Odds are, you’ve paid your fair share of electricity bills and purchased gasoline more times than you care to remember. These expenses are the direct costs of non-renewable energy because they have a direct impact on your wallet. Money paid out of your pocket for energy from coal, natural gas, and oil represent the cost of producing and distributing these resources, but there’s more to the story. Much more.

The direct costs of non-renewable energy can be hard on your wallet, but the truth is, they don't even reflect a fraction of the actual cost. This is because the hidden costs of non-renewable energy aren’t represented in their market price, despite their devastating impacts. 

These hidden costs are called externalities and they represent the less obvious cost of non-renewable energy. Pollution and land degradation are examples of externalities that you may see on a daily basis, although you may not be aware of what it’s actually costing you and our society as a whole.

Other externalities, like rising sea levels and higher cancer rates, are more removed from our daily lives and may only affect minority or marginalized populations - making them easier to ignore and more difficult to reverse.

These costs stack up along every point of the manufacturing and distribution process. Extracting oil generates air and water pollution, harming local communities. Transporting fuels causes further air pollution and can even lead to accidents and spills. Once the fuels are burned, they emit greenhouse gasses that exacerbate global warming. Even the waste products pose a hazard to public health and safety.

Our society can no longer afford to turn a blind eye toward these hidden costs any longer. The future of energy production, and ultimately the future of our planet and wellbeing, depends on first understanding these impacts so we can make informed decisions about how and when to move away from non-renewables and shift toward clean, sustainable energy.

With that in mind, let's take a moment to explore some of these externalities in more depth.

Extracting, processing, transporting, and burning fossil fuels has a serious impact on our environment. To make matters worse, these devastating consequences often affect underrepresented parties the most, leading to little to no change. Consider the families living in areas of high pollution that simply can’t afford to move and have no other choice but to stay, or the inhabitants of low-lying islands, like the Bahamas and Maldives, who are directly threatened by rising sea levels.

Regardless of whether you live in a high pollution zone or on an island, you’ve probably felt the negative environmental effects of non-renewable energy in some form or fashion in recent years. 

The extraction of coal, oil, and natural gas requires highly invasive techniques that wreak havoc on ecosystems and wildlife. The surface mining of coal involves removing the top layer of soil, and can even involve blasting away mountaintops to expose coal reservoirs hundreds of feet below the surface. Oil drilling also disturbs huge swaths of land for drilling operations, access roads, and processing plants.

These practices are detrimental to the biodiversity and health of our planet and can have catastrophic consequences on local ecosystems.

The surface mining of coal can deposit excess rock and soil in nearby valleys and rivers, altering the natural flow of streams and harming local ecosystems downriver. Coal mines can pollute local drinking water with harmful chemicals like manganese, lead, iron, arsenic, and selenium. Additionally, oil spills from offshore drilling operations have long-lasting effects on marine ecosystems and are extremely difficult and expensive to clean up.

In the United States, thermoelectric power plants consume 2.8 - 5.9 billion gallons of water every day, with 84% of that water originating from lakes and streams.¹ This places a heavy burden on the water supply, leaving industries like agriculture hanging in the balance.

Natural gas contributes to global warming not only when it’s burned as fuel for power plants, but also when it's burned as a source of heat in our homes. Burning other fossil fuels also emits carbon dioxide and other harmful air pollutants, intensifying global warming and air pollution.

Methane, the main component of natural gas, is even more potent than carbon dioxide and is not only released into the atmosphere when natural gas is burned, but is also a byproduct of oil drilling.

Other harmful pollutants include sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. Sulfur dioxide contributes to acid rain and is responsible for aggravating respiratory ailments like asthma.² Nitrogen oxide also plays a role in acid rain and smog, which can increase people’s susceptibility to chronic respiratory diseases like asthma and bronchitis.³

Acid rain not only harms fish and other aquatic life by increasing the acidity of lakes and streams, but it further damages the ecosystem by weakening trees - making them more susceptible to pests and disease.⁴ 

Soot in the air caused by the burning of fossil fuels can cause chronic respiratory diseases and has been associated with elevated occurrences of premature death.⁵

Heart and lung disease, stroke, and cancer are four of the leading causes of death in the United States and are associated with the burning of fossil fuels.⁶ Not only does this cause needless suffering, but it leads to more hospital visits and death - straining an already overburdened healthcare system.

This isn't only a problem for the United States. Every country and every individual is faced with the health risks associated with the continued burning of fossil fuels for energy.

Non-renewable energy not only contributes to environmental destruction and public health concerns, but it also affects the economy. With the burning of fossil fuels contributing to public health concerns, insurance premiums are at an all-time high. To make matters worse, high energy costs affect the prices of goods and services, so you're paying more for the things you need while the health of our planet and society deteriorates.

