Although climatologists and other researchers are not in full agreement, some suspect that elevated CO2 levels in the atmosphere are likely to cause gradual global warming. The environmental impact of fossil fuel use goes beyond the actual burning of the fuels. The Valdez oil spill damaged a large area of Alaska's coastline and received a great deal of media attention. Nuclear power accounts for 13 percent of Virginia's total energy use and over 50 percent of its electricity. While nuclear energy is for the most part free from air pollution, the mining and disposal of uranium takes a heavy environmental toll in the western United States.
Nuclear waste remains dangerous for at least several hundred thousand years.
Even some renewable energy sources have environmental problems. Wood energy in Virginia accounts for close to 90 trillion Btu annually, nearly seven percent of total energy production. Hydropower is clean in that it results in no pollution, but damming rivers can have significant environmental impact. The point of all this is that our energy use has substantial environmental costs associated with it, and using less energy is one of the best and most accessible ways to help the environment. Assumes electricity generated using coal.