Electricity's Environmental Impact
All electricity has a cost – both a dollar cost and an environmental cost. Using energy unnecessarily is like burning money, only worse. We unintentionally create mercury-laden tuna fish, nitrous oxide induced asthma, increased levels of CO2 and global warming and unmeasured amounts of both high and low level nuclear waste. While powering our homes in 2006, the average Batavia residence also created
- 23 lbs of nitrogen oxide which contributes to smog
- 82 lbs of sulfur dioxide which causes acid rain
- 12,823 lbs of carbon dioxide emissions which are the leading cause of global warming
- Particulate emissions which worsens asthmatic conditions and respiratory problems
- Mercury which causes developmental problems and brain damage
And that's just the air emissions created when coal is burned. It doesn't include the low level nuclear waste released during coal mining or the high level nuclear waste created in nuclear power plants. It does not include the environmental cost of coal mining or transportation. Nationally our electricity generation has great impact. Consider this:
- 260 million gallons of water are used in coal mining in the US every day.
- 120 million tons of solid waste is produced every year by coal burning.
- 90 million gallons of waste slurry is produced every year while preparing the coal to be burned.
It doesn't include habitat destruction, the removal of streams and rivers, the complete change of landscape -- or even the removal of mountain tops.
We have paid quite a cost to bring electricity into our homes. Electricity is worth conserving.