The direct and indirect costs of energy handicap our economy. But lower energy costs are possible if we transition to renewable energy. This could reduce expenses for industries and consumers alike, leading to cheaper goods and services and ultimately economic growth. Not to mention, renewable energy is vital to reversing global warming and elevating the health of our planet and society.

In more ways than one, we've been paying a premium for non-renewable energy. Yes, the majority of the consequences of non-renewable energy are far removed from the fuels and electricity we use on a daily basis, but that doesn’t make them any less real.

Burning coal, natural gas, and oil have serious impacts on public health, communities, and ecosystems around the globe. While we don’t pay for the cost of cancer, or the loss of fragile ecosystems when we pay our electricity bill - the true cost remains.

Renewable energy sources carry far fewer negative impacts on our health and the vitality of our planet. The possibility that our world could phase out non-renewable energy completely is not only possible - it’s inevitable.

It’s time for us to transition to clean, sustainable energy on a global scale. Renewable energy has the power to boost the economy, create jobs, drastically reduce pollution and global warming, and improve human welfare.

What other choice do we have?

Jerome.eth // Founder of Elan Future

¹ Union of Concerned Scientists (UCSUSA). 2011. Freshwater Use by U.S. Power Plants. Cambridge, MA. https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2014/08/ew3-freshwater-use-by-us-power-plants-exec-sum.pdf

² Epstein, P.R.,J. J. Buonocore, K. Eckerle, M. Hendryx, B. M. Stout III, R. Heinberg, R. W. Clapp, B. May, N. L. Reinhart, M. M. Ahern, S. K. Doshi, and L. Glustrom. 2011. Full cost accounting for the life cycle of coal in “Ecological Economics Reviews.” Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1219: 73–98.

³ Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 2016. Nitrogen oxides (NOx) control regulations. Washington, DC. Online at: http://www.epa.gov/region1/airquality/nox.html

⁴ Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 2016. Acid rain. Washington, DC. Online at: http://www.epa.gov/acidrain/

⁵ Schneider, C., and J. Banks. 2010. The toll of coal: An updated assessment of death and disease from America's dirtiest energy source. Boston, MA: Clean Air Task Force. Online at at: http://www.catf.us/resources/publications/files/The_Toll_from_Coal.pdf

⁶ American Lung Association. 2011. State of the Air. Washington, DC. Online at: http://web.archive.org/web/20150421090923/http://www.lung.org:80/assets/documents/publications/state-of-the-air/state-of-the-air-2011-report.pdf

Odds are, you’ve paid your fair share of electricity bills and purchased gasoline more times than you care to remember. These expenses are the direct costs of non-renewable energy because they have a direct impact on your wallet. Money paid out of your pocket for energy from coal, natural gas, and oil represent the cost of producing and distributing these resources, but there’s more to the story. Much more.

The direct costs of non-renewable energy can be hard on your wallet, but the truth is, they don't even reflect a fraction of the actual cost. This is because the hidden costs of non-renewable energy aren’t represented in their market price, despite their devastating impacts. 

These hidden costs are called externalities and they represent the less obvious cost of non-renewable energy. Pollution and land degradation are examples of externalities that you may see on a daily basis, although you may not be aware of what it’s actually costing you and our society as a whole.

Other externalities, like rising sea levels and higher cancer rates, are more removed from our daily lives and may only affect minority or marginalized populations - making them easier to ignore and more difficult to reverse.

These costs stack up along every point of the manufacturing and distribution process. Extracting oil generates air and water pollution, harming local communities. Transporting fuels causes further air pollution and can even lead to accidents and spills. Once the fuels are burned, they emit greenhouse gasses that exacerbate global warming. Even the waste products pose a hazard to public health and safety.

Our society can no longer afford to turn a blind eye toward these hidden costs any longer. The future of energy production, and ultimately the future of our planet and wellbeing, depends on first understanding these impacts so we can make informed decisions about how and when to move away from non-renewables and shift toward clean, sustainable energy.

With that in mind, let's take a moment to explore some of these externalities in more depth.

Extracting, processing, transporting, and burning fossil fuels has a serious impact on our environment. To make matters worse, these devastating consequences often affect underrepresented parties the most, leading to little to no change. Consider the families living in areas of high pollution that simply can’t afford to move and have no other choice but to stay, or the inhabitants of low-lying islands, like the Bahamas and Maldives, who are directly threatened by rising sea levels.

Regardless of whether you live in a high pollution zone or on an island, you’ve probably felt the negative environmental effects of non-renewable energy in some form or fashion in recent years. 

The extraction of coal, oil, and natural gas requires highly invasive techniques that wreak havoc on ecosystems and wildlife. The surface mining of coal involves removing the top layer of soil, and can even involve blasting away mountaintops to expose coal reservoirs hundreds of feet below the surface. Oil drilling also disturbs huge swaths of land for drilling operations, access roads, and processing plants.

