There
is a great understandable hunger for energy in the world. Increased uses of
energy are strongly correlated with the gross domestic product, a measure of
the average standard of living of the inhabitants of a country. But if the
principal sources of energy are fossil fuels, a dilemma should be faced:
burning these fuels contributes to the greenhouse effects and thus to the
warming of the Earth, causing serious environmental consequences.
Fossil
fuels are used to generate about 68% of the electricity in the United States;
coal is used to generate about 44% of the electricity (Reitze, 2002). In 1998,
electric utilities emitted 67.2% of the nation's S[O.sub.2], 24.9% of
N[O.sub.x], and about 10.6% of the small particulate (P[M.sub.10]) emissions,
(Reitze, 2002). Moreover, sixty-seven hazardous air pollutants potentially are
emitted from fossil-fueled electric power generating plants, and EPA predicts a
30% increase in these emissions by the year 2010.
In
addition, about 40% of C[O.sub.2] from United States sources comes from
electric power industry (utilities and nonutilities combined), and domestic
C[O.sub.2] emissions increased by 2.5% in 2000, which is a significant increase
from the 1.3% average annual growth from 1990 to 2000. The United States's
emissions of C[O.sub.2] are responsible for an estimated 25% of the world's
C[O.sub.2] emissions from fossil-fuel burning and cement manufacturing.
Moreover, increases in generating capacity are projected to increase C[O.sub.2]
from the electricity sector by 14 to 38% by 2007 from the 1998 level. In 1999,
coal was used to generate 52.8% of the electricity generated in the United
States; petroleum was used to produce 2.56%; and natural gas was used to
produce 10.78% The use of natural gas is projected to increase, coal use will
increase more slowly, and petroleum use is expected to continue to decrease.
Most of the nation's coal-burning plants were constructed between 1950 and
1980, and these plants are the nation's most significant stationary source of
air pollution. New electric power plants almost always use gas-fired turbines
because such plants are less expensive to construct, have a higher thermal
efficiency, and produce far less pollution. This offsets the need for gas,
which is more expensive than coal.
While
there are many forms of energy with which we are familiar--mechanical,
chemical, nuclear, light, thermal energy, heat, to name a few--and there are
many sources for all forms of energy, the inhabitants of our planet have found
it convenient to exploit relatively few (Borowitz, 1999). The burning of the
so-called fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) currently provide the
United States with about 90 percent of the energy used (Borowitz, 1999).
According to Borowitz (1999) these are finite resources and their use is
environmentally harmful thus, the purpose of pressing for the ultimate
replacement of fossil fuels in the economy is not only to improve the
environment but to prepare for the time when these fuels become scarcer, and
therefore more expensive, or have been depleted altogether.
Conceptual Framework
The
study will evaluate qualitative factors that are relevant in the acceptability
of the recommendation to be made.
The qualitative factors that will be
evaluated in the study are the issues regarding the use of fossil fuel plant in
the environment. Likewise, this study will also contemplate on the legal and
the regulatory aspects of the existing environmental laws in the United States
as well as the emerging programs to resolve the this crisis will also be
considered.
|
DEPENDENT VARIABLES Environmental
impact of the Use
of Fossil
Fuel Plant as Source
of energy |
|
INDEPENDENT VARIABLES
- issues -
legal - gov’t programs |
Figure
4. Paradigm of the
independent and dependent variables on the environmental impact
of the use of Fossil Fuel Plants as energy source from the issues, legal and
government programs.
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