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Earth’s Resources
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Earth’s Resources Most Energy Sources are nonrenewable
Nonrenewable Resources Used up faster than the Earth can replace them Fossil Fuels Oil, Natural Gas, and Coal Formed from the remains of swamp plants and other organisms that were buried and altered over millions of years
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Coal Coal Most abundant fossil fuel Contains 50% plant remains
Hydrocarbons can be extracted from coal to form liquid and gaseous synthetic fuels As decaying plant material loses gas and moisture, carbon concentration increases
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Coal Formation Peat Lignite Coal Bituminous Coal
Anthracite Coal (Cleanest Burning)
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Oil and Natural Gas Oil and Natural Gas
Oil is thick black liquid hydrocarbon Natural Gas is a gaseous hydrocarbon that often forms with oil, but above it, since it is less dense Americans obtain most of their energy from oil and natural gas Natural Gas is used mostly for heating and cooking Oil is used in many ways included Heating oil Gasoline Manufacturing
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Fossil Fuel Removal Fossil fuels are removed from the ground through mining or pumping Strip Mining (Open Pit) Upper layers of rock and soil are removed to expose coal Used when coal deposits are near the surface Underground Mining Tunneling, drift mines, slope mines
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Strip Mining
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Fossil Fuel Removal Oil and Natural Gas are under pressure, therefore they can be pump from the ground
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Fossil Fuel Reserve Reserves
Amount of fossil fuel that can be extracted at a profit using current technology Current Reserves of Coal 250 Years US reserves of Natural Gas 60 Years Methane Hydrates (Located in ocean floor sediments) Yield high amounts of carbon May be a source of methane in the future
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Conservation Conserving fossil fuels will help slow down the current consumption rate
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Nuclear Energy Nuclear Energy
Produces Energy by splitting an atom in a process called fission Nonrenewable Produces Highly Radioactive Waste Must be stored in a Container for 10,000 years
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Nuclear Energy Fusion Fusing of low-mass materials to form higher mass substances Potential Clean Energy Source Current technologies do not exist to allow fusion in a controlled manner
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Renewable Energy Resources
Inexhaustible energy resources include: Sun Wind Water Geothermal
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Solar Energy Solar Energy Energy from the sun
South facing windows can act as passive solar collectors, warming exposed rooms Solar cells actively collect Sun energy and convert it to electricity Solar energy is not readily useable on cloudy days or at night
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Wind Energy Wind energy uses windmills to generate wind
Wind farm uses large number of windmills to generate electricity Few regions of the world have strong enough wind to generate electricity Wind does not always blow steadily, so it is unreliable energy source
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Hydroelectric Energy Electricity is generated from running water flowing over dams Dams can create environmental problems
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Geothermal Energy Energy obtained from hot magma or dry, hot rocks inside Earth
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Biomass Biomass Energy Energy from burning organic material
Can be replaced in a short period of time Examples Wood Causes pollution and disrupts natural habitats Corn Distilled into alcohol (Ethanol) added to Gasoline Ethanol production uses more energy than it produces Trash Air pollution and toxic ash residue
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