These practices are detrimental to the biodiversity and health of our planet and can have catastrophic consequences on local ecosystems.

The surface mining of coal can deposit excess rock and soil in nearby valleys and rivers, altering the natural flow of streams and harming local ecosystems downriver. Coal mines can pollute local drinking water with harmful chemicals like manganese, lead, iron, arsenic, and selenium. Additionally, oil spills from offshore drilling operations have long-lasting effects on marine ecosystems and are extremely difficult and expensive to clean up.

In the United States, thermoelectric power plants consume 2.8 - 5.9 billion gallons of water every day, with 84% of that water originating from lakes and streams.¹ This places a heavy burden on the water supply, leaving industries like agriculture hanging in the balance.

Natural gas contributes to global warming not only when it’s burned as fuel for power plants, but also when it's burned as a source of heat in our homes. Burning other fossil fuels also emits carbon dioxide and other harmful air pollutants, intensifying global warming and air pollution.

Methane, the main component of natural gas, is even more potent than carbon dioxide and is not only released into the atmosphere when natural gas is burned, but is also a byproduct of oil drilling.

Other harmful pollutants include sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. Sulfur dioxide contributes to acid rain and is responsible for aggravating respiratory ailments like asthma.² Nitrogen oxide also plays a role in acid rain and smog, which can increase people’s susceptibility to chronic respiratory diseases like asthma and bronchitis.³

Acid rain not only harms fish and other aquatic life by increasing the acidity of lakes and streams, but it further damages the ecosystem by weakening trees - making them more susceptible to pests and disease.⁴ 

Soot in the air caused by the burning of fossil fuels can cause chronic respiratory diseases and has been associated with elevated occurrences of premature death.⁵

Heart and lung disease, stroke, and cancer are four of the leading causes of death in the United States and are associated with the burning of fossil fuels.⁶ Not only does this cause needless suffering, but it leads to more hospital visits and death - straining an already overburdened healthcare system.

This isn't only a problem for the United States. Every country and every individual is faced with the health risks associated with the continued burning of fossil fuels for energy.

Non-renewable energy not only contributes to environmental destruction and public health concerns, but it also affects the economy. With the burning of fossil fuels contributing to public health concerns, insurance premiums are at an all-time high. To make matters worse, high energy costs affect the prices of goods and services, so you're paying more for the things you need while the health of our planet and society deteriorates.

The direct and indirect costs of energy handicap our economy. But lower energy costs are possible if we transition to renewable energy. This could reduce expenses for industries and consumers alike, leading to cheaper goods and services and ultimately economic growth. Not to mention, renewable energy is vital to reversing global warming and elevating the health of our planet and society.

In more ways than one, we've been paying a premium for non-renewable energy. Yes, the majority of the consequences of non-renewable energy are far removed from the fuels and electricity we use on a daily basis, but that doesn’t make them any less real.

Burning coal, natural gas, and oil have serious impacts on public health, communities, and ecosystems around the globe. While we don’t pay for the cost of cancer, or the loss of fragile ecosystems when we pay our electricity bill - the true cost remains.

Renewable energy sources carry far fewer negative impacts on our health and the vitality of our planet. The possibility that our world could phase out non-renewable energy completely is not only possible - it’s inevitable.

It’s time for us to transition to clean, sustainable energy on a global scale. Renewable energy has the power to boost the economy, create jobs, drastically reduce pollution and global warming, and improve human welfare.

What other choice do we have?

Jerome.eth // Founder of Elan Future

¹ Union of Concerned Scientists (UCSUSA). 2011. Freshwater Use by U.S. Power Plants. Cambridge, MA. https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2014/08/ew3-freshwater-use-by-us-power-plants-exec-sum.pdf

² Epstein, P.R.,J. J. Buonocore, K. Eckerle, M. Hendryx, B. M. Stout III, R. Heinberg, R. W. Clapp, B. May, N. L. Reinhart, M. M. Ahern, S. K. Doshi, and L. Glustrom. 2011. Full cost accounting for the life cycle of coal in “Ecological Economics Reviews.” Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1219: 73–98.

³ Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 2016. Nitrogen oxides (NOx) control regulations. Washington, DC. Online at: http://www.epa.gov/region1/airquality/nox.html

⁴ Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 2016. Acid rain. Washington, DC. Online at: http://www.epa.gov/acidrain/

⁵ Schneider, C., and J. Banks. 2010. The toll of coal: An updated assessment of death and disease from America's dirtiest energy source. Boston, MA: Clean Air Task Force. Online at at: http://www.catf.us/resources/publications/files/The_Toll_from_Coal.pdf

⁶ American Lung Association. 2011. State of the Air. Washington, DC. Online at: http://web.archive.org/web/20150421090923/http://www.lung.org:80/assets/documents/publications/state-of-the-air/state-of-the-air-2011-report.pdf