Spooky Facts About Fossil Fuels

With October now upon us, there is one scary thing we can put out in front of our homes that will frighten unsuspecting adults more than anything: fossil fuels! With how much damage they’re doing to our environment, they are truly more frightening than any ghosts, witches, or goblins could ever hope to be. Here’s five spooky reasons it’s time to make the switch to renewable energy and avoid bringing the scary damage of fossil fuels into your life any longer.

They Are Terrible for Our Atmosphere

Here’s the most obvious reason fossil fuels are frightening: they’re destroying our atmosphere! When we use fossil fuels, we burn them. Doing this is what produces the heat that powers our lives. However, the flip side of that is that it produces carbon dioxide, as well. This carbon dioxide alone makes up 65% of the greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. If we keep heating up these fossil fuels, we’ll continue producing more of this dangerous carbon dioxide and increasing the amount of those greenhouse gases. Just two years ago, in 2016, we had reached the highest concentration of carbon dioxide our atmosphere had seen in 3 million years. Talk about scary!

Harvesting Fossil Fuels Destroys the Environment

The burning of the fuels isn’t the only way they’re harming our planet. We also are hurting it just by mining for them. When mining for fossil fuels, major disturbances happen to the ecosystems that surround the mining sites. For instance, there are waterways that flow in mining areas that are susceptible to being interrupted - for instance, by the surface above them collapsing - which then cuts off the water source for all the life that depends on that water supply. Not only can the ecosystems be destroyed by the destruction of the area, but miners also release toxic substances like heavy metals and radioactive materials, which then pollute all the nearby water. Essentially, the destruction, elimination, and poisoning of the water anywhere fossil fuels are mined is killing off any life that lives near it.

Fossil Fuels Are Harming Our Health

A more direct and immediate consequence is the health of all of us. This is because of smog, which causes irritation in our eyes and chests and can even lead to pulmonary disease. Children and seniors are more at risk than anyone else, as well as people who have preexisting conditions that affect their hearts and lungs. If we were to start reducing smog, we could reduce thousands of death every year.

No, Not Chocolate Rain, Acid Rain

Halloween means chocolate, but fossil fuels mean acid. Acid rain is caused because of the sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide released into our air as a direct result of fossil fuels. If it falls, it immediately destroys entire bodies of water, as well as harming us!

These Are Not Renewable Sources of Energy

Fossil fuels are in extremely limited supply. We’ve used so many already that by 2052, they could be completely gone. Even if we keep using gas and coal and cut out oil, we’ll still see their extinction by 2088. The switch to renewable energy is the only way to ensure we don’t completely deplete them if we ever need them for an emergency.

Don’t get too scared by fossil fuels. Instead, get motivated and take action by investing in solar energy.

Want to learn how to take the first steps? Check out the HahaSmart blog!

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