Pubh 6011 Energy Lecture pt 1.

what is the environment

everything external to your person is the your environment

• can be broad/global, or localized such as the shampoo you buy

environment / biology relationship

you cant have healthy people without a healthy environment and people greatly influence the health of the environment

how the environment flows through us

• The particles that we cannot physically see cause us a lot of harm

  • Anything in the air flows through us and can potentially make it into our blood stream

• we consume 20 m³ of air/day a 7,300m³/year

human consumption of water

• 2 liters of water per day consumed = about 193 gallons a year

  • Anything in the water (lead, ecoli) influences our health

human consumption of food

average American consumes ~2000 pounds of food/year which is made from soil, air, and water

• Any impurities in the soil, air or water gets into the plants and then gets into us

you replace your own body parts

You replace your own body parts using materials from the environment

• new stomach every 2 to 9 days (73 per year); through cellular replication

  • acidic environment kills of cells

  • made through food we eat and water we drink and oxygen from air

• 18 new skins every year

• 45 new lungs every year

• small intestine

• skeleton: 10% per year

Metabolism

energy lost as heat

What has the environment done for us

• supporting (ex photosynthesis, nutrient cycling)

• cultural (spiritual, aesthetic)

• provisioning (food, medicine, wayer)

• regulating (water, climate, air)

Environmental decisions are highly multidisciplinary, Public Health issues are very influential when making environmental decisions

• public health

• public opinion

• lawyers

• politicians

• economists

solar energy

• the primary power source that created fossil fuels and drives life on earth

Dr. Howard Otum

valued embodied energy

• e.g a forest and see how much natural and human energy went into it

argued sun is driver of all things on earth

natural energy flow

earth (ocean) creating —→ oil, natural gas, coal —> economic use —> commerce industry —> humans

• heat is always lost as heat

relative rarity

• the rarer and concentrated the commodity, the more expensive they are

  • radium, gold, vitamin B-12 are the most expensive because it takes more energy and effort to collect

  • we have to add energy to further concentrate them

annual consumption of each US citizens

• 9690 lbs of stone

• 6386 lbs sand gravel

  • all used for homes

Each US citizen consumed how many minerals

• 38,155 pounds of minerals in 2026 to support our lifestyle

• Weather disasters and new infrastructure will increase this consumption

energy consumption and health and quality of life

• as electricity use increases, human development index creases (child mortality, life expectancy)

• US Canada Australia and Japan have high HDI

• however Energy consumption clearly improves health and quality of life, but plenty of room to live a high quality life with less energy consumption.

  • because as we use more electricity, we become more sedentary

Ethiopia and electricty

built huge dam to produce enough electricity for entire country and their neighbors as well

human population and energy use

• Back in 1880 when oil was discovered, we had 1 billion people, as population boomed, energy use went up (or was it vice versa)

  • Energy use allows us to live longer and better lives, which is why it can be the inverse (since energy boomed, population did as well)

world population and fossil fuels

late 1800s early 1900s population boomed as soon as fossil fuels were discovered

US energy consumption

• US energy consumption over time from 1776 (mostly wood), but right around late 1800s coal use started to increase to heat their homes

  • 1918 flu (barely oil and natural gas was barely used)

American energy pie

• 1/3 natural gas (36%)

• 1/3 petroleum (38%)

• coal, nuclear, renewable (9%)

American energy pie percentage of fossil fuels

• 83% of this is fossil fuels (natural gas, petroleum, coal)

American energy pie percentage used to making electricity

• 50% goes to making electricity (natural gas, coal, nuclear, renewable)

American energy pie percentage for transportation

100% is dependent on oil

story of crude oil

• 400 MYA there are living things such as plankton in the ocean

  • in Pangea, there were a lot of shallow oceans

  • the biomass would die, go to bottom of ocean, and build up over time

• then sand and stilt would fall on plant and animal remains

• then goes down into earth to pressurize it to make oil and gas

how do we get oil

• When we punch a hole in the ground miles deep, we release a pressure, so the oil comes up on its own (usually mixed with water)

