Advances in energy efficiency worldwide have been crucial to our technological, economic and social development. The creation of energy has fueled our advances in modern machinery and stimulated our economy by creating jobs and improving our quality of life. But these advances have come at a high price: our global health. Our current way of producing energy is having a deadly impact on our environment and our bodies. Today I would like to talk about non-renewable resources and their deadly impact on our environment. I will examine what fossil fuels are and their impacts, secondly, we will examine our alternatives, and thirdly we will discuss what this means for the developing nations of our world. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Globally, the most widely used form of energy currently used is the combustion of non-renewable resources. Non-renewable resources are also called “fossil fuels,” which are the byproduct of organisms that died thousands of years ago, such as dinosaurs. The most used forms of fossil fuels in the world are coal, oil and natural gas. While these resources are reliable and cost-efficient, they are costly to our planet. Coal is mined and burned to produce energy. According to the National Geographic Society1, burning coal releases poisonous gases and pollutants such as carbon dioxide into our atmosphere. Coal mining is also incredibly dangerous work. Miners are exposed to these toxic gases in large quantities and risk becoming trapped in the caves where they are mining due to erosion or explosion. Oil is not that dangerous for workers. It is cost efficient, reliable and creates jobs. While it is not that dangerous for workers, it is deadly for us and other animals. Oil drilling also releases toxins into the air as well as running the risk of oil spills. According to the Center for Biological Diversity2, 205.8 million gallons of oil and 225,000 tons of methane were spilled into the Gulf of Mexico during the 2010 Gulf oil spill. As a result, approximately 82,000 birds, 6,165 sea turtles, and 25,900 mammals marines were seriously damaged or killed. It is impossible to count the hundreds of thousands of alternative ocean life forms that have been harmed, such as fish, coral and crabs. We are having an undeniably serious impact on our environment and people through our methods of obtaining energy. But what does this mean for developing countries? According to the proceedings of a conference organized by the European Office of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and the EastWest Institute3, almost 2 million people live without energy. At this conference it was stated that there is great potential in developing countries to secure renewable energy sources that will significantly improve their quality of life. It is also claimed that giving developing countries access to clean energy will stimulate their economy and accelerate economic development. In Brazil, for example, using byproducts from sugar production to create ethanol, rather than for mining, has created nearly a million new jobs. Furthermore, by eliminating the need for fuel imports, developing countries would save money that could be put towards expanding their renewable resource programs. Non-renewable resources are incredibly cost-efficient in the long run.