Environment

The human economy resides within the environment, and as part of the human economy, the electricity system interacts with the environment in many ways. Environmental externalities are the indirect costs that electricity generation, delivery, and consumption place on the environment, but are not included in the consumer price of electricity. The electricity infrastructure takes up land, withdraws and consumes water, and emits air pollution. One environmental cost from electricity generation is damage from global warming caused by carbon dioxide emissions from coal, natural gas, and oil-fired power plants.