Environmental impact of electricity generation

Using electricity to power our homes and businesses makes our lives much easier, but burning fossil fuels to make electricity also impacts our environment. When power plants make electricity, they burn fossil fuels, like coal and natural gas, to heat water which creates steam. This steam then turns special turbines that make electricity. Burning these fuels creates air pollution like nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and carbon dioxide. These pollutants can make our air unhealthy, and too much of it can cause bigger problems like global warming. That’s why it’s important to use renewable energy, like solar and wind, that don’t create any pollution, and to use pollution-control technologies to make sure that the pollution from burning fossil fuels is kept to a minimum.