Modern day society requires energy to carry out all kinds of activities, such as transportation, lighting and heating. The machinery used in industries that produce the goods we enjoy could not operate without an energy source to move them.
1.-Society’s dependence on electricity
In order to start up all of our systems, we must have a primary energy source, which we can turn into usable energy. At the end of the energy chain, society consumes electricity. Electrical energy is the form of energy we use most, both industrially, where electric motors are favoured for moving mechanisms and machinery, and domestically, for equipment connection, communication, lighting and heating. In the transportation industry, society soon will take the leap from combustion motors to electric motors.
2.- The environmental impact of electrical energy
All the species that populate the planet produce effects on the natural environment. This not only includes animals but all other living beings as well. Nevertheless, humans are the species causing a greater number of changes at a faster rate and we are the only ones aware of these changes. Our hope of obtaining all kinds of amenities and ensuring more comfortable living conditions has led us to neglect the relationship we must maintain with the planet.The effects that human actions have on nature are known as environmental impact.
The generation, transportation and distribution of electrical energy, like all other human activities, impact the environment. This impact may be direct or indirect.
When considering the environmental impact caused by electrical energy generation, we must consider all the resources needed to build power stations, in addition to the impact caused by extracting, transporting and burning the fossil fuels used.
Transportation and distribution of electricity is carried out through high voltage towers, on which the cables through which the current circulates are mounted. These lines cross the country, from the production centres to the consumption centres. In addition to the impact these electrical installations have on the landscape, they also have an impact on health because the powerful magnetic fields produced by the high voltage electric current is associated with cardiac and circulatory problems, causing migraines, stress, depression and cancer (especially leukaemia).
Moreover, hydraulic power stations introduce a new element: the dam. Dams are used to accumulate water in areas where a river flowed and before there was no flooded land. In some cases, land and houses have been expropriated from the owners in order to build hydraulic installations. In certain cases, some towns have been moved and reconstructed, since the old towns have been submerged under water.
