What Are the Environmental Impacts of Different Types of Energy Sources?
All energy sources renewable as well as nonrenewable ones have environmental impacts. Even such a seemingly benign technology as a solar photovoltaic panel, which has no moving parts and no air or water pollution emissions, still has impacts. After all, the panel needs to be manufactured and that process requires materials and energy. Overall, renewable energy sources are much cleaner and environmentally beneficial than fossil fuels coal, natural gas, and oil. In fact, Americans’ use of fossil fuels for electricity, transportation, and heating causes more environmental damage than anything else we buy or consume. The vast majority of air pollution and global warming can be traced back to fossil fuel use. Although less obvious, there are also significant water pollution impacts from power plant mercury emissions, oil spills, and other causes. Electricity generation plays a big role in this environmental damage. Fossil fuel power plants are responsible for two-thirds of the country’s sul
