Welcome to session #3 More than halfway done already! Agenda? Turn in homework? Prayers and Praise/messages from Rep? Overview of tonight’s lessons

Energy from Fossil Fuels-how and why Nuclear energy-the good, the bad, the

ugly Solar energy-is it really available to

everyone? Renewable energy – other sources Your research paper questions and answers Your take home test #3 with links

Or how forgotten flora and fauna feed your Ford

What is a fossil fuel?

The chemical remains of Paleolithic plants and animals.

Heat and pressure turn decaying matter into liquid goo that will burn when ignited.

Coal, oil, and natural gas are fossil fuels

What is a fossil fuel?

The type of fossil fuel created depends on the kind of plant or animal laid down and the amount of heat and pressure the matter was subjected to.

What is a fossil fuel?

All fossil fuels originally came from the sun. This is the real trapped energy we release when we burn fossil fuels.

The world in total gets 90% of its energy supply from fossil fuels.

What is a fossil fuel?

Why aren’t there fossil fuels being made today?

What is a fossil fuel?

We humans are using fossil fuels at rates over 100,000 times faster than new fuels are being made.

Since they take millions of years to form, fossil fuels are considers non-renewable resources.

What is a fossil fuel?

Burning fossil fuels releases not only the sun’s energy in the form of heat, but it also releases greenhouse gases.

The greenhouse gases come from the carbon that was trapped in the fossil fuels at the time of their formation.

How’s that work?

Fossil fuels contain carbon – because they were once alive and all living things on our planet contain carbon. (We are a carbon based planet when it comes to lifeforms.)

Carbon looks like this:

How’s that work?

The carbon atom, not having a full outer electron shell, can bond with other elements like oxygen to make CO₂ .

This CO₂ is released when we bring fossil fuels up from the ground as well as when we burn them.

Oops! Our bad!

CO2 gases are the number one cause of climate change today.

The more CO2 we release into the atmosphere, the warmer it gets.

The pros and cons

What are the advantages of fossil fuels? Straightforward combustion process Relatively inexpensive Easily transported What are the disadvantages of fossil

fuels? Thought to be a major cause of global

warming Cause of acid rain Not sustainable in the long-term  Politics and Economics can cause major

price increases Extraction can be very damaging to the

landscape

Making electricity from dinosaurs

How we use fossil fuels

Oil

Where’s the oil found?

Why?

Oil was formed from rich plankton based seas. When the plankton died, they fell to the seafloor creating layer upon layer of organic material.

Under pressure and heat, they decayed into carbon rich crude oil.

Saudi Arabia used to be under water, and for a long time. Hence, lots of plankton were turned into oil there.

Reserves vs. Production

“By 2010, the production of the fuel that has driven the world’s economy will start to rapidly decline. This will conflict with the steadily increasing demand for oil. The collision of these two trends will lead to shortages and increased prices, providing a strong incentive to shift to alternative fuel resources…Due to unequal distribution through the world of oil and gas supply and consumption, [the upcoming] transition will result in significant shifts in global power and wealth.”

http://www.energybulletin.net/node/45679

It’s not the size of the tank, but the size of the tap.

History of oil in the US

Goes back to 1859 in Pennsylvania, not far from the coal mines.

We used to be the largest oil producer until oil was found in the Middle East.

What happened to our production?

Follow the money…

Middle East oil was easy to get out of the ground

Harder to get oil in the US. The land area once covered in sea

is smaller, so reserves are lower than in the ME.

What happens as these resources give out?

But wait! There’s more!

Other forms of fossil fuels include coal and natural gas. Of all the forms of fossil fuels, gas is the cleanest and most energy rich.

The carbon bonds in natural gas break very quickly and with a high amount of heat energy, so you get more bang for your buck.

But as supplies run out, we need to utilize more drastic measures to get the gas.

Fraking

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHQu3SeUwUI

Break

Nuclear Energy

Nuclear Energy

How it works – Rods of enriched uranium are

submerged into water which is heated by the decay of the uranium. Control rods help to govern the amount of heat produced.

Just like in a fossil fuel generator, the hot water makes stem that then turns a turbine to generate electricity.

Simple, right?

Nuclear Energy

Nuclear Energy

The difference between fusion and fission…

Fission splits- no prob – your stomach can do this

Fusion fuses – need CERN or the sun to do this.

Nuclear Energy

If it’s so simple, why doesn’t everyone use it?

Nuclear Energy

http://www.ida.liu.se/~her/npp/demo

Nuclear Energy

What are some problems in getting rid of nuclear wastes?

What about accidents at nuclear power plants? Terrorism?

What about locations of plants? What about the economic issues of

clean cheap fuel in our world? What do you think the future of

nuclear fuel might be?

Nuclear Energy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fCCVU4y7oE

Chernobyl

Tiny break

Solar Energy

Basic energy collected from the sun Can be passive or active collection Can involve a mechanical or

chemical interaction in the production of heat and electricity

Solar Energy

Solar Energy

Solar Energy

Wind power is an offshoot of solar power since the sun causes winds.

Where then would the best wind farms be located?

Renewable energy resources Biofuels Hydrogen Water Wind Geothermal Tidal Ocean thermal Passive sources

Getting close to last slide! What is the US policy on renewable

energy sources? Do we get tax credits for installing

alternative energy equipment? Why didn’t we do this sooner? What other things should we be

doing to lower our carbon footprint?

Your research paper

Check out the website for links and help.

Email me for clarification Next week you’ll get the final

questions This week’s take home test – any

questions

Last slide!!!!

GO HOME!