One thing I feel I don't understand in these discussions, is all use of oil equally bad for the environment? The assumption to me sounds like all use is bad, bu

One thing I feel I don't understand in these discussions, is all use of oil equally bad for the environment? The assumption to me sounds like all use is bad, but I never really hear about how and why. Surely oil used in a newer car must be a lot better for the environment than an old car due to advancements in exhaust filters? Or a modern fossil fuel power plant with good filters. To me, a single source of emission with high quality filtering (modern fossil fuel power plant?) seems better than many smaller sources spread around the world with varying filter qualities (cars)