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Energy is a major driver in shaping the quality of the
environment. On the one hand, energy creates
environmental problems in its extraction, transportation,
combustion, storage, and final consumption.
Environmental problems are caused by activities as diverse
as strip mining, oil spills, and nuclear-waste
disposal. Environmentally more benign modes of coal,
oil, and gas extraction and exploration are under
development. The most environmentally troublesome aspect
of the operation of the present energy system
is its use of fossil fuels, which are today available at
attractive market prices. Fossil-fuel use is at the core
of many environmental problems, including urban
air pollution, acid rain, ecological impacts of resource
extraction, and global warming. The important directions
for long-term energy R&D will be those which
will "defossilize" the energy system.
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