NON-RENEWABLE ENERGY

1. NON-RENEWABLE ENERGY

2. Energy Use • Five main purposes: • Cooking • Transportation • Manufacturing • Heating/Cooling • Generating electricity to run machines/appliances

3. Fossil Fuels • Created from the remains of ancient organisms over millions of years. • Includes coal, oil, natural gas • Supply is limited • Obtaining and using them results in pollution • Need to find alternatives

4. Energy Use • How do wedeterminewhat fuel to use? • Cost • Availability • Safety • Byproducts

5. Energy Use • The cost of all goods reflects in part the amount of energy required to make and transport it. • In US, more energy is used per person than any other country, except Canada and UAE • 27% transportation • Japan & Switz have rail systems, and they are small countries – so this cost is low • US & Canada – low gas taxes • This leads to little incentive to conserve gas • Japan & Switz: supplement with other forms of energy

6. Kayford Mountain, West Virginia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylkdUuNOJzw

7. What is RHS’s connection to coal removal? http://ilovemountains.org/my-connection

8. PETROLEUM • Oil that is pumped from ground • Also known as crude oil • Found around geologic features like folds and faults that trap oil as it moves • Accounts for 45% of commercial energy use

9. FindingOil • Most of reserves are in Middle East • Others in US, Venezuela, North Sea, Siberia, Nigeria • Exploration wells drilled in areas believed to have oil • Determines availability and volume • Once oil is removed, it is transported to a refinery which converts it to fuels & other petroleum products

10. Oil Refining

11. Oil and the Environment • Burning petroleum releases pollutants • Contribute to formation of smog • Pollution may be reduced by technology like catalytic converters • In developing countries, these technologies are not available, or not used • Oil spills

12. COAL • Makes up most of the worlds fossil fuels reserves • Relatively inexpensive • Needs little refining after it is mined • About ½ of electricity in US comes from coal plants

13. Coal Mining & the Environment • Underground mining has little effect on the surface • Surface mining sometimes removes the entire top of mountains to reach a coal deposit • Waste rock from coal mines can cause toxic chemical to leach into nearby streams • High-grade coal produces more heat and less pollution than low-grade • Sulfur is a main source of pollution • Results in acid precipitation

14. Homework Find the average power (in kilowatts) of the following appliances in your home: • Light bulbs • Washing machine • Dryer • Dishwasher • Stove • Air conditioner • Heater • Refrigerator • Hot water heater • Television • Microwave • Stereo • Computer • Anything else you would like to add!

15. Do Now • Go on Internet & find price of gas in : • Italy • England • Germany • France • Netherlands

16. Do Now • Go on Internet & find price of gas in : • Italy: $5.96 • England: $5.79 • Germany: $5.57 • France: $5.54 • Netherlands: $6.48

17. Natural Gas • Methane • Used to be considered a nuisance and burned off • New technology has allowed transporting it to be more practical • Burns with less pollutants

18. FUTURE OF FOSSIL FUELS • Demand will double by 2050 • Cost will increase with demand • Oil production from fields accessible by land peaked in 2010? • Ocean drilling more expensive • Eventually will run out

19. NUCLEAR ENERGY • Power Is obtained from the energy within the nucleus of a cell • Uses Uranium • Nuclear fission – occurs when the nucleus breaks apart

20. 1. In a nuclear reactor, fuel rods full of uranium pellets are placed in water. • Inside the fuel rods, uranium atoms split, releasing energy. • This energy heats water, creating steam. • The steam moves through a turbine, which turns a generator to create electricity. • The steam cools back into water, which can then be used over again. At some nuclear power plants, extra heat is released from a cooling tower. • Finding the fuel. One square mile of earth, one foot deep, typically contains over a ton of uranium http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJfIbBDR3e8

21. Advantages of Nuclear Energy • Uranium is very compact – lots of energy is a very small volume • Do not produce greenhouse gases • Release less radiation than coal-powered plants

22. Why is Nuclear Power not used more? • Building & maintenance is expensive • Waste storage: Products remain radioactive for thousands of years. Location of waste storage must be geologically stable (no Earthquakes)

23. Safety • Safety: • Chernobyl, 1986: Safety devices turned off to conduct unauthorized test – resulted in release of radioactive materials into the air. Some surrounding areas remain contaminated. This reactor was an old design, and safety guidelines were ignored. • Three Mile Island, 1979: Human error, equipment in poor condition resulted in a small amount of radiation released. • More than 300 safety improvement since Three Mile Island

24. Future • Nuclear Fusion – Nuclei combine instead of break apart. • Creates less radioactive byproducts • Difficult to achieve