How safe do you think nuclear energy is, for instance?
Energy is the cornerstone of our modern society. For most of human civilization, the energy we used was biological: from our bodies and the animals we used (for instance, for plowing in agriculture). We also burned a lot of wood for heating.
Then, some 250 years ago, people started realizing that they can burn something else: fossil fuels; specifically, coal. Coal offers a lot more energy we can use than wood. Fast forward to about 1880, and people also started burning coal for electricity. This usage of fossil fuels, both directly and to produce energy, has been instrumental to our recent evolution as a society. It’s allowed work to become more productive than ever, enabling people in industrialized nations to eventually enjoy much better living conditions than their predecessors. It’s also brought in unprecedented wealth and technology. Essentially, the energy we produce has become central to nearly every major challenge and opportunity the world faces today. It’s hard to overstate just how important energy is for our society.
But this has come at a cost.
Energy generation causes a lot of problems. The first is pollution; the second is accidents; the third is greenhouse gas emissions. Data compiled by Our World in Data shows regardless of what metric you choose, fossil fuel energy is by far the worst.
Source: ZME Science
