Why Should We Stand for Geothermal Energy ? Example of the Negative Impacts of Oil and Gas Exploration Activities Over the Marine Environment

Geothermal energy is a clean, environmentally friendly, renewable resource that provides energy around the world. Heat flowing constantly from the interior of the Earth ensure to be an inexhaustible supply of energy. However, existing traditional sources of energy, such as oil and gas are still popular nowadays. Current paper gives an example of environmentally danger of these sources of energy. The given example of oil and gas operations within the shelf and the coast of the Barents Sea and Pechora Sea causes contamination of waters by phenol and its accumulation in the bottom sediments and life tissues of the marine habitants. At the same time, ecosystems of the south-eastern part of the Barents Sea and Pechora Sea are characterized by their high biodiversity and high level of primary production. The last one is the fundamental biological characteristics for the marine ecosystems meaning the formation of the organic substance in the water by the chlorophyll-contains organisms: phytoplankton. The primary production plays an exceptional role in the functionality of the marine ecosystem's components. Therefore, presentation gives some brief ideas on the importance of the 'green', eco-friendly sources of energy and a need for the constant development in the environmental protection of our planet. The presentation was given at the International Conference 'Geoenergy' in Grozny (Chechnya), Russia, 19 June 2015.