Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources Chapter 2

Theme Outline Lesson 2.1 Earth’s Resources Renewable Resources Nonrenewable Resources Fossil Fuels Global Energy Use and Production Alternative Energy Resources

PA Academic Standards for Environment & Ecology Standard 4.2.10.A Explain that renewable and nonrenewable resources supply energy and materials. Identify alternative sources of energy. Identify and compare fuels used in industrial and agricultural societies. Compare and contrast the cycles of various natural resources. Explain food and fiber as renewable resources.

Learning Objectives Students will compare and contrast various renewable and nonrenewable natural resources. Students will define food and fiber as renewable resources. Students will identify and compare fuels used in developed and developing nations and identify alternative sources of energy.

Earth’s Resources Resources come from the Earth, either in raw form or as material used to make new products. Earth’s resources include organisms, air, water, and soil, as well as materials such as oil, gas, and ores that are removed from the ground for processing. Two Main Classifications of Resources Renewable resources Nonrenewable resources

Renewable Resources Definition: any material or energy source that cycles or can be replaced within the period of a human life span. Common renewable resources Food and Fiber Soil Wind The Sun Water Biomass Fuels Geothermal Energy http://www.teachersdomain.org/resources/phy03/sci/ess/earthsys/energysource/assets/phy03_vid_energysource/phy03_vid_energysource_56_mov.html

How is food and fiber renewable? Renewable agricultural resources such as crops grown for human and livestock consumption, wild and planted forest crops, and wild and domesticated animals. Example: wheat grown in Pennsylvania How is food and fiber renewable? Food and fiber can be harvested indefinitely, unless their consumption exceeds their rate of reproduction.

Soil Soil is a mixture of living and nonliving materials that provide habitat for plants and organisms. Soil forms over thousands of years when rock is exposed to weathering processes. Soil formation varies with the climate differences. Example: hot, humid climates form larger amounts of soil more quickly than dry climates.

How is soil renewable? Soil does take thousands of years to form. However, soil is renewable as long as the living organic matter in the soil remains fertile. Soil can become depleted of organic matter, at which point it becomes nonrenewable. Example: poor agricultural practices.

Wind Wind is air in motion. Wind is caused by the unequal heating of air across the Earth’s surface. Can be used to generate electricity, through the use of windmills and turbines.

How is wind renewable? Wind is inexhaustible. As long as there is an uneven heating of the Earth’s surface, winds will be generated, creating a potentially harvestable resource.

Solar Energy Definition : energy from the sun The Sun … Provides heat and light to our planet. Scientists estimate that the sun’s capacity to generate heat and light, will remain relatively stable for the next 5 billion years. Without the sun, Earth would not support life, mainly the plants who convert energy from the sun into food at the base of the food chain.

Water The amount of water on Earth today is the same as it was 5 billion years ago. Earth holds about 326 trillion gallons of water below, on, and above the Earth’s surface.

How is water renewable? Groundwater and freshwater sources recharge natural systems as water in those systems is used, thus able to be replenished and considered renewable. Water contamination threatens to limit the amount of usable water available for consumption.

Biomass Fuels Definition: organic matter that contains stored solar energy Materials which can be used to provide energy when taken through a process of combustion. Example: wood products, dried vegetation, crop residues, aquatic plants, animal wastes. Biomass fuels have seen a huge increase in use over the past two decades. Biomass fuels are commonly used in developing countries as a fuel source because they are inexpensive and readily available.

How are biomass fuels renewable? Biomass fuels are considered renewable resources because the products from which they originate are renewable. Example: wood used for heating purposes is derived from trees which provide timber which can be harvested within the typical human lifespan

Geothermal Energy Definition: heat that is transferred by water, which can be brought to the surface and used to drive electric generators as well as to heat homes and other buildings. Heat from deep within the Earth that can be harvested Fueled by the decay of radioactive elements within the Earth.

How is geothermal energy renewable? Heat harvested as a byproduct of radioactive decay from an inexhaustible supply of radioactive elements buried deep below the surface of the Earth.

Nonrenewable Resources Definition: material or energy source that cannot be replaced during the time of a human life span Common nonrenewable resources Ores Rocks as Resources Fossil Fuels Coal Petroleum and Natural Gas

Ores Definition: mineral deposits from which valuable metals and nonmetals can be recovered at a profit Types of ores Metallic ores Nonmetallic ores

Metallic Ores Nonmetallic Ores Common metallic ores include iron, aluminum, copper, zinc, lead, silver, gold, manganese, and many other metals. Nonmetallic Ores Common nonmetallic ores include fluorite, clay, salt, sand, gravel, diamonds, gypsum, sulfur, talc, quartz, and many other non-metals. Commonly used as agricultural fertilizers, in cement mixtures, building materials, and fiber optics.

Rocks as Resources Rocks are mixtures of one or more minerals. Common economically important rocks in Pennsylvania include marble, sandstone, granite, and limestone used as ornamental stones in buildings and in landscaping. The major non-metallic resources mined in Pennsylvania today include coal, limestone, granite, slate, sand, gravel and clay.

