Four scary facts about fossil fuels
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When we started out, we were the first energy company in the world to offer its customers green energy. It was such an alien concept that when our founder, Dale Vince OBE, took the idea to the local monopoly energy company at the time, they laughed at the idea of green energy and offered a pretty bad price.
Almost 30 years later, other suppliers have caught up, but fossil fuels still hold a lot of power over Britain’s energy system.
As the spooky season draws in, we wanted to highlight four scary facts about fossil fuels and what we’re doing to fight climate change as Britain’s greenest energy company.
1. In 2023, fossil fuels were responsible for 36.8 billion metric tonnes of CO2 emissions
When compared to 2022’s figures, NASA reported that the amount of CO2 emitted by fossil fuels had risen by 1.1%.
2. Air pollution from fossil fuels kills 5 million people each year
A recent study published in the BMJ found that 8.3 million deaths are caused by air pollution each year, with 61% of those caused directly by fossil fuels.
3. Fracking sites use up to 30,000 m2 of water each – that’s enough to fill 12 Olympic swimming pools
Not only does fracking disrupt the environment and habitats around the site, but it also uses a huge amount of water. In order to extract the gas, a water mixture is injected into the rock to create fractures which let the gas flow through.
4. The ocean absorbs over 25% of CO2 emissions from fossil fuels
As more and more CO2 is absorbed, the ocean's pH level drops, changing the chemical makeup of seawater and making it more acidic. This causes a range of issues for ocean life, including dissolving pteropod (also known as sea butterfly) shells in as little as 45 days.
The good news? There is another way.
We don’t need to use fossil fuels. For almost 30 years, we’ve been at the forefront of the Global Green Energy Movement – and we’re not done yet.
We use the money from our customers’ energy bills to build new sources of green energy ourselves, rather than just using up what’s already out there.
Are you ready to switch to make a difference with your energy bill?
Ready to start turning your bills into mills?
Switch to Ecotricity and we’ll use your bill money to build new sources of renewable energy and build a greener Britain.
Check out our previous Six scary facts about climate change blog for more chilling facts.
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