Dangers

Abstract

Chapter 12 points out that handling energy can be a dangerous business, whether producing it, consuming it, or living near any energy activity. It illustrates the risks and hazards that accompany the energy we use and ranks the dangers associated with various fossil fuels, nuclear fuels, and alternative fuels such as solar and wind. It simplifies the reasoning supporting the view that society should abandon the use of radioactive fuels to generate electricity, differentiates between the hazards of oil production and those of gas production, and identifies how the dangers of using fossil and nuclear fuels have changed over time. Black lung disease, explosions, blowouts, radiation poisoning, mine fires, subsidence, toxic waste spills, and many other hazards have always been a part of the energy picture. Will alternative energy lessen these concerns?