Nonrenewable Energy Resources

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Nonrenewable Energy Resources
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Energy Consumption

• Contrast developed vs. developing countries

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Energy Consumption

• Where is consumption increasing the most?
• What drives
• over-consumption?

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World Energy Use
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Coal

• Most abundant fossil fuel
• Could last 200 years
• Use on the increase

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Environmental Impacts Of Coal

• Acid deposition (Sulfur is a common impurity)
• Mountaintop removal
• 15-25 mountaintops in S. W. Virginia
• Valleys filled with tailings and debris
• CO2 released
• Dirtiest fossil fuel

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Oil

• Petroleum from crude oil
• - refined into different products
• Used in petrochemicals
• Plastics
• Fertilizers
• Synthetic fibers
• Fuel for transportation

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Environmental Impacts Of Oil

• CO2 released
• Acid deposition (nitrogen impurities)
• Photochemical smog
• Spills

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Natural Gas methane, ethane, propane, butane

• Cleanest fossil fuel (but still releases CO2)
• Disadvantages
• Deposits located far from usage points
• Transporting is difficult
• Explosive
• Costs increasing rapidly

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Nuclear Energy- matter is converted into energy
when nuclei of atoms altered fission or fusion

• Advantage no air pollution
• Disadvantages
• very expensive to build
• operate
• serious safety concerns

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Safety Concerns Regarding Nuclear Power

• Meltdown - metals encasing uranium fuel melt
  radiation released
• Worst US accident Three-Mile Island
• Chernobyl reactor blew
• up releasing radiation
• Spent fuel very toxic (plutonium)
• Yucca Mtn. controversial
• storage site
• Transport dangerous
• Terrorist Threat (hard to protect
• plants and plutonium waste in
• transit to storage)

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Is it time to let go of a fossil fuel based
economy and plunge into a renewable energy age?
Al Gore has proposed it is economically feasible
imperative to make the transition within 10
years
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Renewable Energy
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1. Solar Energy

• Energy directly from the sun
• Tremendous amount

Active Solar Heating
Passive Solar
15

• Photovoltaic (PV) Solar Cells
• Convert sunlight into electricity
• No pollution to produce electricity
• Minimal maintenance
• However, toxic materials
• in PV cells create toxic
• waste

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2. Hydrogen - the perfect fuel

• Where does the hydrogen come from?
• Electrolysis 2H2O -gt 2H2 O2
• Hydrogen runs fuel cells
• Can be used for transportation - what comes out
  the exhaust pipe?
• Must solve safety infrastructure issues

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3. Biomass Energy

• Wood, plants, animal wastes burned
• Potentially renewable
• Half of human population use (poor)
• for cooking, heating (creates indoor air
  pollution)

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Biomass As a Gas or Liquid

• Biogas may be generated by action of decomposers
  on animal waste
• Methanol ethanol are liquids produced from
  biomass
• Gasohol mix gasoline
• ethanol
• Biodiesel
• Plant, animal oils
• Becoming more popular
• Burns cleaner than regular diesel

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Ethanol

• Made from sugarcane, corn, wood, agricultural and
  municipal wastes, fibrous plants
• US government subsidizes corn ethanol production
• Problems
• Land and water use
• Soil erosion
• Decreased food production
• Systems analysis shows that corn ethanol produces
  as much pollution as fossil fuels when factor in
  farm machinery, use of fertilizers and pesticides

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4. Wind Energy

• Fastest growing energy source
• No waste, emissions
• Generates electricity
• Costs are declining
• Problems
• Need steady winds
• Birds fly into blades
• Possible visual
• noise pollution

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5. Hydropower

• From Dams
• Flowing or falling water spins turbines
• Most efficient way to produce
  electricity
• 19 worlds electricity

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Problems with Dams

• Damages river ecosystem floods area for
  reservoir
• Displaces people
• High construction cost
• Reduces downstream flow
• of nutrients sediment
• Reservoirs eventually fill in
• Danger of collapse
• Degrades river floodplain

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Ocean Energy

• Use power of the tides currents to generate
  electricity (vast energy source)
• France, Russia, China, Canada
• Working on underwater turbines in Gulfstream off
  coast of Broward
• Problems
• Very few ideal locations (were one)
• May be damaging to ecosystems
• Corrosion of equipment in salt water

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6. Geothermal Energy

• Use energy from Earths interior
• Big potential source
• Produce electricity - hot fluid brought to the
  surface to generate electricity
• Emits very few pollutants

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Geothermal Energy

• Problems
• Land may subside
• Only available at
• limited sites

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Conservation Efficiency-both important

• Energy conservation - reduce total energy use
• Use bike instead of car for
• short trip
• Reduce over-consumption
• Carpool
• Recycle
• Energy efficiency - Using less
• energy for a task (reduce waste)
• More fuel-efficient cars
• Buy local products
• Buy energy efficient appliances

The fastest most cost effective solution to
energy crisis
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Case Study Green Architecture

• Consider the environment when building
• Design for energy conservation
• High Indoor air quality
• Water conservation
• Green building materials
• Green landscaping
• Recycle construction waste

BCC SC Library
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The End