While many countries around the world are making valiant efforts to reduce their usage of fossil fuels, the United States of America is still struggling with going green. The fossil fuel industries have a powerful hold over the federal government, and through their lobbying efforts, they have continually barred green legislation from coming to fruition.

The idea that we have 12 years to reverse the negative effects of climate change caused by the widespread use of fossil fuels is often shared, but many experts see that window rapidly closing. In order to combat the environmental impact of fossil fuels, education on just how serious the consequences of their continued use is paramount.

In the United States, energy comes from one of three sources: fossil fuels, nuclear energy, and renewable sources like wind and solar power. Fossil fuels account for an astonishing 81% of the energy produced in the US, with 61.8% coming from the use of coal and natural gas alone. These energy sources are not tenable long-term solutions, as they are not only finite but also do considerable damage to the environment and the health of the human population itself as they are used.

Fracking for natural gas has long been a source of contention within the U.S. The GOP sees fracking as an opportunity to begin divesting from dependence on foreign fossil fuels while more liberal-minded politicians and voters recognize the terrifying environmental impact that widespread fracking causes. Huge increases in methane emissions, the usage of millions of gallons of water and the contaminated wastewater produced, and even causing massive earthquakes in areas that have never experienced them before are just some of the negative ecological effects.

Though there is a huge amount of attention devoted to the long-term environmental effects of climate change due to the use of fossil fuels, far less thought is given to the short-term impact that it has on human health. A recent study has shown that as ground-level ozone levels increase, so too do cases of emphysema that can result in hospitalization and even death. Even if the ambient ozone increases by just 3 parts per billion, over 10 years it will do the same amount of lung damage as smoking a daily pack of cigarettes over 29 years.

The auto industry is starting to warm up to alternatives to the traditional combustion engine, but as of today, gas-powered vehicles still dominate the road. Burning a single gallon of gasoline in a motor vehicle generates 8,887 grams of CO2 emissions, and annually the average passenger vehicle produces around 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide. Additionally, gas-powered vehicles produce methane and nitrous oxide from their tailpipes and hydrofluorocarbon emissions from leaky air conditioners.

One major issue that prevents U.S. citizens from reducing the amount of CO2 they produce is a serious lack of public transit infrastructure, especially on the west coast. In many areas of the country, not having a vehicle simply isn’t an option due to the vast distances between home and work, and in many cases, the commute to work involves long periods of idling in heavy traffic. An idling gas engine burns 0.16 gallons of fuel per hour without any load in the vehicle itself and a diesel engine burns anywhere from 0.64 to 0.8 gallons of fuel per hour under the same conditions.

The burning and acquiring of fossil fuels have already caused serious damage to both the environment and to humans at large. Cases of black lung, poisoned rivers, the coal seam fire burning under Centralia, Pennsylvania since the 1960s: these are all very real, very negative things that continue to plague the U.S. because of its pursuit of fossil fuels. While the average U.S. citizen can make decisions regarding what car they drive or whether they take public transit to combat their use of fossil fuels, there is an overarching need at a national level that needs to be addressed.

While many companies are working towards digitally scanning documentation to increase their sustainability, many institutions, both public and private, rely on physical paper documents. Approximately 2% of Earth’s greenhouse gasses are caused by the production of paper and the negative effect is doubled when considering the fact that the U.S. alone uses 65 million trees per year to produce paper products. Logging, transport, processing, and production all contribute to the production of greenhouse gas due to their reliance on fossil fuels.

Homes and businesses also produce a significant amount of greenhouse gases through energy consumption. This energy, of course, comes from power plants that use fossil fuels in order to function. Much of this could be offset by working towards making renewable energy sources more widely implemented across the country.

Finally, even our diets contribute to the use of fossil fuels and to the direct destruction of the environment on a more immediate level. Brazilian beef imports, while not as common in the U.S. as they are in China or Hong Kong, take an immense amount of fossil fuel usage in their transport. Additionally, the cattle themselves produce a huge amount of greenhouse gasses and ranchers in the Brazilian Amazon clear-cut or even ignite huge swathes of rainforest in order to raise them.

Unfortunately, the fight against fossil fuels remains an uphill battle. Though there are plenty of activists spreading the word about how dangerous fossil fuels are for both humanity and the global environment, there are groups with far more money and influence arguing the opposite. The best we can hope to do right now is to continue to educate and hope that the powers that be recognize the gravity of the situation before it is too late.