1. Depletion of Energy in the World and Alternative Forms of Energy

2. In many parts of the US….  A record heat wave in the summer of 2000 sent energy demand soaring.  A drought caused the amount of energy from hydroelectric power to dwindle  Rolling blackouts were caused by lack of energy sources to the individual states.

3. 1973 Oil Crisis  Arab countries decide not to ship oil to countries that supported Israel during the Yom Kippur War  OPEC decides to quadruple the price of oil

4. Exxon Valdez Oil Spill  March 24, 1989 – oil tanker Exxon Valdez hits a reef and spills between 11 million and 35 million gallons of crude oil  1900 km of coastline affected  Thousands of animals perished immediately

5. Natural Resources  A natural resource is a material source of wealth that occurs in a natural state and has economic value.  Examples  Timber  Fresh water  Mineral deposits  Energy

6. Energy is a Natural Resource  About 80% of all energy consumption comes from non-renewable sources  Renewable energy is energy captured from a natural process that can be replaced  Example: solar, wind, hydroelectric  In theory fossil fuels are renewable energy sources

7. Mean Global Energy Consumption Rate  Mean global energy consumption rate is about 12.8 TW a year  Oil, gas, and coal account for 80%  Oil is by far the largest source of energy being consumed in the world (4.52 TW a year)

8. Oil  In 2004, the World uses 30 billion barrels per year (1 barrel = 42 gallons)  82 million barrels/day are consumed

9. Oil  Number of barrels of oil used by an average citizen per year: United States - 23.4 Japan - 14.0 Spain - 13.8 Mexico - 6.0 Brazil - 3.5 China - 1.5 India - 0.8

10. Problems with Oil  Hard to estimate how much oil is left in the world’s oil reserves  Currently only 30-35% of the oil is extracted from oil wells  Oil demand is increasing 1.6%/year  Currently, the US produces less than ½ of its peak production of oil in the continuous 48 states which was in 1970

11. Peak Oil  Peak oil is the point where oil production peaks and goes into decline  Results in massive economic depression and skyrocketing fuel prices

12. Energy  World Energy demand is growing about 2% per year.  Estimated by the year 2040, that energy demand will be 40% more than 2004.

13. Fossil Fuels  It appears that fossil fuels are the answer to energy problems in the United States  Cheap  Apparently abundant

14. Fossil Fuels  However, there are grave and serious drawbacks  Government subsidies depress the costs of fossil fuels  The cost of creating fossil fuels is not considered because it is of no cost to mankind  Costs do not take into account the societal costs to mankind

15. Alternate Energy Sources  Hydroelectric power  Wind power  Solar power  Nuclear power  Hydrogen

16. Wind Power/Solar Power  Practical when wind speed is more than 12.5 miles/hour  Only practical in 27% of land on earth  Solar has extremely large potential (1.2e5 TW)  With existing technology, large land mass needed to be applicable

17. Hydrogen Fuel  Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe  Easily stored and clean burning  Chemical energy from hydrogen can be obtained without combustion or pollution

18. Problem with Hydrogen  Technology is still rather expensive  Most designs are not practical enough to withstand real world problems  Hydrogen is not an energy source and still must be produced by another energy source.

19. The Hydrogen Car  Hydrogen reacts with oxygen in fuel cells to produce energy  Exhaust is water vapor which is environmentally friendly  A different version of hydrogen cars is the hydrogen internal combustion engine car

20. Ethanol in Transportation  Ethanol – Easily renewable and derived from many products  Gasohol

21. Why Should This Matter?  Air pollution is the cause of over 3 million deaths yearly (50k-100k in the US)  We depend on energy to live  Alternative energy sources are currently a great deal more expensive

22.  Reasons why we need to switch to alternative fuels as soon as possible  Longer the wait, the harder it will be  Large costs to society  What can we do?  Always drive less  Fuel efficient cars  Conserve electricity