5 Ways Clean Energy Benefits the Environment
Popular clean energy sources like solar, wind, and geothermal offer significant environmental benefits over fossil fuels. The energy sources reduce pollution, minimize resource extraction, and protect biodiversity by transitioning to renewable energy technologies. Investing in companies at the forefront of clean energy innovation through ETFs focused on this sector provides an opportunity for people to support and benefit from the growth of sustainable energy.
Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions
The biggest environmental threat facing the planet today is climate change caused by increased levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, like carbon dioxide and methane. Burning fossil fuels for energy is a major contributor to rising greenhouse gas emissions and subsequent global warming. We can curb emissions and reduce our carbon footprint by shifting to clean, renewable energy sources. In the US alone, the shift to renewable energy sources reduced power sector emissions by more than 30 percent between 2005 and 2017, largely from transitioning from coal to natural gas and clean energy.
Many companies in the clean energy sector, like solar and wind developers, utilities focused on renewable power, and manufacturers of sustainable energy technology, are working to accelerate the transition to clean power and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. By investing in ETFs focused on these companies through portfolios like the Clean Energy Invesco ETF, individuals can support the growth of renewable energy and sustainability.
Air Quality Improvement
In addition to curbing greenhouse gas emissions, clean energy technologies dramatically improve air quality. Fossil fuel combustion releases pollutants like sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter, which can cause respiratory diseases, smog, acid rain, and premature deaths when emitted into the atmosphere. Transitioning to solar and wind energy avoids virtually all these air pollutants. Studies show that replacing coal plants with clean energy reduces sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions by more than 90 percent and particulate matter by more than 95 percent. Improved air quality provides substantial public health benefits, especially in heavily populated areas. Air quality improvements from transitioning to clean energy have significant health benefits. By investing in the growth of wind and solar companies through a clean energy ETF, people can support pollution reduction efforts that translate to cleaner air, improved health outcomes, and avoided healthcare costs for communities worldwide. Making the switch to sustainable energy provides environmental and economic benefits.
Conservation of Natural Resources
Clean energy technologies allow us to conserve natural resources and reduce the extraction of raw materials for fuel. Renewable energy sources like solar and wind are abundant and inexhaustible, unlike fossil fuels which are finite and unsustainable. Generating electricity from clean energy instead of coal and natural gas avoids the depletion of resources and the negative impacts of resource extraction, like mining for coal, drilling for oil and natural gas, and fracking. By transitioning away from fossil fuels to sustainable energy sources, we can ensure the availability of resources for future generations. Resource extraction for fossil fuel energy often damages the environment by releasing waste, pollution, and hazardous byproducts. Coal mining practices like mountaintop removal result in deforestation lost habitat for wildlife, and contamination of rivers and streams. Hydraulic fracturing or fracking for natural gas pollutes groundwater, triggers earthquakes, and produces toxic wastewater. Oil drilling also contributes to spills that devastate ecosystems and biodiversity in freshwater and marine environments.
In contrast, the environmental impacts of mining raw materials for renewable energy technologies like solar panels and wind turbines are relatively minimal. And these clean energy sources generate power without ongoing extraction or pollution of natural resources once installed. Transitioning from an extractive economy for energy to one based on sustainable, renewable resources allows for a healthy environment, preserving natural ecosystems and a reduced waste stream.
Water Conservation
Renewable energy sources require little to no water to generate electricity, unlike fossil fuels which can consume vast amounts of this precious resource. According to the UN, water is scarcer than oil, and shortages affect more than 40 percent of the global population. Using substantial volumes of energy for energy is unsustainable, and a coal plant can withdraw as much as 2 billion liters per hour for cooling purposes. In contrast, solar photovoltaic and wind power require no water. The water footprint of fossil fuels dwarfs that of clean energy technologies like solar and wind. The shift to sustainable energy is critical for equitable access to water and avoiding conflicts over shared water resources. This essential resource can be conserved and made available for agricultural, industrial, and household use by transitioning to clean energy and reducing water withdrawals.
Biodiversity Preservation
Renewable energy helps protect biodiversity by reducing pollution, the destruction of habitats, and minimizing environmental degradation associated with fossil fuel extraction and waste streams. Wildlife species struggle with biodiversity loss from mountaintop removal, coal mining, oil spills, leaching of fracking wastewater into groundwater, and other impacts. Unlike fossil fuels, solar and wind power generation avoids this damage to ecosystems, habitats, and wildlife. Wind turbines and solar panels can achieve high energy yields on barren, non-productive lands unfit for wildlife or agriculture. And they do not require ongoing raw material throughput that pollutes the environment once installed. Clean energy supports flourishing biodiversity rather than threatening it. Investments in companies focused on sustainable energy production and technologies aim to accelerate the transition to renewables. This transition supports habitat conservation, protects vulnerable species, and fosters biodiversity by reducing humanity’s environmental footprint. Choosing clean energy is crucial to the planet’s climate resiliency and capacity to support all life.
Conclusion
The environmental benefits of transitioning from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy are substantial. From curbing emissions that are released into the air to minimizing pollution, and preserving natural resources to protecting biodiversity, sustainable energy sources like solar and wind offer significant advantages over coal, oil, and natural gas. By investing in companies leading the way in renewable energy innovation and adoption through ETFs focused on clean technology and the environment, people can help drive the changes needed for a greener, healthier planet. The switch to clean energy benefits both current and future generations.
