Table of Contents
煤炭, gas, and other fossil fuels are neither sustainable nor safe. We shouldn’t use them.
of global warming emissions
煤、石油和甲烷气体都是化石燃料,是由生物体的残骸随着时间的推移而形成的. In the United States, they supply most of our energy needs, including roughly two-thirds of US electricity generation.
But fossil fuels come with a cost. 煤烟与哮喘、出生缺陷、癌症和过早死亡等各种疾病有关. 气体 fracking is tied to contaminated groundwater and earthquakes. 石油是世界上最大的空气污染和烟雾来源.
Fossil fuels are also the main source of global warming emissions, one of the most pressing existential issues facing humanity today. 了解它们的影响范围对于我们在能源生产方面的选择以及防止617888九五至尊娱乐变化的最坏影响至关重要.
煤炭
The United States has burned coal for over 100 years. Most of it is mined either deep underground, from the tops of mountains, or in expansive open-surface mines in the American West. 然后用火车和驳船运到全国各地的燃煤发电厂.
But America’s long history with coal shouldn’t be romanticized. More than 100,000人死于美国煤矿——比在朝鲜战争和越南战争中阵亡的军人人数加起来还要多. Countless others suffer from its debilitating health effects; worldwide, coal causes more deaths 比自然灾害、凶杀、交通事故和麻疹加起来还要多. 直到最近,它还是美国碳污染的最大单一来源.
Today, coal’s future in the US power system is uncertain. Many plants are losing in the face of economic competition from gas and renewable energy; keeping those plants running is driving costs up. 从煤炭转型是唯一合乎道德的长期战略, environmental, and economic sense.
甲烷气体
在20世纪的大部分时间里,天然气在美国电力行业中扮演的角色相对较小. 但随着21世纪初水力压裂(fracking)和水平钻井技术的兴起, gas took off—with serious implications for the climate.
When leaked into the atmosphere, 所谓的“天然”气体的主要成分——甲烷——是一种有效的吸热气体. When burnt, it releases carbon dioxide and other pollutants.
因此,天然气在清洁能源经济中发挥的作用非常有限. 它燃烧起来比煤炭更清洁,而且使从煤炭过渡更容易、更快. But investing in gas brings its own economic and safety risks, and won’t bring the emissions reductions we need.
石油
While not widely used in the power sector, oil is used for energy, in the form of gasoline, 柴油, 还有航空燃料. 它非常脏:交通是美国最大的碳污染来源,也是哮喘的主要原因, 支气管炎, and certain cancers.
石油公司也是全球617888九五至尊娱乐行动最积极、最直言不讳的反对者之一. 埃克森美孚和其他公司几十年来一直在传播有关617888九五至尊娱乐的虚假信息, 同时资助那些反对遏制碳排放的组织.
石油’s future is uncertain. It’s by far the most popular fuel used in vehicles, 尽管电动汽车和其他先进的汽车技术可能会改变这一点. 如果全球石油消费不大幅减少,石油和化石燃料公司把持的政治权力不减少,我们很可能无法阻止灾难性的617888九五至尊娱乐变化.