Therefore, while large hydro power is clean, it is not green. Coal is developed from decaying plants and becomes a black or brown rock. Strip mining or underground mines are built to extract coal. These mines cause severe erosion, leaching of toxic chemicals into nearby water sources, and loss of habitat. These emissions contribute to global warming, acid rain and various health ailments.
Nuclear power comes from splitting uranium or plutonium atoms.
Nuclear power poses grave risks to both human health and the environment, even though there are no emissions. A nuclear power plant accident would spew radioactive materials into the atmosphere, causing catastrophic damage. Remember the Chernobyl disaster. While a nuclear accident is remote, safely storing nuclear waste is a real problem. Nuclear fission creates materials that will remain dangerously radioactive for thousands of years.