Energy and It's Impacts on the Environment.

Energy is the most important commodity for a modern society. Therefore, energy is a key ingredient in all sectors of modern economies, and it is a sign of power of a country. In fact, the development of a country is depending on the energy consumption per capita. The conversion of energy from one form to another (e.g. heat to electricity) often affects the environment in many ways, thus the study of energy is not complete without considering its impact on the environment Fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas have been used as the source of energy for centuries. These fossil fuels, however, have adverse effects on environment, namely air pollution, global warming and climate changes. Nowadays, the environmental pollution has reached such high levels that it became a serious threat to plants, wild life, and human health. Air pollution affects the ozone layer, the oxygen and carbon dioxide cycles. The other serious pollutant in air is carbon monoxide. It is more hazardous than carbon dioxide because it can bind with the red blood cells of the human and affects human organs, especially the brain. Fossil fuels are mixture of various chemicals, and can carry sulfur and nitrogen compounds as well. These sulfur and nitrogen compounds upon burning produce SO2 and NOx which are severe air pollutants. SO2 and NOx can be converted to sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and nitric acid (HNO3), respectively, which results in risky acid rains. Intense research is ongoing on the renewable energy sources (such as solar, wind, hydro, biomass, geothermal, wave, tide, etc.) to minimize fossil fuel consumption. In this paper, adverse effects of fossil fuels on the environmental pollution and the greenhouse effects will be discussed in detail along with hydrogen usage in fuel cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]