Five main purposes: Cooking Transportation Manufacturing Heating/Cooling Generating electricity to run machines/appliances

Created from the remains of ancient organisms over millions of years. Includes coal, oil, natural gas Supply is limited Obtaining and using them results in pollution Need to find alternatives

 How do we determine what fuel to use? ◦ Cost ◦ Availability ◦ Safety ◦ Byproducts

◦ The cost of all goods reflects in part the amount of energy required to make and transport it. ◦ In US, more energy is used per person than any other country, except Canada and UAE  27% transportation  Japan & Switz have rail systems, and they are small countries – so this cost is low  US & Canada – low gas taxes  This leads to little incentive to conserve gas  Japan & Switz: supplement with other forms of energy

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Oil that is pumped from ground Also known as crude oil Found around geologic features like folds and faults that trap oil as it moves Accounts for 45% of commercial energy use

Most of reserves are in Middle East Others in US, Venezuela, North Sea, Siberia, Nigeria Exploration wells drilled in areas believed to have oil Determines availability and volume Once oil is removed, it is transported to a refinery which converts it to fuels & other petroleum products

 Burning petroleum releases pollutants  Contribute to formation of smog  Pollution may be reduced by technology like catalytic converters  In developing countries, these technologies are not available, or not used  Oil spills

 Makes up most of the worlds fossil fuels reserves  Relatively inexpensive  Needs little refining after it is mined  About ½ of electricity in US comes from coal plants

Underground mining has little effect on the surface Surface mining sometimes removes the entire top of mountains to reach a coal deposit Waste rock from coal mines can cause toxic chemical to leach into nearby streams High-grade coal produces more heat and less pollution than low-grade Sulfur is a main source of pollution Results in acid precipitation

 Light bulbs  Washing machine  Dryer  Dishwasher  Stove  Air conditioner  Heater  Refrigerator  Hot water heater  Television  Microwave  Stereo  Computer  Anything else you would like to add! Find the average power (in kilowatts) of the following appliances in your home:

◦ Go on Internet & find price of gas in :  Italy  England  Germany  France  Netherlands

◦ Go on Internet & find price of gas in :  Italy: $5.96  England: $5.79  Germany: $5.57  France: $5.54  Netherlands: $6.48

Methane Used to be considered a nuisance and burned off New technology has allowed transporting it to be more practical Burns with less pollutants

 Demand will double by 2050  Cost will increase with demand  Oil production from fields accessible by land peaked in 2010?  Ocean drilling more expensive  Eventually will run out

 Power Is obtained from the energy within the nucleus of a cell  Uses Uranium  Nuclear fission – occurs when the nucleus breaks apart

1. In a nuclear reactor, fuel rods full of uranium pellets are placed in water. 2. Inside the fuel rods, uranium atoms split, releasing energy. 3. This energy heats water, creating steam. 4. The steam moves through a turbine, which turns a generator to create electricity. 5. The steam cools back into water, which can then be used over again. At some nuclear power plants, extra heat is released from a cooling tower. Finding the fuel. One square mile of earth, one foot deep, typically contains over a ton of uranium R3e8

 Uranium is very compact – lots of energy is a very small volume  Do not produce greenhouse gases  Release less radiation than coal-powered plants

 Building & maintenance is expensive  Waste storage: Products remain radioactive for thousands of years. Location of waste storage must be geologically stable (no Earthquakes)

 Safety: ◦ Chernobyl, 1986: Safety devices turned off to conduct unauthorized test – resulted in release of radioactive materials into the air. Some surrounding areas remain contaminated. This reactor was an old design, and safety guidelines were ignored. ◦ Three Mile Island, 1979: Human error, equipment in poor condition resulted in a small amount of radiation released. ◦ More than 300 safety improvement since Three Mile Island

 Nuclear Fusion – Nuclei combine instead of break apart. ◦ Creates less radioactive byproducts ◦ Difficult to achieve