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ENERGY, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY: PART 1, NONRENEWABLE ENERGY

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IMPORTANCE OF ENERGY

Basic element of progress

Pre-Industrial Revolution, energy could be exploited without serious damage to atmosphere because we used renewable sources like these for power:

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Manual labor (to do everything) Animal labor (to plow, plant, and harvest crops) Wind power (to sail ships, for example) Gravity (to power irrigation, for example) Fire (burning wood)

Post Industrial Revolution

Emissions are altering the worlds climate Increasing dependence on fossil fuel which are nonrenewable resources

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE BASICS OF ENERGY USE?

http://www.eia.gov/kids/energy.cfm?page=quiz
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SPECIAL PROBLEMS/CHALLENGES FOR THE USA

5% of world population, but we use 22-30% of the worlds energy Dependence on foreign imports for energy, especially oil Cars

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More powerful, poorer mpg Preference for SUVs

Cheap oil until recently One American uses as much energy as 330 citizens in Bangladesh

LESS THAN 5% OF WORLD POPULATION, BUT WE USE ABOUT OF THE WORLDS ENERGY (22%)
If people everywhere used energy like we did, it would take 3-5 planets to sustain life. Whats your ecological footprint? http://myfootprint.org/en/quiz_results/

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ENERGY CONSUMPTION PEAKED IN 2001

U.S. petroleum imports in 1973 totaled 6.3 million barrels per day (3.2 million barrels per day of crude oil and 3.0 million barrels per day of petroleum products). In October 1973, however, the Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) embargoed the sale of oil to the United States, prices rose sharply, and petroleum imports fell for two years. Crude prices increased again until the price of crude oil rose dramatically (roughly 1979 through 1981) and suppressed imports. The rising-import trend resumed by 1986 and, except for slight dips in 1990, 1991, and 1995, has continued ever since. In 2000 U.S. petroleum imports reached an annual record level of 11 million barrels per day.

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HOW DO WE USE ENERGY IN THE USA?

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ENERGY USE NOW DECREASING

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U.S. AVERAGE ENERGY USE PER PERSON PROJECTED TO CONTINUE DECLINE THROUGH 2035
Heres how the Department of Energy explains why energy use per person in the USA is actually declining and will continue to decline
Energy consumption per person has declined sharply during the recent economic recession, and the 2009 level of 310 million Btu per person was the lowest since 1968.. . . energy use per capita increases slightly as the economy rebounds, then begins declining in 2013 as higher efficiency standards for vehicles and lighting begin to take effect. From 2013 to 2035, energy use per capita declines by 0.3 percent per year on average, to 293 million Btu in 2035.
For more information see the DOE website at
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/demand.html

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TWO MAJOR SOURCES OF ENERGY

Nonrenewable Renewable

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Note: Electricity is generated from nonrenewable and renewable sources of energy; it is not a source by itself.

TYPE 1: NON-RENEWABLE ENERGY

About 92% of the energy consumed in the United States comes from non-renewable energy sources, which include uranium ore and the fossil fuels coal, natural gas, and petroleum.
Oil (petroleum) Natural Gas Coal Uranium (nuclear)

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TYPE 2: RENEWABLE ENERGY

Renewable energy sources including biomass, hydropower, geothermal, wind, and solar provide 8% of the energy used in the United States. Most renewable energy goes to producing electricity.
Biomass Geothermal Hydropower Solar Wind

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WHERE OUR ENERGY COMES FROM 2009

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Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Annual Energy Review 2009 (August 2010).

WHERE OUR ENERGY COMES FROM 2010

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FOSSIL FUEL FACTS AND BASICS

What are fossil fuels?

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Fossil fuels are those formed millions of years ago as plant and animal matter decomposed.

WHAT KINDS OF FUELS ARE FOSSIL FUELS?

Coal Petroleum Natural Gas

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ADVANTAGES OF FOSSIL FUELS

Efficient Powerful Relatively cheap since discovery of first major field of oil in 1898

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DISADVANTAGES OF FOSSIL FUELS

Nonrenewable resources: not being made anymore, or very slowly

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Will be depleted at our current rates of usage

Unequally distributed

Often found in unstable or remote areas of the world

Accelerating demand Pollution concerns

COAL: ESTIMATED RESERVES WILL LAST ABOUT 300 YEARS

Advantages:

Very abundant; USA has huge reserves Versatile (burned directly or transformed into liquid, gas, or feedstock) Inexpensive

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PROBLEMS WITH COAL

Pollution includes sulfur dioxide and solid waste Mining methods difficult and dangerous

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29 miners killed in 2009 in a coal mine in West Virginia

Bulky and hard to transport Porous (requires a lot of water to process)

CRUDE OIL: ESTIMATED RESERVES WILL LAST ABOUT 30-75 YEARS

AT CURRENT USAGE

Advantages Abundant Easy to transport High heating value Problems Carbon emissions Finite sources Mining endangers ecosystems Transportation leads to spills

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CRUDE OIL: ESTIMATED

AT CURRENT USAGE

RESERVES WILL LAST ABOUT

30-75 YEARS

Advantages Abundant Easy to transport High heating value Historically affordable

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PROBLEMS WITH CRUDE OIL

Carbon emissions Finite sources Mining endangers ecosystems Transportation leads to spills Vulnerability to decreased production Fluctuating costs to produce, drill, and transport Increasingly only found in difficult to mine places

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WHAT SECTOR OF THE U.S. ECONOMY CONSUMES MOST OF THE NATIONS PETROLEUM?

Residential
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Commercial

Industrial
Transportation

NATURAL GAS: RESERVES WILL LAST ABOUT 40 YEARS

AT CURRENT USAGE

Advantages Inexpensive Clean to burn No ash particles Very high heating value

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DISADVANTAGES OF NATURAL GAS

Not renewable Finite source Difficult to mine

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PROBLEM WITH MINING NATURAL GAS

The USA is blessed with one of the most abundant supplies of natural gas in the world. One of the recent technologies developed to remove that gas involves drilling miles below the earth, forcing chemicals down to the natural gas fields, and then pumping it to the surface. The process is called hydraulic fracturing or fracking for short. There is increasing evidence that this technique is leading to widespread pollution of groundwater. In fact in some areas this technique has left so much benzene (yes, the stuff in your cigarette lighter) in the water, that tap water BURNS.

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BURN WATER BURN

Here are two interesting looks at Fracking. The first is the video What the Frack is Going On? (also seen in PowerPoint 7).

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=timfvNgr_Q4 Or if you prefer, a more traditional discussion is at http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2011/05/13/13greenwirebaffled-about-fracking-youre-not-alone44383.html?pagewanted=all

Note: This article discusses the assertion made by energy companies that the problem is not with the process, but with how the wells are constructed.

USE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IS GROWING

Renewable energy sources include biomass, geothermal energy, hydropower, solar energy, and wind energy. They are called renewable energy sources because they are naturally replenished. Day after day, the sun shines, the wind blows, and the rivers flow. We use renewable energy sources mainly to make electricity.

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SOURCES
Except as noted above, the data and figures for this presentation is from http://energy.gov/ Other good sources of information about this topic include: www.eia.doe.gov www.fe.doe.gov (fossil energy page of the department of energy website)

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