• After that, we pump water

• 25% of oil is flows due to reservoir pressure

• 10-15% with water down the hole and pumping

• 60% too thick “heavy oil” and/or bound to soil - left in place as unrecoverable

  • they’ve tried Steam, soaps, microbes, mineral spirits, vibration …

  • Maybe 5% more

  • Energy input to output ratio diminishes 

crude oil facts

• 1,400 “major” and “giant” conventional oil fields contain most of the worlds oil

  • Of 288 giant fields in US (22found in 60s, 14 in 70s, 3 in 80s, none since)

• world oil discoveries peaked in 1962

• Petroleum industry began in 1859 in Oil Creek, PA

  • 1859-1940 (80 years) – US supplied 66% of world oil

  • 1950 - US supplied 50% of world oil

  • 1970 - US imported 23%

  • 2010 - US imported 68%

  • 2023 – US imported 40% (but we export finished products)

Global conventional oil discoveries peaked in

• 1962

• Though unconventional sources like hydrofracked oil, Canadian tar sands has eased the urgency on depleting oil supplies for the time being

The US oil gap

• used to be 6 million barrels of oil a day

• now its produced 13 million barrels a day due to fracking

• US has become a net oil exporter because we export crude oil and finished products (e.g. gasoline and diesel)

  • most imports come from Canada

oil consumed globally every day

• 100 million barrels of oil a day

oil prices and price at the pump

• oil prices are the #1 factor in motor fuel production

• its a globally traded commodity, so prices are set globally

most oil barrel produces transportation fuels

• gasoline (19 gallons)

• distillate fuel oil (9 gallons)

• jet fuel (4.1 gallons)

Canadian tar sands

• soil in the boiled forest that they then forest to seperate the chemical from the sand

• once its seperated, oil

• Oily sand is scooped into trucks and boiled to separate the oil. Canadian forests are denuded exposing the soil to erosion. Sterile soil makes forest regrowth very difficult.

hydrofracking

• works by injecting water, sand, and a small amount of chemicals at high pressure into rock formations deep underground. This pressure creates cracks in the rock, allowing trapped oil, natural gas, or water to flow more easily to a well for extraction

• wells are often drilled vertically and then horizontally to reach more of the rock layer containing hydrocarbons

• 
  

old way of drilling vs new way of drilling

• old and conventional: basic vertical penetration

• tiramisu/unconventional: more sophisticated horizontal penetration; more precise

hydrofracking regulation

• regulated by state level

• each well requires 5 million gallons of water, sand, and 19k gallons of chemicals

• Heavy truck traffic, diesel exhaust, water demand, wastewater handling, spills, and worker hazards. Methane leakage adds climate impacts.

hydrofracking downsides

• waste water is either taken to disposal wells or used for future wells

• earthquake problems

• Hydrofracking there extracts “tight oil,” and natural gas comes up with it. When that gas is burned off instead of collected and used, it creates a visible glow. The professor’s point is that getting oil can also produce wasted energy, air pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions.

unconventional oil being flammable

Unconventional oil is moved by rail but its more explosive than conventional crude oil

• extracting unconventional oil creates a need to move it. Transport can bring serious risks to communities along rail routes and to waterways near accidents. In a systems thinking answer, include these risks after extraction and before fuel use.

shale industry fatality

Shale industry is 4.1 times more lethal than all other industries for the worker

Truck traffic near fracking sites

Wells need equipment, water, sand, and waste removal. Heavy traffic on smaller rural roads can damage roads, increase crash risks, and expose people to diesel exhaust. This is an example of an indirect local health effect of extraction.

Majority of US natural gas comes from

80% comes from hydrofracking

US natural gas uses

• heats buildings and supports industrial activities.

• makes things like antifreeze plastics, pharmaceuticals

Burning gas versus leaking gas

While natural gas (which is mostly methane) burns cleaner than coal, some methane leaks into the atmosphere during extraction. Methane is a potent GHG