Fossil fuel emissions are negatively affecting the environment of the United States of America.  Although the negative impacts could forever change the community that Americans live in today for the worse, there is still hope.  If the American people are willing to protect their environment through the regulation and eventual riddance of fossil fuel emissions, then The United States will change for the better.

 Fossil Fuel emissions release extra carbon dioxide into the air.  The extra carbon dioxide in the atmosphere creates a number of different problems.  It creates an increase in the Earth’s average climate.  The affects of the increased climate could cause a drastic change in the environment around people of the United States.  Scientists have already seen evidence of change.   The polar icecaps are shrinking at an alarming rate.  Sea levels have risen.  Average temperatures has increased higher than it ever has before.  The increased climate also creates storms unlike any before.  These storms and come about through increased heat in the air.  This creates causes longer and more pervasive droughts.  It also dries out the vegetation and causes more wildfires.   Climate change has geopolitical consequences as well.  Such as the destruction of arable land.  Even though this crisis is real there is still hope for America.  The American people can still do their part create change in everyday life in order prevent the spread of climate change.  First is government involvement.  The people can express disapproval with certain policies that can negatively affect the environment.  Second, is the individual action that Americans can take in their everyday lives in order to cut back on pollution.

First off, the methods of which fossil fuels are obtained destroy the landscape of the United States.  There are a number of different ways fossil fuels are obtained.  One of the methods is fracking.  Fracking is the process of injecting liquid at high pressure into the earth to force open existing fissures and extract oil.  This creates a number of problems such as water contamination, polluted air, and marred landscapes.  Drinking water contamination problems have already reared their ugly head in the United States.  In Dimock, Pennsylvania, Cabot Oil & Gas had to spend one hundred and nine thousand dollars to remove methane from well water for 14 households in the area (Environment America) .  Fracking can also cause health problems due to smog and soot released in the air from the process.  One example of this problem is the air pollution from gas drilling in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Shale region imposed estimated public health costs upwards of ten million dollars in 2008 (Environment America).  The fracking process also has serious implications on the environment.  Fracking zones are usually based in rural areas, and it turns those natural areas into industrial grounds.  Fracking industries have cleared forests in states such as Pennsylvania.  These industries are projected to increase deforestation and pollution to the Chesapeake Bay.  Which is a region that already suffers from a vast nutrient-generated dead zone.  The fossil fuel industry also affects land in Wyoming.  Industries have destroyed important habitats for deer and pronghorn, which are essential game for the state’s three hundred and forty million dollar hunting and wildlife watching industries.  Animals like the mule deer has seen a fifty six percent decrease in population between 2001 and 2010 (Environment America ).  Finally, fracking puts strains on public services and city infrastructure.  For example,  the need for water in the fracking procedure creates problems in terms of delivery and traffic as well as additional costs such as water mining.  There would be a three and a half million dollar cost in water delivery to fracking areas.  Also, the estimated costs for water fracking would be a four hundred million dollar project in states like Texas (Environment America)

The evidence that surrounds climate change is undeniable.  It can be seen in the air alone, and that negatively affects the lives of all Americans.  Industries all across the United States are responsible air pollutants.  Some of these sources include:  coal plants, oil production, as well as land and air transportation.  All of these sources are responsible for a portion of over one hundred and ten million tons of heat trapping pollution into the air every twenty four hours.   The main source of this pollution is the United States reliance of fossil fuel emission.  Fossil fuel emission makes up 85% of our energy uses (Gore TED talks).  The use of these fuels come at a price.   For instance, in recent years the United States has experienced some of its hottest years on average, and that number is projected to increase in the coming year.  Average temperatures have risen by two degrees Fahrenheit since 1970 (Gore TED talks).  In fact, fourteen of the fifteen hottest years on record since 2001.  Increased heat in the atmosphere effects the land.  Droughts are appearing more often, like the one taking place in the state of California.   The heat is taking the soil moisture out of the ground, and it dries out trees, forests, and other vegetation.  In 2014, California had only twenty percent of it’s normal rainfall by the month of June, and the state’s snowpack only reached eighteen percent (Gore TED talks).  This affects California’s agricultural industry.  The production of crops that need chilling periods, such as many fruits, may need to shift may have to move to colder regions in the United States.  High temperatures also cause heat stress for dairy cows and livestock and reduce production. This could lead to vast change to the industries.  Livestock will also need to need to be moved to the northern regions.  Droughts also cause wildfires across the country, specifically California.  In 2016, firefighters responded to over 1,562 wildfires that asked nearly 28,000 acres of land (The New York Times YouTube).  These extra heat in the area creates more moisture in the atmosphere.  Added moisture results in things like irregular storm patterns including heavier torrential downpours in areas of the United States, specifically the southeast.  Since the 1980’s, scientists have noticed an increase in the intensity of hurricanes forming in the Atlantic Ocean.  The storms have taken a toll on the West Coast.  Recently, the Oroville dam in Northern California overflowed, forcing over two hundred thousand people to evacuate their homes (Nagourney and Henry The New York Times).

