ABSTRACT
Energy demand is peaking due to rapid industrialization and urbanization. Fossil fuels constitute the major source of energy in today’s world, which comprises coal, petroleum, and gas from coal seams, shale, and hydrates. Fossil fuel exploration, extraction, transportation, and usage have several environmental impacts. Each stage of the fossil fuel life cycle poses several risks to the environment. During exploration, clearance of land cover aggravates erosion and soil contamination. Drilling for oil and gas can lead to blowouts causing oil spills which are an environmental disaster. Leakage during transportation of oil in subsea pipelines or container vessels also damages the environment. Extraction, transportation, and usage of coal, which is a cheap form of fossil fuel, have several health and environmental hazards. Coal seam gas extraction impacts ground water levels. Shale gas, whose production is now an all-time high, uses fracking which has its own risks for groundwater contamination and microseismic events. Gas hydrates, which are abundant in the seafloor, are a major cause of concern in the wake of global warming as its escape into the atmosphere 246could aggravate climate change. It is therefore important to have a comprehensive understanding of the potential environmental impacts of fossil fuels and address them through technological interventions making the exploration, extraction, transportation, and usage in environmentally friendly manner for making our Earth sustainable for future generations.
