29^th Ambassadorship

Title: [October thematic report] Fossil fuels and the environment

Month 2, Report 1

The breakdown of buried, carbon-based organisms that perished millions of years ago produces fossil fuels. They produce deposits rich in carbon, which are taken out and burned to provide energy. They presently provide about 80% of the world's energy and are non-renewable source. A vast array of items, including plastic and steel, are also produced using them. Coal, oil, and gas are the major forms of fossil fuels.

Significant environmental externalities associated with fossil fuels include:

Hazardous air pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and mercury are all produced by burning fossil fuels, and they are all bad for the environment and people's health. Fossil fuel air pollution can result in acid rain, eutrophication, damage to crops and forests, harm to wildlife, and eutrophication.

Fossil fuels produce water pollution through a variety of means, including oil spills and fracturing fluids. Between 1.5 million and 16 million gallons of water are used in each fracking well, and the wastewater that is produced can be toxic and contain elements like arsenic, lead, chlorine, and mercury that can contaminate groundwater and drinking water.

Over 99 percent of plastics come from fossil fuels, which contributes to plastic pollution. A total of 300 million tons of plastic garbage are created annually around the world, 14 million tons of which find their way into the ocean and harm marine life and contaminate the food chain.

Oil spills: The extraction, movement, and refinement of fossil fuels can result in oil spills that hurt local residents and wildlife, degrade habitats, erode shorelines, and force the closure of beaches, parks, and fisheries. The 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon leak, the greatest oil spill in history, spewed 134 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 people as well as numerous birds, turtles, fish, marine mammals, and plants. The cleanup and fines associated with the incident cost BP $65 billion.

The health effects of air pollution from burning fossil fuels can include asthma, cancer, heart disease, and early mortality. The combustion of the gasoline additives benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene results in the production of ultra-fine particles and aromatic hydrocarbons, both of which are carcinogens. One in five deaths worldwide are caused by pollution from fossil fuels.