Energy

The Earth’s Systems

Biosphere

• communities of living things on Earth

• the sphere of life

Atmosphere

• the gaseous envelope surrounding the earth

Hydrosphere

• earth’s supply of water

Cryosphere

• ice cover

Geosphere/Lithosphere

• soil and rock of the earth’s surface

Ecosphere

• biosphere + atmosphere / hydrosphere / lithosphere

although different levels of organization have varying and unique features, they are interconnected.

whatever happens in any one level will have an effect on another

Principle of Emergent Properties

• where interactions between individual components of a system give rise to new characteristics that aren’t inherent in the parts themselves

  • ex: h2 (gas) + o2 (gas) = h2o (water)

• recall: a single organism relies on energy for survival, but it is the interaction between organisms—plants, animals, microbes— and their environment that gives rise to the complex energy flow we see in ecosystems

• energy flow in an ecosystem is not just about individual organisms taking in energy; it’s about how energy is transferred, transformed, and recycled in the ecosystem as a whole

• emergent property: energy flow → drives sustainability and balance of entire ecosystems influencing biodiversity, population dynamics, resilience of ecosystems to disturbances (ex: climate change)

Energy

• essential to all life forms

• most vital of all resources

• capacity to do work or to move matter

• work - transfer of energy

  • hence, the amount of energy used can be determined by measuring the work done

• one of the most important characteristics of humans that set them apart from most animals is their ability to utilize an external energy source to do useful work

• to do work, man needs energy

• growth in population + industrialization

  • because of man’s ability to exploit the natural flows of energy and convert them to human needs

• recall: first law of thermodynamics: “energy can neither be created nor destroyed. it is transformed from one form to another.”

Kinds of Energy in Natural Systems

Kinetic Energy

• energy of motion

• ex: a rolling ball, moving car, swinging pendulum

Potential Energy

• stored energy waiting to be released

• ex: a stretched rubber band, raised object (book on a shelf) compressed spring

Thermal Energy

• energy associated with heat

  • ex: warmth from the sun, hot cup of tea, bonfire

Geothermal Energy

• energy from the interior of the earth

Electrical Energy

• flow of electric charge

• most commonly used form of energy

• can be generated from almost any energy source

  • ex: lightning, batteries powering our gadgets, or electricity flowing through wires

Chemical Energy

• stored in the bonds of atoms and molecules

  • ex: food we eat, batteries, fuels like gasoline

Light Energy

• electromagnetic radiation that we can see

  • ex: sunlight, light bulbs, or the glow of a firefly

Sound Energy

• produced by vibrations that travel through matter

  • ex: music, voices, or the chirping of birds

Nuclear Energy

• released during nuclear reactions, primarily through processes like nuclear fission or nuclear fusion

  • ex: energy from the sun (nuclear fusion), or energy produced in nuclear power plants (nuclear fusion)

  • nuclear fission

    • a reaction where the nucleus of an atom splits into two or more smaller nuclei, while releasing energy

  • nuclear fusion

    • two light atomic nuclei (like hydrogen isotopes) combine to form a heavier nucleus, releasing energy

Energy Resources

Renewable Energy

• comes from sources that are naturally replenished and are virtually inexhaustible on a human time scale

  • ex: solar power, wind energy, total energy, biomass, geothermal or hydropower

Non-Renewable

• comes from sources that are finite and cannot be easily replenished

  • ex: fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas

• fossil fuels

  • coal, oil, natural gas

  • formed through complex geologic and chemical processes millions of years ago

  • biomass of organisms that did not decompose completely and under extreme temperature and pressure conditions → chemical energy is locked and preserved

  • chemical energy → thermal energy

The Philippine Energy Resources

• 2021: 97.49% of the population have access to electricity

• energy mix: the balance of sources of energy in the supply

• natural gas → formed during the natural formation of oil

• The geological basins of the Philippines:

  • most prospective basins - green

  • prospective but underexplored - yellow

  • frontier areas - red

Hydropower

• energy produced from flowing water

• pros

  • no pollution

  • electricity is cheaper

    • spent water can still be utilized

• cons

  • destruction of terrestrialand aquatic ecosystems

  • alteration of natural flow

Solar Power

• energy from the sun

Wind Energy

• energy from the wind currents are used to run wind turbines

• conditions

  1. winds must be fairly steady

  2. average wind speed all year round must not be lower than 15-20 km/hr

  3. area must not be visited too often by typhoons

Geothermal Energy

• thermal energy from the interior of the earth