Fossil fuel emissions create a myriad of problems for the oceans as well.  The extra heat from these emissions is mainly trapped in oceans.  Stronger storms like hurricanes and typhoons are a result of this trapped heat.  Coastal populations and ecosystems are the main victims of the strengthened storms.  Storms like Hurricane Sandy in 2012 is an example.  The storm ravaged the east coast of the United States.  It left one hundred and forty nine dead in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Connecticut, etc. and well over a billion dollars in property damage (Sharp).  Increased heat are also threatening the United States with the rise of sea levels.  With the increased heat, the glaciers near the polar icecaps are de-thawing at an unusual rate.  This creates more water, which ultimately leads to the sea levels rising.  The southeast region in particular is extremely susceptible to the impacts of the rising sea levels.  Miami, New Orleans, as well as Charleston are all cities that are predicted to feel the affects of rising sea levels in the future.  The state of Louisiana is losing one football field of land every hour due to sinkage  (EPA).  This means that about eighteen square miles of land is lost every year.  The city of Miami already experiences regular floods throughout the streets during high tide.  By the end of the century, scientists predict that the city itself could be completely submerged.  This outcome not only affects the residents in South Florida, it affects the United States economy.  Three and a half trillion dollars are potentially at risk if the country were the lose the city of Miami (Gore TED Talks).  The deterioration of human health is at stake as well.  People will not be able to adapt and survive the increased temperature.  The increase in the average climate would lead to heat stress.  The increased air pollution released by industries have the potential to create increased respiratory illnesses among all people.  Scientists even discovered that increased water temperature is linked to the spread of harmful bacteria.  The harmful spread of algal blooms and other micro organisms have a negative affect on inland and coastal waters across the country.  Algal blooms are now affecting areas where these types of events have not previously occurred.  Algal blooms have impacted more than twenty states since 2016 (McClurg).  There has been unusual amount of algal blooms in the states of Florida, Utah, and California this past summer.  Reports of the green algae are described as having a terrible stench (McClurg).  Not only that, the algal blooms cause ciguatera fish poisoning.  An illness caused by eating fish that carry toxins.  It could affect seafood harvest in the Southeast by changing the species in the region, altering migration patterns and timing of fish presence, or affecting fish growth rates.  

Although these statistics may call for serious concern, there are many signs of hope in our pursuit to combat climate change.  Many steps have already been taken by the United States to find new sources of energy.  Some of these news sources of energy include wind and solar power.  Wind and Solar power are forms of clean energy that do not harm the environment like fossil fuel emissions.  They are also renewable sources of energy.  Which means that the source is not depleted when it is used.  In other words there is not a limited amount of energy like fossil fuels.  There are currently upwards of fifty two thousand wind turbines in the United States.  These turbines provide energy that powers twenty four million homes U.S. homes yearly (AWEA).  Wind turbines also create jobs all across the United Staes.  The number of jobs including fields such as development, construction, transportation, manufacturing, operations, and services are over one hundred thousand (AWEA).  Solar energy also has the same benefits in terms of providing clean renewable energy.  Solar energy is the cleanest domestic energy source available.  The United States has an estimated thirty gigawatts of solar energy. It also supports important national concerns such as economic growth and job creation.  Solar panels on just 0.6% of the nation’s total land area could supply enough electricity to power the entire United States (Department of Energy).  It can also be installed on rooftops to provide energy without using extra land.  Solar panels are also very affordable energy source.  Since 2010, the average cost of construction for solar PV panels has dropped more than sixty percent (Department of Energy).   Solar panels have also increased the amount of jobs provided by one hundred and twenty three percent since November of 2010.  In 2017, the solar industry has over two hundred and nine thousand employees all over the country (Department of Energy).  The amount in which the United States uses wind energy exceeds predictions from the year 2000 fourteen and a half times over (Department of Energy).  Solar has also surpassed projections from 2002 by sixty eight times over (Department of Energy).  This is a good sign considering usage is growing each year.

Renewable energy also has huge economic implications considering how cheap it has become to produce.  The cost of productions has gone down at least ten percent for the past 30 years.  As a result of this, people have invested over three hundred and ninety one billion dollars were invested into clean energy companies in 2014.  The amount of U.S. dollars invested into clean energy surpassed the amount invested in fossil fuel industries in 2013, and it is still trending that way.  (Gore TED talks)

Legislation is also a big tool that can be used in the United States to further restrict the use of fossil fuels until the carbon footprint of industries and residents in the United States.  Regulations on the emission of carbon/fossil fuels are being considered in states such all across the United States.  One viable option for the regulation would be to place a tax on the amount of carbon released by fossil fuels.  This plan is described “Fee and Dividend Policy.” (Miller TedxTalk) In a Fee and Dividend Policy places a tax on the use of carbon released from fossil fuel emissions, and companies that release fossil fuels would pay that fee.  An initial price would be placed on the amount of carbon per ton, around ten dollars.  Then the tax would steadily increase yearly.  Finally, the money from the tax would be given to every legal resident.  This money would allow Americans to reduce their own carbon footprint by “using energy efficient LED light, bulbs, to insulate your house,  to buy a fuel efficient car, and other things”  This method could also help the United States economically.  The United States would put a tariff on goods coming from other counties that do not a price on carbon.  This would not only help the economy it would also “accelerate an adoption of a global carbon fee.” (Miller TedxTalk).  A Fee and Dividend Policy is predicted to decrease fossil fuel emissions by fifty two percent.  It also has the potential to create close to three million new jobs.  In terms of economic growth, it is predicted to increase the United States’ GDP by close to one and a half trillion dollars.  Not to mention the countless benefits it will have on the environment and people in the United States.

In conclusion,  fossil fuel emissions have created a serious problem in the United States of America.  However, it is a problem that has the potential to be fixed through a number of different means.  First, Americans must fully adopt new forms of clean renewable energy to power the country.  Wind and solar energy are two of the many new sources of energy that can sustain power with the same efficiency of fossil fuels.  New forms of Legislation from Congress such as implementing a Fee and Dividend Policy is one of the viable options that Americans have looked at to solve the problem of companies that continue to use fossil fuels despite the negative impact that it has on society.  Policies like these also give Americans the initiative to live cleaner lives by putting extra money in their pockets.  They will use that money to buy products that are clean and energy efficient.  None of this can be done however, if do not make their voices heard.  The actions taken by the American people will ultimately have the greatest impact on ridding the country of fossil fuel emissions.
