1. Ch. 17.1: Energy Resources and Fossil Fuels
Nonrenewable Energy
Ch. 17.1: Energy Resources and Fossil Fuels

2. What does it mean to be “nonrenewable?”
Forms at a slower rate than the rate that it is consumed
Ex:
Minerals
Fossil Fuels
Coal
Oil
Natural gas

3. Fossil Fuels
Fossil Fuels- remains of ancient organisms that changed into coal, oil, or natural gas
They are natural resources
Used to run cars, ships, planes, and factories
Produce electricity

4. 2 Main Problems with Fossil Fuels
1. Fossil fuel supply is limited
2. Obtaining and using them has environmental consequences

5. Fuels for Different Uses
Used for 4 main Purposes:
Transportation
Manufacturing
Heating/cooling
Generating electricity
Determining which fuel to use for which purpose depends on:
Fuel’s energy content, cost, availability, safety, and byproducts

6. Electricity Energy in fuels is often converted into electrical energy
More convenient
Transported great distances(across state) or tiny distances (computer chip)
2 disadvantages:
Difficult to store
Other energy sources have to be used to generate it

7. How is electricity generated?
Electric generator- converts mechanical energy (motion) into electrical energy

8. How Fossil-Fuel Deposits Form
Coal Formation:
Forms from the remains of plants that lived in swamps hundreds of millions of years ago
~300 mill years ago
Ocean levels rose and fell & swamps were covered with sediment
Sediment compressed the remains
Heat and pressure from Earth caused coal to form

9. Oil & Natural Gas formation
Result from the decay of tiny marine organisms that accumulated on the bottom of the ocean
Remains buried by sediment
Heated until they became carbon molecules
Carbon molecules migrated into porous rock

10. Coal Most of the world’s fossil-fuel reserves are made up of coal
2 advantages:
Relatively inexpensive
Needs little refining after it has been mined
More than half of the electricity generated in the US comes from coal-fired power plants

11. Coal Mining Impact Impact on the environment:
Underground mines have minimal effect
Surface coal-mining can remove top an entire mountains
waste rock/toxic chemicals can leach into nearby water sources
Produces air pollution

12. Petroleum Petroleum (crude oil)-oil that is pumped from the ground
Used to make fuels, chemicals, and plastics
This is called petroleum product
45% of world’s commercial energy use

13. Locating Oil Deposits
Most of world’s oil reserves are in the Middle East
Oil reserve- oil deposits that can be extracted profitably at current prices using current technology.
Other places: US
Venezuela
North Sea
Siberia
Nigeria
After petroleum is removed-transported to refinery to be converted into fuels and other products

14. Environmental Effects of Using Oil
Petroleum fuels are burned-releases pollutants
Smog
Health
Oil spills

15. Effects of oil spills…