The Importance of the Energy-Environment Relationship for Sustainable Living The advancements in technology today, the emergence and proliferation of the fast production-fast consumption mentality, and the abundance and diversity of transportation networks have as much impact on the increasing needs and demands of the global population as they do on the amount of energy we require to meet these needs and demands.
Our dependence on energy makes it increasingly impossible for us to live without it each passing day, while the use of energy becomes an inevitable necessity for the continuity of life, focusing on the center of our existence.However, on the other hand, another critically important factor is the environment. The environmental factor, which holds a primary place among our essentials, informs us about how our future lives will be and allows us to shape our present. The significant increase in energy production and consumption also increases the polluting effect on the environment, and it has become a serious and vital issue that everyone knows we will face with increasingly irreparable consequences over time. The greatest impact of energy production and consumption on the physical structure of the world is known as Global Warming, referred to as the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is the spread of gases that thin the ozone layer over the poles, leading to the warming of the atmosphere.When coal, oil, and natural gas are burned, they release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and methane leaking from coal mines, oil wells, and natural gas pipelines adds to this. The contribution of fossil fuels to the greenhouse effect reaches 48%, with 8% coming from coal and 6% from the use of liquid fuels for energy production.Indeed, the conflicting nature of the energy-environment factor, which is an indispensable vital factor for both our present and future, raises the question of how to maintain the balance between increasing energy use and rising environmental pollution for a sustainable society.Therefore, we can say that our primary criterion should be to address and evaluate our energy resources alongside environmental management. Examples of steps to be taken next can include the following: Preventing the use of depletable energy sources (coal, oil, natural gas) as if they will never run out.Energy consumption must be prioritized, and various energy-saving methods should be more integrated into our lives. If energy use is a necessary requirement, energy sources with fewer negative impacts on the environment should be given importance and priority. Advanced technologies should be utilized in energy production and consumption, and emphasis should be placed on reuse and recycling. Areas of use should be created and promoted to enable greater utilization of renewable energy sources (solar, geothermal, wind, biogas) beyond conventional energy sources.For societies to sustain their existence and achieve the desired levels of prosperity, it is important and decisive to address and evaluate economic, social, and environmental factors together today. Changes in the type and supply of energy sources in the future will also bring about changes in the necessary conditions for a sustainable society.
