Fossil Fuels, Their Impacts, and Energy Conservation Pt. 1

Central Case Study: Alberta’s Oil Sands and the Keystone XL Pipeline Oil sands (tar sands) Layers of sand or clay saturated with bitumen Bitumen Very viscous, tarry, type of petroleum Environmental impacts Boreal destruction Toxic tailings (wastewater dumps) Impacts in Canada: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3oYUxPTQUE Keystone XL Pipeline To build or not to build?

Central Case Study: Alberta’s Oil Sands and the Keystone XL Pipeline Make a list of pros and cons for building the pipeline (as you read the case study) When you finish reading write a few sentences about the following: If you were the president faced with this decision, what would you decide, and why?

Central Case Study: Alberta’s Oil Sands and the Keystone XL Pipeline Pro Jobs for U.S. workers Dependable oil supply Buying oil from a stable/friendly diplomatic neighbor Reduce reliance on oil producing nations w/authoritarian gov’t & poor human rights Con Destruction of Boreal Forests Transporting oil over our largest aquifer Intensify climate change w/ increased amount of oil Energy intensive extraction Prolong fossil fuel dependence

Final Decision

Fossil FUELS Sunlight Photosynthesis Plant Growth Food Webs Organic material returns to the earth Organisms die and their chemical energy can be transferred to fossil fuels Under the right conditions Buried beneath many sediments Pressure, heat, moisture, etc

Today we rely on three main fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas

Energy Use Why do we need fossil fuels? Electricity Transportation Manufacturing Heating Cooking Different fossil fuels have different uses Oil Gas & Coal transportation electricity

Sources and Consumption of Energy The U.S. is only 4.4% of the world’s population, but consumes 19% of the world’s energy Standardized oil equivilant “tons” of all types of energy

Half of the world’s proven reserves of crude oil lie in the Middle East, which is also rich in natural gas Russia holds the most natural gas, and is also rich in coal The U.S. possesses the most coal of any nation

It Takes Energy To Make Energy Net Energy EROI Net Energy= Energy Returned - Energy Invested Ex. Oil sands- transport, vast construction, Natural gas used to heat water used in separation process ALL TAKE ENERGY Energy Returned on Investment = E. Ret / E. Inv Ex. EROI for Natural gas and Oil ~30:1 in the 50s, now ~11:1, LOWER because we have to work harder to extract remaining fossil fuels

How do Fossil Fuels Form? Most organisms decompose under aerobic (in the presence of air) conditions Under anaerobic conditions (little to no oxygen, i.e. swamps, lakes, sea floor) fossil fuels can form after millions of years 3 conditions that must align for fossil fuels to form Chemical composition of material Temperatures & pressure +/- of anaerobic decomposers Passage of time

COAL The world’s most abundant fossil fuel Swampy environments of 300-400 million years ago have created coal deposits around the world Heat+pressure+time The more coal is compressed, the greater the carbon content, the greater the energy per unit volume Coal fired engines drove the industrial revolution ELECTRICITY Powers 40% of U.S. electricity but China is the worlds primary producer & consumer of coal http://switchenergyproject.com/education/energy-101#coal

OIL Formed in marine environments Dead plankton get buried in sediments, +heat +pressure and you get kerogen Kerogen under more heat and more pressure leads to oil AND natural gas (deeper…takes more heat, more pressure to form nat. gas) FUEL FOR VEHICLES Gas for cars Diesel for trucks Jet fuel for planes Petroleum is found in plastics, lubricants, fabrics, pharmaceuticals http://switchenergyproject.com/education/energy-101#oil

Natural Gas Formed in the same way as oil (plankton, heat, pressure) Gas formed in this way is THERMOGENIC, mostly methane and some other types of volatile hydrocarbons BIOGENIC GAS formed at shallow depths by anaerobic bacteria Ex. The Landfill ***Usually pure methane*** “Clean burning” emits ½ as much Co2 as coal, 2/3 as much as oil Bridge fuel – energy experts believe natural gas is a bridge leading from fossil-fuel economy to renewable energy of the future http://switchenergyproject.com/education/energy-101#natural-gas

Others Oil sands- sand/clay containing 1-20% bitumen (C rich, H poor) Oil Sands, Oil Shale Methane Hydrate Oil sands- sand/clay containing 1-20% bitumen (C rich, H poor) Oil shale- sedimentary rock filled with kerogen that can be processed into shale oil (type of petroleum) …we will get to fracking later “methane ice” Ice-like solid formed in sediments in the Arctic & the ocean floor Molecules of methane embedded in the ice

We are Depleting Our Reserves We can look at the reserves-to-production ratio (R/P ratio) to estimate how many years we have left of fuel reserves w/ the current rate of production Natural gas- 64 years Coal- 112 years PEAK OIL CRISIS The point at which we have reached top production and no new oil is discovered Peak oil could be reached anywhre from now until 2040 This will profoundly affect our lives Lack cheap oil Global economy could collapse OR will we quickly find alternatives?