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The Disadvantages of Nonrenewable Sources of Energy

Since the invention of cars and the industrial revolution, man has relied on energy sources such as oil, coal and other fossil fuels to power homes, towns, cities and countries. According to Alternative Energy Secret, the world's consumption of nonrenewable energy sources has approximately doubled every 20 years. Although fossil fuels are the cheapest alternative to energy, many disadvantages of harvesting nonrenewable energy sources exist.

Finite Resources
- The name "nonrenewable" means that once harvest, the resources cannot be replenished or replaced as long as the rapid consumption of the nonrenewable energy source occurs. This finite source of energy will eventually run out, and human dependence will have to shift towards another energy source. Oil and coal take millions of years to form and oil and mine companies are constantly processing and excavating oil and coal for us to light our homes and run our cars.
Pollution
- Nonrenewable energy sources such as fossil fuels transforms chemicals in the minerals to energy when burned which produces a carbon dioxide byproduct. Power plants are used in the conversion process and release megatons of carbon dioxide and sulfur oxide into the atmosphere every day. This results in the "greenhouse effect," a main contributor to global warming across the globe. Coal also gives off sulfur dioxide along with carbon dioxide emissions when burned. Sulfur dioxide, when mixed with condensation in the atmosphere, creates a weather condition known as acid rain.
Environmental Issues
- The mining of coal and drilling of oil causes imbalances in our ecosystem and causes wide-spread destruction to the land and surrounding habitats. Disasters can often times occur in forms of oil spills, collapsing coal mines and oil explosions. Oil spills caused by drilling in the oceans can cause major damage to marine life, the food chain and the natural balance of the underwater ecosystem that may take decades to recover.
Human Dependency
- Humans rely heavy on nonrenewable resources for transportation, supplying food to nearby grocery stores and power our homes and city infrastructures. Once the finite resource runs dry, humans will need to turn all their dependency to alternative renewable energy sources such as solar and wind energy. Human dependency on fossil fuels and other nonrenewable energy sources have stunted our development and expansion of "green" energy sources because it is not seen as an immediate emergency until we have used up all of our resources on Earth.

Nature