Fossil Fuels Definition: fuels such as wood, charcoal, peat, coal, oil, and natural gas that release energy when burned Considered nonrenewable because they take millions of years to form. Major fossil fuels in developed countries include: Coal Oil Natural gas

Coal Formed when wetland plants die, are buried, and undergo physical and chemical changes over millions of years. Considered nonrenewable because they take millions of years to form

Stages of Coal Formation Stage 1: Peat Porous brown mass of organic matter containing twigs, roots, and other plant material About 50% carbon Stage 2: Lignite Soft brown organic material that results from compression that forces out oxygen, hydrogen, and water About 70% carbon Stage 3: Coal formation Additional pressure and temperature changes cause the organic matter to further develop into harvestable coal.

Types of Coal Bituminous Coal Anthracite Coal First form of coal created during Stage 3 “Soft” coal About 85% carbon Anthracite Coal Second form of coal created during Stage 3 “Hard” coal About 90% carbon Clean-burning coal because it contains very high amounts of carbon.

World leaders in the production of coal 50% former Soviet Union 20% China 15% United States Most of which is lignite and bituminous coal.

Coal Fields in Pennsylvania Western Pennsylvania Predominantly Bituminous coal Eastern Pennsylvania Predominantly Anthracite coal

Petroleum and Natural Gas Formed from the remains of plants, bacteria, algae, and other microscopic marine organisms. Formed when more organic matter is produced than is destroyed, which is common in coastal waters. Chemical and physical changes result in the formation of organic matter in the form of liquids and gases.

History of Pennsylvania Petroleum and Natural Gas Pennsylvania is not a significant producer of petroleum or natural gases, but does have some historical importance. Titusville, Pennsylvania 1859 oil well installation Beginning of the 19th century oil boom

Source Rock Petroleum and natural gas formation occur below the Earth’s surface. These fluids and gases collect within the rock formations underground. Separation of products Oil is more dense and often migrates and collects in the bottom of fuel reservoirs Gas is less dense and migrates to the top of the fuel reservoir

Global Energy Use and Production World’s total energy consumption rates have been increasing in many countries, both developed and developing. Example: China uses coal as the main resource to heat their homes. Thus, as populations increase, and consumption rates increase, coal supplies must also increase in order to meet this demand.

OECD = Organization for Economic Co-operation & Development

Alternative Energy Resources Alternative energy sources are being pursued in many developed countries as a way to counteract the developed world's dependence on nonrenewable resources that are being exhausted faster than they can be replaced. Common alternative energy resources Solar Energy Wind Hydropower Geothermal Energy Nuclear Power Trash Hydrogen

Solar Energy Two types of solar systems Passive Solar Solar cells convert solar energy directly into electricity. Solar Thermal Systems Sunlight is concentrated to produce heat, which boils water to generate steam which turns a turbine to produce electricity.

Passive Solar Energy System

Solar Thermal Systems

Wind Blades on a wind turbine drive a generator, producing electricity. Maximum outputs are achieved by using the largest blades available, in areas with the faster wind speed. Groups of windmills clustered in an area are commonly referred to as wind farms. These wind farm facilities were built in response to consumer demand and are used on farms, private residences, businesses hotels, colleges, and universities.

Wind Farms

Factsheets and Statistics Wind Energy by the Numbers Wind energy produced worldwide: 65,000,000,000 kWh per year (enough power for 6 million U.S. homes) Wind energy produced in the U.S.: 16,000,000,000 kWh per year (enough power for 1.6 million homes) Potential U.S. wind energy production by 2020: enough power for 25 million homes yearly Installed cost of wind energy: 2-6 cents/kWh Yearly emissions eliminated by generating energy from a 1 MW wind turbine instead of 1 MW of conventional sources: over 1,500 tons of carbon dioxide, 6.5 tons of sulfur dioxide, 3.2 tons of nitrogen oxides, and 60 pounds of mercury in one year. Wind power farms generate between 17 and 39 times as much power as they consume, as compared to 16 times for nuclear plants and 11 times for coal plants, according to a study of Midwestern wind farms by the University of Wisconsin. Source: American Wind Energy Association

Dams Dams create large bodies of water, which in turn can be released to flow over turbines, spin generators and generate electricity. Pennsylvania is home to 23 dams.

Hydropower Energy from moving water in lakes and streams can be used to turn turbines, which spin a generator and generate electricity.

Geothermal Power Heat from deep within the Earth that can be harvested to produce electricity. The water in geothermal reservoirs can be brought to the surface as either hot water or steam, and either further heated or used to directly generate electricity.

Geothermal Heating Systems

Nuclear Power Nuclear power uses fission to break uranium to generate electricity. Fission releases energy as heat that turns water into steam, spinning a turbine to generate electricity. Pennsylvania is home to 9 nuclear reactors, at 5 locations.

Nuclear Power Three Mile Island: Harrisburg, PA

Trash Two main methods of energy generation Trash can be burned in power plants to generate electricity in municipal “waste-to-energy” facilities. Pennsylvania is home to 7 waste-to-energy facilities. Trash decomposes and produces gases such as methane, the main ingredient in natural gas which can be harvested from landfills and then processed and burned to produce steam which is used to generate electricity.

Waste-to-Energy

Waste-to-Energy

Hydrogen Hydrogen is a clean way to produce energy, and since hydrogen, the main element in water is almost inexhaustible, it is a very promising alternative energy source. Low emissions. Hydrogen fuel cells work much like a battery to produce electricity, taking advantage of the charges present in the fuel cell.

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology

Hydrogen Fuel Technology

Theme Vocabulary Lesson 2.1 biomass fuels fossil fuels geothermal energy nonrenewable resource ores renewable resource solar energy