Abstract
Fossil fuels are essential to the global economy—for electricity production, transportation, plastics and chemicals manufacturing, heating, and many other purposes. However, the extraction and processing of fossil fuels, in addition to their use, have profound impacts on the environment and natural resources, including water. Large oil spills— such as the recent Deepwater Horizon drilling rig spill, which leaked over 4.9 million barrels (780,000 cubic meters) of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico—have focused attention on the potential for disasters associated with oil drilling to cause contamination of the natural environment (Lubchenco et al. 2010). The growing recognition of the serious risks to surface-water and groundwater quality from natural gas fracking operations also raises new questions. And even normal fossil-fuel extraction and refining processes pollute the environment.
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Notes
- 1.
Based on estimated water use for underground mining plus beneficiation from Gleick 1994 (7 m3 to 24 m3 of water per 1012 joules) and EIA coal production data. Energy contained in 1 metric ton of coal is assumed to be 27 *109 joules.
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Allen, L., Cohen, M.J., Abelson, D., Miller, B. (2012). Fossil Fuels and Water Quality. In: Gleick, P.H. (eds) The World’s Water. The World’s Water. Island Press, Washington, DC. https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-59726-228-6_4
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