are constantly exposed to coal dust which often leads to black lung disease. In more serious situations the already deadly disease “can result in emphysema, cancer or severe heart conditions”( Mcnerney, et al., 156). Those who take part in the process of removing fossil fuels are essentially bargaining their lives away and are always at the mercy of the dangerous fumes that fossil fuels exude. To further strengthen the argument of how damaging fossil fuels are to our health, Mcnerney presents more information on how the pollution from these fuels causes the number of those who have asthma in America to increase. He also mentions that “Asthma is the fastest growing chronic disease in our nation, afflicting more than 22 million U.S citizens according to the American Lung Association” (Mcnerney, et al., 156). It’s clear that fossil fuels are detrimental to our overall well being and have a huge impact on public health and this becomes even more apparent when you are able to attach a number to the amount of people that suffer from asthma.

Acknowledging the overarching argument against fossil fuels, there is a lot of evidence displaying all of the negative effects they have on the environment. Oil is one of the main three fossil fuels that contributes to polluting the earth. Jerry Mcnerney shines a light on the fact that in the Gulf of Mexico, there is yearly oil spillage that goes into the water which then spreads toxic chemicals such as mercury to areas that are used for fishing (Mcnerney, et al., 101). Oil pollution easily finds its way into bodies of water and encroaches on marine life, killing them off as well as whatever other ecosystems are in the water. Petroleum is another fossil fuel that often gets released into the environment. Mcnerney comments that “ Every day, refined oils find their way into our natural world from relatively small deposits, such as leaks in peoples vehicles or illegal dumping down municipal drains” (Mcnereny, et al.101).  He then continues by explaining that a lot of the petroleum makes its way into bodies of water as well as aquifers within farms and other communities (Mcnerney, et al., 101). Whether we realize it or not, simply driving your car to work or taking a bus to school is contributing to the spread of fossil fuels. S.H Mohr produced an article that evaluated how much energy consumption was being derived from fossil fuels in different regions of the world. In his article, he has more evidence concerning fossil fuels and their production dating all the way back to 1850. 

Fig.1- The graph contains data on how much of the different types of fossil fuels have been produced from 1850 to 2000

As seen in figure 1, it is clear that a surplus of fossil fuels has been produced for at least 150 years. With that information, it’s not difficult to imagine the hazardous effects that the emissions coming from these fuels have on the environment, especially when you look at how steep the sudden incline is on the graph around 1950.

After assessing the viewpoint of those that oppose fossil feuls, attention should be drawn to the individuals that argue for their sustainibility. Taking into consideration how long we have used fossil fuels and how much we depend on them is an important fact to acknowledge. S.H Mohr establishes that “ fossil fuels are vital for our global energy needs, accounting for more than 80% of the world’s primary energy consumption (S.H Mohr, et al., 1). When you take the time to fully gauge that percentage, it is very apparent that as a whole everybody on earth is very reliant on fossil fuels. With this comes the realization that stopping fossil fuel consumption abruptly would mean that how we obtain energy would be almost completely cut off. Transportation is a separate advantage that is coupled with the use of fossil fuels, Gregroy Meehan, an author that wrote a book targeted towards providing information on the different types of fossil fuels announced that the invention of coal burners brought upon mechanical energy that was then used for things such as trains and steamboats (Meehan, 26). From the 1800’s up until today, certain modes of transportation are contingent on the use of certain fossil fuels and in this case it’s coal. Robbert Curley, is another author of a book who wrote about fossil fuels and in it, he divulges a different use of coal by mentioning that once it’s combusted, it creates heat which then turns into steam that powers turbines to generate electricity (Curley, 110). In modern day society, electricity is heavily relied upon and coal is the fossil fuel that produces it meaning it’s a necessary resource to continue using. Mikael Hook, a scientist that produced research to examine fossil fuels and how much they are emitted in the atmosphere created a graph that further represents how much dependence is laid on fossil fuels for energy on a global scale.

In figure 2, there is a prominent rapid increase of how much energy is being produced from fossil fuels and you see that increase in the 1900’s. This graph only shows the world production of fossil energy up to 2010 and based on how fast the energy output increased up to that year leaves room for interpretation regarding how much more energy was needed from fossil fuels more recently.

In final analysis, there is still much debate over the fossil fuel crisis. In terms of research, there is a lot more evidence that suggests fossil fuels are not feasible to our future especially with global warming reaching an all time high. Even with the issues that surround its use we are still drawn back to the point of what can be done to replace the energy that’s been garnered from these fuels for a long period of time. Research points towards turning to a renewable energy source such as solar power but the question still remains of how our fossil fuel induced world would make the transition to cleaner energy. In answering my own question while providing my opinion on the controversy, I have concluded that fossil fuels definitely are not sustainable enough to use in the future. My stance on this correlates directly with my advocacy for climate change and in saying that, I agree that the right way to go would be to completely convert to renewable energy. With a gradual shift in how things operate in the world, there is a possibility that significant changes could be made. By this I mean that instead of making a sudden stop with the use of fossil fuels, we could start by using solar powered cars and then grow from there. The research that I have conducted also draws up the question on whether or not fossil fuels has done its damage globally, and in that you have to ask, has its influence taken possession over the world where the effects of it are completely irreversible? 

Works Cited 

Curley, Robert. “Fossil Fuels.” New York, Britannica, 2011.

Höök, Mikael, Tang, Xu. “Depletion of Fossil Fuels and Anthropogenic Climate change—A Review.” Energy Policy, vol. 52, 2013, pp. 797–809. Elsevier Ltd. 10.1016/j.enpol.2012.10.046.

Kotcher, John, Maibach, Edward, Choi, Wen-Tsing.  “Fossil Fuels Are Harming Our Brains: Identifying Key Messages About the Health Effects of Air Pollution from Fossil Fuels.” BMC Public Health, vol. 19, no. 1. 2019, pp. 1079–12. BioMed Central Ltd. 10.1186/s12889-019-7373-1.

McNerney, Gerald, Cheek, Martin. “Clean Energy Nation : Freeing America from the Tyranny of Fossil Fuels.” New York, AMACOM, 2012.

Meehan, Gregory. “Thank You Fossil Fuels and Good Night : the Twenty-First Century’s Energy Transition.” Salt Lake City, The University of Utah Press, 2017.

Mohr, S.H., Wang, J, Ellem ,G, Ward, J., Giurco, D. “Projection of World Fossil Fuels by Country.” Fuel (Guildford). vol. 141, 2015, pp. 120–35. Elsevier Ltd. 10.1016/j.fuel.2014.10.030.