Fossil Fuels and Alternate Resources

 Lights  Food storage (refrigerator/freezer)  Comfort (air conditioning/heating)  Television  Radio  Computers  Telephones

*Created at a power plant. *Transported across the country through power lines

 Electricity is produced from a spinning generator  The generator is spun from a turbine  A turbine is a series of paddle wheels that are somehow turned

 Turbines are often turned using steam  Water is heated to create steam  Steam is pushed through turbines which turns the paddle wheels  The turning turbine turns a generator

 Coal or natural gas is burned to heat water which turns to steam

AdvantagesDisadvantages  Inexpensive  Coal is abundant  Have technology in place to mine and utilize it  Produces a lot of electricity  Pollutes air  Destroys land when areas are strip mined  Releases large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere  Non-renewable resource  Expensive to mine

Serious air pollution and acid rain occur near these plants. Also Mercury levels in the oceans rise giving a health risk to fish and fish eaters. Coal-burning plant

This is a grid showing the sources of released carbon dioxide in the United States. The grid shows the fraction of carbon dioxide from each source. Coal combustion is the largest CO2 contributor. Our Carbon footprint

There are several alternates to fossil fuels in producing electricity

 Clean – no pollution, no carbon dioxide  Free energy source  Unlimited energy source  Renewable energy source

 Inefficient – doesn’t produce much electricity  Very expensive to build power plants  Only works in the sun, not in clouds or at night  Takes up a lot of space

 Clean – no pollution, no Carbon dioxide  Free energy source  Renewable  Relatively inexpensive to build power plants

 Destroys habitat behind the dam  Can only be built in certain locations on rivers  Destroys fish populations  Requires adequate water supplies

This dam was built in the canyon next to Yosemite Valley. This area (including that under water) holds spectacular views and is well known for its beauty. Hetch hetchy Reservoir

This is a photograph of the valley before the dam was built creating Hetch hetchy Reservoir. Pre-Hetch hetchy

 Clean – No pollution, no carbon dioxide  Renewable resource  Free resource  Doesn’t damage the environment  Land can be used for other purposes at the same time

 Wind mills are inefficient at producing electricity  Can only be built where there is a constant wind  No wind, no electricity  Expensive to build

 No pollution  No carbon dioxide  Renewable  Free resource  Inexpensive to build

 It can only be built in a few areas where steam can be utilized  Too many uses of the same steam source reduces the amount of steam

Uranium atoms are split causing a chain reaction with an incredible release of energy. Nuclear Fission

 Inexpensive to build  Clean - no pollution  No carbon dioxide  Huge amounts of energy produced  Can be produced anytime, anywhere  Takes up little space  Doesn’t damage environment

 Extremely dangerous  Byproducts are dangerous and remain so for thousands of years.

 In 1986, a nuclear power plant named Chernobyl in Russia exploded.  Thousands of people died and the city had to be evacuated  Radioactive material has left many miles of Russia dangerous to visit

The United States has never had an accident like Chernobyl, and experts believe our nuclear power plants are much safer than Chernobyl was. Rancho Seco near Elk Grove was a Nuclear Power plant