Environmental Problems: Challenges and Solutions

Abstract

People need energy and related services to ensure social and economic development, and prosperity and to improve health care. In trying to achieve all of these, many environmental negative consequences appear. RES (Renewable Energy Systems) are considered resources that are clean and minimize negative environmental effects. At the same time, RES minimizes secondary waste and is sustainable based on current and future economic and societal needs and energy conservation is a significant step to prevent emerging environmental problems. In this essay, environmental problems are discussed, and the effects of renewable energy sources and energy conservation are introduced and consequently, greenhouse gas emission and climate change mitigation ways are proposed.

Introduction

Environmental issues have been affecting developments in the energy sector for some time, while climate change poses a completely different challenge. Problems such as acid deposition can be partly solved by administrative measures such as exhaust standards of vehicles or emission limits for power plants, which can affect a relatively small number of economic actors. In the combustion reaction, the carbon in the wood combines with O2 to form CO2, which then is absorbed by the plants and converted back into carbon for use as fuel. Although there have been several warnings in the past about the risks of greenhouse-gas emissions, no significant restrictions have been put in place to prevent environmental pollution, and now many researchers have concluded that global warming is occurring. The number of people in the world is expected to double in size by the middle of the 21st century. And economic development will continue to grow. Global demand for energy services is expected to increase by an order of magnitude by 2050, while primary energy demands are expected to increase by 1.5-3 times. This means that there will be more harmful gases released into the atmosphere and problems will increase. The purpose of the article is to discuss the environmental problems such as stratospheric ozone depletion, acid precipitation, greenhouse effect, and the ways to reduce these problems.

Environmental Problems

With the invention of fire, the release of extra carbon into the atmosphere began. Since wood could not meet the demand for fuel, the Industrial Revolution began with the use of fossil fuels, for example, oil, coal, and gas. The usage of such fuels increased the concentration of CO2 in the air which led to the onset of global warming.

It is well known that ozone located in the stratosphere plays a natural, equilibrium-inducing role, such as the absorption of ultraviolet (UV) radiation and the absorption of infrared radiation. Ozone depletion in the stratosphere can lead to damaging levels of ultraviolet radiation entering the earth, causing skin cancer, eye degeneration, and other harms to many biological varieties Figure 2 displays a schematic representation of the sources of natural and anthropogenic ozone depletes.

Although energy activities such as fossil fuel and biomass combustion account for 65-75% of anthropogenic N2O emissions, CFCs, which are used as a coolant in air conditioning and cooling devices and as blowing agents in foam insulation, play the most vital role in ozone consumption.

Acids produced by burning fossil fuels (e.g. nonferrous ores, industrial boilers, and smelters for transportation agencies) can be carried over great distances through the atmosphere and deposited through the rain on Earth on ecosystems that are remarkably risky to excess acid. Figure 1 shows the processes leading of acid rain. This acid deposition was observed to be mainly connected to emissions of SO2 and NOx.

The associated effects of acid precipitation involve lakes, rivers, and acidification of groundwater, fish and aquatic life damage to woods and crops, damage to buildings, metal structures, acid precipitation and causes degeneration of fabrics.

Some energy-related projects are an important source of acid precipitation. For example, power plants, domestic heating, and manufacturing energy use account for 80% of SO2 emissions, while coal use alone values for about 70% of SO2 emissions. Road Transport is a major source of NOx emissions, accounting for 48% of total emissions in OECD countries. The countries of the world that contribute major to acid emissions are the United States, the former Soviet Union, and China.

Global climate change (Greenhouse Effect)

Likely the most serious environmental problem with energy application is global climate change, also known as global warming or the greenhouse effect. The rising concentrations of greenhouse gases in the environment, such as CO2, CH4, CFCs, halons, N2O, ozone, and peroxyacetyl nitrate, increase in the way these gases capture the heat transmitted from the Earth's surface, hence increasing the Earth's surface heat. In table 1, the role of different substances in the greenhouse effect is shown. Earth's surface temperature has risen by about 0.6 C in the last century, and as a conclusion, the sea level is measured to have risen by perhaps 20 cm.

Energy conservation

Energy conservation is vital to sustainable improvement. Energy maintenance is of great significance in terms of sectoral energy usage,nthe range of industrial energy profits is between 24% and 34% of the total industrial fuel used. Developed energy depletion reduction programs can be implemented by countries. Energy consumption programs can benefit not only consumers and utilities but also the community. In particular, efforts to reduce energy consumption lead to reduced emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants into the environment.

Renewable Energy Sources

The sun is the source of all energies and the initial forms of solar energy consist of heat and light. Heat and light from the sun can be absorbed, modified, and used in many ways. Renewable energy technologies such as biomass, wind, and water replace traditional energy sources, providing an excellent chance for tasks such as diminishing greenhouse gas emissions and preventing global warming.

Unlike energy sources whose formation requires millions of years and many conditions, renewable energy sources (RES) are constantly renewable, inexhaustible, sustainable, and harmless to the environment and human health, despite problems such as lack of fossil fuels, injury to the environment by nuclear sources, and political disagreements. To satisfy the demand for energy and sustainability of future ages, shifting to renewable systems to help mitigate climate change, to reduce the acid precipitation and stratospheric ozone depletion is an extraordinary step, but it needs to be sustainable to ensure a sustainable future and leave coming generations a legacy to answer their energy needs.

Sustainable Energy

The word "sustainability" is becoming increasingly popular because of the vital problems people face, such as the risk of depletion of resources and increased human harm on the environment. Reducing the negative effects of energy consumption is one of the most effective ways to achieve sustainability. A positive result can be achieved during the mitigation phase by using energy-saving programs and measures or by using power generated from renewable energy technologies.

Conclusion

Energy resources and their use are remarkably connected to sustainable development. For organizations to achieve or try to reach sustainable development, there is a great need not only to explore sustainable energy resources but also to improve the energy resources of the processes using these resources. Besides, environmental problems should be addressed. Several important observations can be drawn from this essay are as follows:

• Greenhouse gas emissions must be balanced or reduced, with the help of RES and energy conservations.
• Energy conservation is vital to sustainable development and, although it has its limitations, it must be performed in all possible ways. This is necessary not only for us but for the next generation as well.
• Renewable energy sources and technologies should be used more to prevent upcoming energy shortages and environmental problems.

References

1. Energy, environment and sustainable development Ibrahim Dincer a, *, Marc A. Rosen
2. A review of renewable energy sources, sustainability issues and climate change mitigation
3. Perman R, Ma Y, McGilvray J. Natural resource and environmental economics. London: Longman, 1996.
4. Dincer I. Energy and environmental impacts: present and future perspectives. Energy Sources 1998;20(4-5):427-53.
5. Aebischer B, Giovannini B, Pain D. Scienti®c and technical arguments for the optimal use of energy. Geneva: IEA, 1989.
6. Anon. Global energy perspectives to 2050 and beyond. London: World Energy Council Technical Report, 1995