Alternative Energy Viability in the United States

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Alternative Energy Viability in the United States

• By Gareth Collins
• Molly Conlon
• Tim Peters

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Table of Contents

• Hypothesis / Intro
• Alternative Energy Types
• Environmental Impacts
• Conclusion
• Bibliography

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Hypothesis

• If the United States adopts efficient modes of
  alternative energy use, we can mitigate the
  global rise in Carbon Dioxide emissions and
  environmental hazards.

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Introduction

• The bulk of our research is focused on three
  viable forms of energy that will effectively
  reduce carbon emissions in the United States
  Nuclear, Wind, Biomass

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Background Information

• Major sources of energy in the United States
  include and their effects on the environment
• Coal (51)
• Nuclear (20)
• Natural Gas (17)
• Hydro (7)
• Petroleum (3)
• Renewables/other (2)

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Fossil Fuels Coal, Petroleum, Natural Gas

• Advantages
• Good availability presently
• Simple combustion
• Inexpensive
• Easily distributed

• Disadvantages
• Contributor to global warming
• Exhaustible fuel source
• Cause of acid rain

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Nuclear Energy

• Advantages
• Same cost as coal
• No pollution
• Small amount of fuel needed for large amount of
  energy production
• Small amount of waste
• Reliable

• Disadvantages
• Very dangerous
• Money must be spent on safety

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Nuclear Fission

• Currently 103 operational reactors in U.S.
• Does not produce smoke or carbon dioxide, so it
  does not contribute to the greenhouse effect.
• Offsets 700 million metric tons of CO2 per year
  in the U.S. (2 billion worldwide).

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Biomass Energy

• Advantages
• Inexhaustible
• Minimal environmental impact
• Globally available

• Disadvantages
• Could contribute to increased CO2 emissions if
  burned directly
• Expensive source

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Biomass

• Pure ethanol is used in approximately 40 of the
  cars in Brazil.
• Brazil consumes nearly 4 billion gallons of
  ethanol annually.
• Adapting cars to pure ethanol is relatively
  inexpensive.

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Ethanol Production Process
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Wind Energy

• Advantages
• Inexhaustible
• No pollution

• Disadvantages
• Disperse source (low energy production)
• Geographically dependent
• Expensive to maintain

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Wind Energy

• Wind energy is the cheapest form of alternative
  energy.
• With reasonably aggressive expansion of wind
  power, the Midwest United States could easily
  supply 5-10 of its power needs with wind
  generators.

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-The darker areas indicate higher amount of
natural wind energy.
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Environmental Impacts

• Tropical storms have become more powerful with
  increased global temperatures.
• Climate may cause species to migrate out of
  protected areas.
• Higher temperatures increase disease and invasive
  species.

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Stella Models

• Global carbon emissions if the U.S. maintains its
  current level of carbon emissions.

• Global carbon emission if the U.S. reduces its
  carbon emission by 50 over 100 years.

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Conclusions

• Alternative energy is increasingly viable and
  necessary.
• Large scale change in the US will yield modest
  results in the global climate picture, and will
  set a precedent for further global change.
• Significant environmental impacts can be
  mitigated by human action.

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Take-Home Message

• The United States, as the worlds leading Carbon
  Dioxide emitter, has a responsibility to embrace
  alternative energy.
• We are already feeling the effects of climate
  change, the time to act is now.

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Bibliography

• Mynick, H. E., D. O. Hall, and R. H. Williams.
  "Cooling the Greenhouse with Bioenergy." Nature
  353 (1991). 21 Nov. 2006 /energy/publications/pdf/1991/Williams_91_Cooling
  _the_Greenhouse.pdf
• Emanuel, Kerry. 2005. Increasing destructiveness
  of tropical cyclones over the last 30 years.
  Nature, 436 686-688.
• Loiter, Jeffrey M. Technology Policy and
  Renewable Energy Public Roles in the Development
  of New Technologies. Energy Policy 27 (1999)
  85-97.
• Soholt, Beth. Wind Power Development Progress
  and Challenges. (2005)Search Tools. U of
  Michigan Lib., Ann Arbor. 23 Oct. 2006.
  http//searchtools.lib.umich.edu

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Bibliography Continued

• "Wind Energy Resource Atlas of the United
  States." 3 Dec. 2006 ubs/atlas/maps/chap2/2-01m.html.
• "The Economics of Nuclear Power." Uranium
  Information Centre. Nov. 2006. 1 Dec. 2006
  .
• "Environment Emissions Prevented." Nuclear
  Energy Institute. 1 Dec. 2006 index.asp?catnum2catid346.
• "BIOMASS ETHANOL Technical Progress,
  Opportunities, and Commercial Chal." Annual
  Review of Energy and the Environment 24 (1999)
  189-226. 21 Nov. 2006 iews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev.energy.24.1.189?
  cookieSet1.