The ever-rising demand and depleting sources of fossil fuels is pushing the search in more conserved ecological areas. I am against this trend as the demerits in the form of overexploitation of the ecosystem and problems associated with the use of fossil fuels far outweigh the benefits.
With the already established sources of oil and gas running dry, large companies are on a constant look out in unexplored areas for fresh reserves. This often translates to large scale deforestation and disruption of naturally flourishing biodiversity. This results in pushing many endangered species of flora and fauna to the brink of extinction. Moreover, many local residents who may be dependent on these forests are forced to relocate and may lose their means of earning their daily bread. Despite being compensated through housing or money, it is rarely possible to cover their loss.
The use of fossil fuels is know to be associated with many harmful health and environmental effects. Besides the damage done while extracting these fuels as discussed above, the consumption of these fuels to generate energy further aggravates the issues. This is mainly caused by the harmful by-products generated when these fuels are used. For example, it causes problems such as ozone depletion leading to global warming, and a plethora of health issues mostly respiratory from inhaling the toxic waste product from fossil fuels.
Drying out sources of fossil fuels should push us to explore and develop untapped sources of energy like Solar, water, wind, hydrogen cells and nuclear energy. These sources are much more sustainable for the whole of ecosystem and have greater viability.
To conclude, I feel the disruption of ecological harmony and negative health implications caused by the extensive search for fossil fuels are strong reasons for use to ditch conventional sources for novel, sustainable sources.