Your Environment

Electricity generation is the leading cause of industrial air pollution in the U.S. Most of our electricity comes from coal, nuclear, and other fossil fuels power plants. Producing energy from these resources takes a severe toll on our environment, polluting our air, land and water.

Renewable energy sources (solar electric, wind, geothermal, biomass and small and low-impact hydro) can be used to produce electricity with fewer environmental impacts.   It is possible to make electricity from renewable energy sources without producing greenhouse gas emissions, the leading cause of global climate change.

Electricity generation is responsible for:

• 38% of the nation's carbon dioxide¹ (CO2), a greenhouse gas and major contributor to climate change. Carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere when fossil fuels are burned. Climate change is a serious environmental threat that may contribute to coastal flooding, more frequent and extreme heat waves, more intense droughts, an increase in the number of severe storms, and the increased spread of infectious diseases.
  
  
• 66% of the nation's sulfur dioxide (SO2) when combined with rain water, creates acid rain. Acid rain damages the foliage of forests, crops, and other plants, and eventually can kill the plants. It also acidifies rivers and lakes causing them to be biologically "dead." Acidification also alters the chemistry of soil, releasing harmful metals into rainwater runoff and groundwater. Sulfur dioxide also accelerates the decay of stone and paint, damaging many buildings and
  monuments.
  
  
• 40% of the nation's mercury² contributes to contamination of soil and waterways. Mercury can circulate in the air for up to one year and can be transported thousands of miles from its source. Mercury accumulates in the fatty tissue of fish and is constantly being recycled in the environment as it moves up the food chain. Mercury causes permanent damage to the liver and central nervous system and can cause birth defects.
  
  
• 25% of nitrogen oxides (NOx), which react with sunlight to create ground level ozone and smog. Nitrogen oxide deposition causes algae blooms in lakes and streams. This depletes the water of oxygen, killing fish and other living organisms. Nitrogen dioxide has also been shown to cause pulmonary disease in animals.
  
  
• Particulate matter is the major cause of reduced visibility (haze) in the U.S. Coal-fired power plants are the single largest source of emissions of particulate pollution - soot particles made of ash (heavy metals, radioactive isotopes, hydrocarbons, sulfates, and nitrates) that can transport and deposit trace metals such as mercury hundreds of miles from their source. Soot stains and damages stone and other materials, damaging many of our buildings and monuments. After traveling long distances, particles settle on ground or water, causing these effects:
  
  
  • making lakes and streams acidic
  • changing the nutrient balance in coastal waters and large river basins
  • depleting the nutrients in soil
  • damaging sensitive forests and farm crops
  • affecting the diversity of ecosystems
    

Nuclear energy:

• Creates radioactive waste and can cause radiation poisoning.
• Nuclear reactors generate long-lasting, highly radioactive wastes that need to be isolated and stored.
• Potential for a disastrous nuclear accident like Chernobyl.

More Information about Electricity and your Environment

• Environmental Protection Agency: Air Pollution
• Environmental Protection Agency: Climate Change
• Environmental Protection Agency: Power Profiler
• Environmental Defense
• Natural Resource Defense Council: Air Pollution
• Natural Resource Defense Council: Global Warming
• Power Scorecard
• National Renewable Energy Laboratory
• World Resources Institute: Climate change, energy and transportation
• Energy Information Administration
• Union of Concerned Scientists: Clean Energy

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¹ US EPA: Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2004, Section 3, Page 12.
² From Coal-burning power plants alone, http://www.epa.gov/mercury/about.htm
*All emissions data, unless otherwise noted, is from the U.S. EPA website,