RELEASE OF POLLUTANTS AND POISONOUS GASES
The increasing fuel consumption has harmful effects on the environment.
1. Carbon fuels like wood, coal, petroleum release unburnt carbon particles. These fine particles are dangerous pollutants causing respiratory diseases, such as asthma.
2. Incomplete combustion of these fuels gives carbon monoxide gas. It is a very poisonous gas. It is dangerous to burn coal in a closed room. The carbon monoxide gas produced can kill persons sleeping in that room.
For centuries, wood was used as a domestic and industrial fuel. But now it has been replaced by coal and other fuels like LPG. In many rural parts of our country, people still use wood as a fuel because of its easy availability and low cost. However, the burning of wood gives a lot of smoke which is very harmful for human beings. It causes respiratory problems. Also, trees provide us with useful substances which are lost when the wood is used as fuel. Moreover cutting of trees leads to deforestation which is quite harmful to the environment, as you learnt in Class VII.
Source: This topic is taken from NCERT TEXTBOOK
GLOBAL WARMING
Combustion of most fuels releases carbon dioxide in the environment. Increased concentration of carbon dioxide in the air is believed to cause global warming.
Global warming is the rise in temperature of the atmosphere of the earth. This results, among other things, in the melting of polar glaciers, which leads to a rise in the sea level, causing floods in the coastal areas. Low lying coastal areas may even be permanently submerged under water.
Source: This topic is taken from NCERT TEXTBOOK
ACID RAINS
Burning of coal and diesel releases sulphur dioxide gas. It is an extremely suffocating and corrosive gas. Moreover, petrol engines give off gaseous oxides of nitrogen. Oxides of sulphur and nitrogen dissolve in rain water and form acids. Such rain is called acid rain. It is very harmful for crops, buildings and soil. You have already learnt about it in Class VII.
The use of diesel and petrol as fuels in automobiles is being replaced by CNG (Compressed Natural Gas), because CNG produces the harmful products in very small amounts. CNG is a cleaner fuel.
Source: This topic is taken from NCERT TEXTBOOK