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Energy in the Modern World

Energy in the Modern World. By: Jace Dendor. Background. Energy is required for almost everything we do today. From communication to leisure to healthcare, energy is required in some form or another.

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Energy in the Modern World

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  1. Energy in the Modern World By: Jace Dendor

  2. Background • Energy is required for almost everything we do today. From communication to leisure to healthcare, energy is required in some form or another. • Many different ways to acquire electrical energy, such as burning coal or natural gas, wind, solar and nuclear power plants. • Most energy in the U.S. today is derived from coal, natural gas and petroleum. (EPA)

  3. Energy sources in the US

  4. Infrastructure • Everything is already in place and has been tested for coal and natural gas power • New technology such as nuclear requires massive start-up costs and a long time before they make back money • Nuclear plants are some of the most expensive types of power plants. (Kidd) • Other problems such as testing safety and meeting regulations, which take time and money.

  5. Job creation and loss • Closing down operational plants means workers will lose jobs • New plants and technology needs researchers, builders and new plant jobs • To base energy creation off of new technology, it needs to be researched, tested and made viable for industry. • A switch to Nuclear as the primary energy source for the U.S. would create 610,000 new jobs. (INEEL) • If new technologies are created, industry in that country becomes a powerhouse of innovation and economic growth. • American-made microchip created an industry worth 1.15 trillion in 2000 alone. (Ament)

  6. Pollution • Burning coal and natural gas produces carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas • This greenhouse gas production has been shown to cause Global Warming (Morris) • Continuing to burn coal could will cause a rise in the temperature on Earth, rising seas and erratic weather patterns. • The burning of coal also produces Sulfur Dioxide and Nitric Oxide, which in the atmosphere mix with water to create acid rain • Acid rain kills crops, defaces buildings and washes out soil. (Gunston)

  7. Greenhouse Effect

  8. Pollution Cont. • ‘Clean’ energies such as solar, wind, and nuclear all have pollution too • Manufacturing, setting up and disposing all create waste because infrastructures put in place need to be recycled or thrown away. • Some solar panels contain hazardous metals, such as Cadmium which is toxic and banned in many countries. (Kanter) • Nuclear power creates waste that remains dangerous and radioactive for thousands of years (Halacy)

  9. So what do we do? • Long-term benefits of renewable and clean energy outweighs that of non-renewables • This is because renewables create less waste, cost less to maintain, and most do not need sources of fuel to be acquired. • Non-renewables are cheaper in the short run because they work on tried-and-true technology and are already in place. • Because there is a large startup cost associated with switching over, many energy companies do not want to be stuck with the cost of ‘modernizing’.

  10. Mediation • Best option would be to switch from non-renewables to renewables slowly. This can be achieved by incentives or subsidies by the government • Would reap the benefits of each, lower overall cost, and allow new technologies to develop to become safer and more efficient

  11. Works Cited: • Gunston, Bill. Coal. New York: Franklin Watts, 1981. Book. • Halacy, Dan. Nuclear Energy. United States: Franklin Watts, 1978. Book. • Kraft, Betsy. Coal. United States, Franklin Watts, 1976. Book. • Kidd. Steve. New reactors – more or less? Nuclear Engineering International. 21 January, 2011. Web. March 27th, 2012. • < http://www.neimagazine.com/story.asp?sectioncode=147&storyCode=2058653> • Morris, Neil. Wind Power. London, Westinghouse Publishers, 2006. Book.

  12. Works Cited Continued • http://needtoknow.nas.edu/energy/images/charts/contributions_by_sector_lg.gif • http://www.millennium-energy.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/greenhouse_effect.jpg • INEEL (Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory) “U.S. Job Creation Due to Nuclear Power Resurgence in The United States – Volume 1” INEEL. November 2004. Web. April 27th. • Kanter, James. Balancing Energy Needs and Material Hazards. The New York Times. November 8, 2009. Web. April 27th 2012. • Ament, Phil. Fascinating facts about Jack Kilby. Troy MI: 1997-2007. The Great Idea Finder, October 12, 2006. Online. April 27th 2012.

  13. Teacher Comments • Overall Comments: Your Response Team puts the problem well, actually: they say that, given the broad subject of renewable vs. non-renewable sources, you need “information to back it up.” They also note the lack of visuals, and I concur, again — a presentation like this could really use a graph or chart. Or two. That said, you do cover a lot of ground with impressive swiftness and the business of voice and body language worked all right for you, most of the time. Certainly you lay out a clear argument concerning “Infrastructure” and “Pollution” (though again, awfully general in both cases) You handled the Team Questions intelligently, at the end, but when I heard you answer the one about nuclear power I had to wonder: why didn’t he do the whole PowerPoint on that one, more easily controlled, part of the problem. B or 85.

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