It has to be mined, refined, transported to a power plant, pulverized and burned.

At the power plant it is burned and a portion of the heat energy is converted to electricity. Go to http://www.tva.com/power/coalart.htm and watch the video on that page.

Coal is the dirtiest of the fossil fuels in terms of CO2 emissions and it contributes to acid rain formation. Go to http://www.epa.gov/acidrain/education/site_students/acid_anim.html Watch the animation and answer the questions on your paper.

Where do oil and natural gas come from?

Oil (called crude oil while still in the ground) can be refined into many other products. When used as a fuel it is called petroleum. The following graph shows the breakdown of how a barrel of crude is refined in the United States.

Oil and natural gas are also used to generate electricity and to heat homes. Natural gas is usually used to heat homes and businesses. It is also used to heat water in water heaters.

Go to http://www. nrc. gov/reading-rm/basic-ref/students/animated-pwr Go to http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/basic-ref/students/animated-pwr.html Look at the animation of the nuclear power reactor.

Use Google to find out what the fuel is for a nuclear reactor?

Nuclear power does not result in the emission of CO2 (although the transport of the nuclear material to the plant would). The major drawbacks are that there is no safe place to dispose of the waste (nuclear waste is dangerous to be near for 1000s of years), no one wants to live near a nuclear power plant, nuclear radiation exposure causes a variety of cancers in humans, nuclear power plants are a target for terrorists.

Hydroelectric Power

Hydrothermal Power (also call geothermal)