fuel based generators produce smoke that pollutes atmosphere and dirt several chunks around it(different level for different fuels). grass does not grow, trees die out and acid rain falls in the area. The more smog there is the stronger and more wide spread the effect is.
machines like extractor or macerators produce small amounts of waste that also slowly accumulates in the environment, making it incapable of sustaining plant and wild life.
nuclear reactors produce nuclear waste( ) that should be securely stored underground - it kills plants all around the reactor area or the storage area (and spawns mutant slimes or smth ). reactor components can also become "used up" in the process and must be disposed of just like the nuclear waste.
battling the newly made pollution is another "fun" consequence that adds more to the game (although i hate cleaning )
sounds like something that would completely destroy someone landscape and make life a hell of alot more agrivating. personally i like building in jungles and swamps and would like to keep my plant life alive, water clean, and what not and keep it asthetically pleasing while i enjoy in the activities of my daily maceration session. sorry but your idea seems like it'd be nothing but a pain and would be alot of time wasted by the developers in order to code in all the new information when they could be doing many other things like months of debugging and adding new interesting ideas like a Healing Bed, Charging Plate, Coffee, Programmable Robots, ect.