Thorium- based reactors
Cheaper and safer but research and development are needed.
Photochemical
Products of oil distillation, raw materials for industrial organic chemicals.
Proven oil reserves
Identified deposits that can be extracted profitably with current technology.
Business net profit
Total money taken in minus all expenses.
The first law of thermodynamics
It takes high-quality energy to get high-quality points. Pumping oil from the ground, refining it, transporting it.
The second law of thermodynamics
Some high-quality energy is wasted at every step
Net Energy
Total amount of useful energy available from a resource minus the energy needed to make the energy available to consumers
Business net profit
Total money taken in minus all expenses
New energy ratio
ratio of energy produced to energy used to produce it
Peak production
the time after which production from a good declines
Photochemical
Products of oil distillation, raw materials for industrial organic chemicals
Proven oil reserves
Identified deposits that can be extracted profitably with current technology
Liquefied natural gas (LNG)
Low net energy yield and makes the U.S. dependent upon unstable countries like Russia and Iran
Coal
solid fossil fuel
Three largest coal-burning countries
China, the United States, and Canada
Nuclear fusion
Fuse lighter elements into heavier elements, with no risk of meltdown or significant radioactivity release
Refining
Heating crude oil to separate it into various fuels and other components with different boiling points in a complex process
Petrochemicals
the 2% of the products of refining; used for raw materials to make industrial organic chemicals, cleaning fluids, pesticides, plastics, synthetic fibers, paints, medicines, cosmetics, ice cream, and many other products
Fracking
High-pressure pumps shoot a mixture of water, sand, and chemicals into the well; the pressure builds up and creates cracks so that the oil/natural gas can flow up to the surface
Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)
When propane and butane gases are liquefied under high pressure