How are Energy Sources used?

Used directly (e.g Burned in an engine) - 56% Converted to electricity (Coal burned to generate electricity) - 44%

How is most electricity generated in the US?

Generated by turbines (Energy source is used to heat water into steam, which spins the turbine and in turn spins copper wires within a generator)

Energy Conservation

a reduction in energy use due to changes in behaviors and practices. (e.g., turn off lights when not in use)

Energy Efficiency

proportion of avaliable energy used by a device to perform work

Fossil Fuels

combustible hydrocarbon deposits in the Earth’s crust derived from organisms buried millions of years ago

Coal

Formed from swamps hundreds of millions of years ago as sediments gradually buried them over time. The high pressures from the weight of this overlying sediment eventually converts the dead plants into coal. It is found in seams covered by sedimentary rock

Subsurface mining

Removing underground deposits by digging tunnels (i.e., a coal mine)

Surface mining

Obtaining coal by first removing surface plants, soil, and rock (called overburden), then using excavators to extract coal.

Forestry Reclamation Approach

uses science to identify best practices for rapidly restoring

exposed slopes at mine sites.

Cap and Trade system

The government sets a cap on the total amount of pollutant that can safely be emitted nationally, then allots a fraction to each source (such as a power plant). Polluters who emit less than their allotment get a credit they can sell (trade) to those who emit more.

Clean Coal

coal power plants that nearly eliminate sulfur and nitrogen oxide emissions, generally using Scrubbers. These systems spray lime (from limestone) and water into smokestack to capture sulfuric acid gas and particulate matter. The resulting waste (sludge and fly ash) are then dumped in a landfill or sold.

How do current temperatures compare to past temperatures?

Current temperatures are vastly lower than most of the past 60 million years, by as much as 15⁰ C

Does CO2 cause temperature to rise?

Ice core data show this is NOT TRUE (apparently). CO2 levels rise ~1000 years AFTER temperature increases, on average

Has the arctic lost or gained ice?

Greenand has shown evidence of losing ace (as it did when the vikings discovered the continents thousands of years ago) but Antarctica has gained ice (apparently)

Has Sea level risen?

Sea level is rising, however, it is consistent with the amount of sea level rise present in the previous interglacial period (16ft higher today than it is today)

100 years BEFORE atmospheric CO2 began rising more rapidly, sea level has been rising a little over an inch/decade on average. It is projected to rise ~1 foot by 2100.This will submerge some low-lying coastal areas. Coastal ecosystems have adapted to changes in sea level for millions of years by moving with water levels. Thus, normally sea level rise poses little problem to most species and ecosystems. However, humans have placed developments along many coastal areas, which may pose significant problems for wetland migration and similar adaptations in many areas

Is the ocean becoming more acidic

nO they are not current levels are within ranges of the past million years and more basic than most of the past 60 million years

how has higher co2 affected plant growth

Warming and CO2 fertilization (more atmospheric CO2 allowing increased photosynthesis) has led (partly) to measurable increases in net primary productivity on land, both in natural ecosystems and agricultural lands

Warming temperatures and CO2 fertilization, plus decreased Arctic sea ice are, on average, leading to increased net primary productivity in the ocean as well.

Have droughts increased or decreased?

Decreased

Have floods increased?

No, the data is inconclusive

Have wildfires increased?

No; Decreased

Have climate related deaths been affected by climate change?

No, deaths from extreme temperatures have greatly decreased.

Solar thermal heating

Solar Thermal Electric Generation

sun’s energy is concentrated by mirrors on a fluid filled pipe. Hot fluid is pumped through pipe to heat water in a tank, making steam. Steam moves a turbine to generate electricity (see turbine

slide)

Photovoltaics (PV)

• panels made of solar cells.

• Solar energy stimulates the flow of electrons within the cell & through the system, resulting in direct energy generation

• Most environmentally friendly if placed on top of existing infrastructure

Biofuels

e.g., methane, biodiesel, ethanol) derived from plant material

or animal waste

• Conventional biofuels are derived from corn, soy, and sugarcane

Why Biofuels are bad

• Require LOTS OF LAND and water for crops

• Increases land pollution and soil erosion

• Require extensive fossil fuel use

Wind Energy

• wind turns a turbine, generating electricity

Cons: Requires a lot of land (460 times more than nuclear)

kills birds and bats in appalachia

Hydropower

• water in a reservoir behind a dam flows through a penstock, turning a turbine, which generates electricity.

• Destroys (floods) a large

  amount of terrestrial habitat

  upstream. Requires 500 times

  more land than nuclear

• Decreases migratory fish

  populations and prevents them from reaching spawn habitat

• Sediments that originally enriched agricultural land and blocked by dam

Geothermal Energy

• Energy source derived from hot magma that reaches close to Earth’s surface at plate boundaries, used to create steam to run turbines (geothermal electricity)

Geothermal heat pumps

• Harnesses low grade heat from the heating of the Earth’s surface by the sun

• uses very little land when placed beneath existing infrastructure

Nuclear Energy

• Created by nuclear fission- which involves splitting an atom by hitting it with neutrons, releasing more neutrons and htting more uranium atoms in a continuous cycle.

• Can be stopped by control rods

• heat is used to create steam which then turns a turbine

• LOWEST LAND FOOT PRINT AND FATALATIES OF ALL ENERGY SOURCES EVALUATED

What energy sources are best

Nuclear energy (0.03% of land capacity)

Solar over existing infrastructure (2% of land capacity)

Natural Gas (0.4% of land capacity)

Algae biofuels and Geothermal

How do Greenhouses work?

Background Greenhouses work by glass panels allowing sunlight (short wavelengths) to pass through and hit surfaces in the greenhouse, heating them up and converting into long wavelength infrared radiation (heat). These long wavelengths don’t pass through the glass easily, so heat gets trapped in the greenhouse

Greenhouse effect

• idea that greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere, including CO2, methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and especially WATER VAPOR (H2O), operate similar to the glass in a greenhouse.

• They let light from the sun pass through and hit the earth, warming it up, but limit the ability of this heat to pass back out, at least up to a point.

• If it weren’t for heat trapping by these gases, life on Earth as we know it would not exist because it would be below freezing.

Dominant narrative of climate change components

1. Atmospheric CO2 concentrations* are increasing.

2. CO2 increases* are due to burning of fossil fuels (& other human

activity).

3. This human-released CO2* is trapping more heat on the planet,

raising global surface temperatures (air & ocean).

4. Rising temperatures are causing other changes to climate that are catastrophic and pose an existential threat to humans &/or life as a

whole.

Are climate models tested

no, they are untested hypotheses

Base Load Capacity

minimum energy needed by the grid to function

Two Prongs

1. Identify the most pressing issues

2. utilize the solutions that cause the least environmental harm