Kenny Walters

EVS 1001
Ms. Mixon
14 November 2013
There exists a power plant near the Everglades called Turkey Point. This
nuclear site can be compared to a nuclear storage site called Yucca Mountain.
Turkey Point stores their waste on the sea level pools. It is extremely close (10
miles) from the Everglades. In direct contrast, the Yucca Mountain is stored
extremely far away from the closest waterway. In addition, it is stored well-above
the water table. Administrations and committees are attempting to mitigate the risk
of a nuclear accident with large-scale repercussions.
There are important ways to manage nuclear waste. Nuclear workers need to
process their fuel waste in a way to get rid of pollution. They use spent fuel pools.
However, these pools fill up and need to be dried out periodically. Jimmy Carter
banned recycling these wastes, so it is a responsibility solely of the government to
dispose the waste. That means that whatever they say goes. Other parts of the
world use other ways to get rid of the fuel, such as repurposing and recycling.
Perhaps if the United States would adapt to the international methods of recycling
and repurposing their nuclear waste, we could be put on the map as a leader in it.
Biofuels are a clean and renewable transformation fuel. It can be created
from biomasses, which is organic materials, such as trees and algae. These can be
converted in fuels, which can take the place of jet fuel, gasoline, and diesel. To
make biofuels, we can use crops and other organic materials which may be put to
waste. Biomass solids are broken down and refined into fuels.
Algae biofuels have origins in the original oils that we use. In the past, algae
was integrated in the earth and formed oil under the pressure and temperature of
the earth. We need to look back in a way to fix our current environmental usage.
Biofuels are at times a little unrealistic to produce. That is why we need to examine
algae as a viable option. It does not require much input and does not have a great
effect on food prices, which biofuels could. They are highly efficient and are
definitely a resourceful option.








Chapter 20 Notes
Alternatives to fossil fuels
Economy powered by fossil fuels
Fossil fuels limited and pollutants
Switching to more conventional alternatives instead of using fossil fuels
o Nuclear, hydroelectric, and biomass energy
o Less of an environmental impact
The US relies on fossil fuels more than other countries
Nuclear power is in an odd and bad position in the debate about energy
Public safety concerns have led to limited development
o Weaponry, waste
The US generates the most electricity from nuclear power
Nuclear energy = the energy that holds together protons and neutrons within
the nucleus of an atom
Nuclear fission = the splitting apart of atomic nuclei
Nuclear reactors = facilities within nuclear power plants
Nuclear energy comes from uranium
Nuclear fuel cycle = the process that begins when uranium is mined
Radioisotopes = emit subatomic particles and high-energy radiation as they
decay into lighter radioisotopes
Nuclear reactors use uranium 235
After several years in a reactor uranium is depleted and it no longer
generates enough energy
Spent fuel can be reprocessed but It is expensive
Nuclear fusion = forces together small nuclei of lightweight elements under
extremely high temperature and pressure
Meltdown = coolant water drained from the reactor
The most serious accident in the U.S. = Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania in
1979
Chernobyl was the worst accident yet
o 1986 explosion in the plant
o 10 days the radiation escaped
o Still remains contaminated
o 31 people directly, thousands became sick and or developed cancer
Waste disposal still remains a problem
They must be put in a safe location
Waste is put in temp. storage
US plants are running out of room
Waste storage Yucca Mountain, Nevada
Safer to store in central repository because it can be heavily guarded
Obamas administration does not agree with it
Benefits of storing in Yucca
o Remote and unpopulated it has minimal risk of earthquakes dry
climate federal land water table is deep
Concerns with Yucca Mountain
Some people say that earthquakes and volcanoes could destabilize the sites
geology
Nuclear waste has to be transported there
Dilemmas slow nuclear powers growth
Bioenergy (biomass energy) = energy obtained from organic material that
makes up organisms
Biopower = biomass sources are burned in power plants
Generating heat and electricity
Biofuels = liquid fuels used to power automobiles
Co-firing combines biomass and coal
Gasification turn biomass to steam
Pyrolysis produces a liquid fuel
Scales of production
Biomass increases efficiency because it reduces CO2 emissions and
dependence of fossil fuels
Ethanol = a biofuel made by fermenting carbohydrate-rich crops
Ethanol may not be sustainable
Environmental scientists dont like corn based ethanol
Growing corn impacts ecosystems
o Pesticides, fertilizers, irrigation
Ethanol competes with food and drives up food prices
Biodiesel = produced from vegetable oil, cooking grease, or animal fats
Cellulosic ethanol = produced from structural plant material (e.g., corn
stalks) that has no food value
Burning biomass is not carbon-neutral
biomass energy releases no net carbon
Hydropower = uses the kinetic energy of moving water to turn turbines to
generate electricity
Storage technique = water stored in reservoirs behind dams passes through
the dam and turns turbines
Run-of-river approach generates electricity without disrupting the rivers
flow
Hydroelectric power is widely used
Hydropower accounts for 2.2% of the worlds energy supply
o 15.6% of the worlds electricity productin
The US government built dams to employ people and help end the economic
depression of the 1930s
Hydropower is clean and renewable
o Eroi 10:1
Hydropower has negative impacts
o Destruction of wildlife habitats
o Natural flooding cycles are disrupted
o Dams block passage of fish, fragmenting the river and reducing
biodiversity
Most of the worlds larges rivers have been dammed
Chinas Three Gorges Dam is the worlds largest dam
Hydropower wont expand much more