1. Human impact on ecosystems

2. Kingston fossil plant Ash spill (2008)

4. Carbon cycle

5. ProsCons Non-renewable finite resource Environmental pollution Dependence on foreign supply Global climate change Fossil-fuel based infrastructure Cheap fuel = social stability Pre-industrial revolution anyone? The instability of a fossil fuel economy

6. Novel innovations for alternative energy Wind energySolar energyCellulosic ethanol Electric cars Hydrogen fuel cells

7. Group activity: Rank the following alternative energy technologies from most promising (best) to least promising (worst) Biodiesel Hydrogen fuel cells Electric cars (Lithium ion batteries) Cellulosic ethanol Wind Geothermal Solar

8. One problem with electric cars Lithium is also a finite resource that is mined from salt flats Nissan LeafChevy Volt Lithium ion battery

9. Lithium salt mining in Bolivia

10. >50% (estimated) of the world’s lithium lies in Salar de Uyuni Evo Morales: President of Bolivia

11. Ethanol as a renewable fuel? MTBE

12. Government support for more E85 pumps (85% ethanol, 15% gasoline) Government announced Friday 10,000 more E85 pumps in the next 5 years "Flex-fuel pumps will give Americans a choice to purchase domestically produced renewable transportation fuels.“ - US Agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack (Friday, April 8, 2011)

13. Overview of Brazil sugarcane ethanol ~8 million hectares Supplies 40% of Brazil transportation fuel Brazil wants to expand to 40 million hectares Currently only the sugar part of cane is used (14% of mass) Brazil will likely become an ethanol powerhouse 1 hectare = 2.47 acres

14. Plants are mostly made up of sugars

15. Why Cellulosic Ethanol?

18. Why Switchgrass? Native grass to US Perennial crop Requires little to no fertilizer Can be grown on marginal land Use hay bail machinery Farmer income No erosion Large fleet of E85 vehicles on road Pilot biorefinery in Vonore, TN http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=112598

19. Miscanthus giganteus stand growing for 10 years never fertilized or irrigated

20. Ethanol: The bad news Food vs. fuel vs. feed agricultural land Absorbs water – 2006- present many complaints about engine damage with E10 (found to exceed) EtOH requires 42X more water than gasoline Energy density is 2/3 that of gasoline Logistics of moving large amounts of biomass Calculations of cost-benefit are VERY complicated – However, technology is so IMMATURE that these numbers are meaningless

21. Algae as a renewable source of ethanol and biodiesel

22. Algae for ethanol and biodiesel: infrastructure costs too great

23. Survival of the human species depends on our ability to capture energy in a way that is sustainable

24. We should start planting fields of switchgrass everywhere so we can fuel our cars on renewable fuel Without talking to your neighbor, do you agree or disagree? Write all of your reasons for your position (one per sticky note) No talking!

25. It is BETTER for the U.S. government to invest more money into DEFENSE than into ENERGY Without talking to your neighbor, do you agree or disagree? Write all of your reasons for your position (one per sticky note) No talking!