Polluting Technologiesl Polluting. Oil, coal, natural gas or other petroleum-based resources are called fossil fuels because they are formed by the decayed remains of prehistoric plants and animals. Old natural gas technologies. A combustible mix of methane and hydrocarbons used in heating, lighting and other utility services. When coal or oil plants are converted to use natural gas, they burn cleaner but still produce harmful emissions.
Large dams can change natural river flows, degrade water quality and block fish migration.
Energy produced by causing changes in the nucleus of the atom, which can then be converted into electrical power. While no smog-related emissions are produced, nuclear plants create dangerous radioactive wastes that are difficult to dispose and last centuries. No permanent storage sites exist for this waste.