UNIT II:

Renewable Vs. Nonrenewable Energy Resources

Renewable energies generate from natural sources that can be replaced over a relatively short
time scale. Examples of renewable energies include solar, wind, hydro, geothermal and biomass.
Nonrenewable energies come from resources that are not replaced or are replaced only very
slowly by natural processes. The primary sources for nonrenewable energies in the world are
fossil fuels -- coal, gas and oil. Nuclear energy is also considered nonrenewable because there is
a limited supply of uranium in the Earth's crust. When planning the energy profile for various
communities, the advantages and disadvantages of renewable vs. nonrenewable energies need
to be considered.

Advantages of Renewable Energy Resources

Because renewable energies are not burned like fossil fuels, they do not release pollutants into
the atmosphere and provide a cleaner, healthier environment. Sources of renewable energy are
found everywhere in the world and cannot be depleted. Costs for tapping renewable energies
are decreasing as the technology advances and, once established, maintenance costs are
generally low. Because trained technicians are needed to maintain the equipment, some
renewable energy plants have the potential to generate more jobs than highly mechanized fossil
fuel plants. Most importantly, there are little or no greenhouse gas emissions associated with
renewable energies that are contributing to driving up the planet's temperature.

Disadvantages of Renewable Energy Resources

Initial costs for setting up renewable energy plants are often quite high and require careful
planning and implementation. Building dams, for example, for hydroelectric power requires high
initial capital and high maintenance expenses. Renewable energies like solar and wind require
large tracts of land to produce energy quantities competitive with fossil fuel burning. Renewable
sources of energy are also affected by weather, reducing their reliability. For example, wind
turbines only rotate it there is enough wind at a given speed and solar panels do not operate at
night time and are less efficient on cloudy days.

Advantages of Nonrenewable Energy Resources

Fossil fuels are the world's traditional energy sources and electrical power plants, vehicles and
various industrial plants are built around using them. Many nonrenewable energies are more
reliable than most renewables and are not subject to weather conditions. They provide
continuous --not intermittent, weather-dependent -- energy. New technologies, such as carbon,
capture and storage (CCS) are emerging that may allow fossil fuel use with less harmful effects
to the environment This process captures carbon dioxide (CO2) from electrical and industrial
plants and stores it underground instead of releasing it to the atmosphere. The U.S. Department
of Energy currently has several CCS projects in place to determine the long-term feasibility of
this technology.

Disadvantages of Nonrenewable Energy Resources

Fossil fuels are in a limited supply and will one day be depleted. Processes for extracting and
transporting fossil fuels have caused widespread environmental damage from strip mining and
accidental oil spills. Most importantly, burning fossil fuels releases harmful greenhouse gases
into the atmosphere, primarily CO2. Incorporating CCS technologies into existing fossil fuel
plants to prevent CO2 emissions is extremely costly. Nuclear power plants do not release C02,
but pose other risks such as potential radiation leaks and waste storage problems. The costs for
building new nuclear power plants have risen sharply making them less economical than other
types of power.

Conclusions
Governments worldwide are recognizing that burning fossil fuels is changing the Earth's climate,
increasing global average temperatures, causing unprecedented melting of polar sea ice and
raising sea levels. Given these climate-change threats, renewable energies appear to be the
wave of the future. Many countries, including the United States, have programs for limiting CO2
emissions and supporting renewable energy development. Renewable energy R & D is helping
to lower costs and increase efficiency. In the future, there will likely not be a single solution to a
community's energy needs but a combination of technologies. Communities will need to
identity the energy resources in their area and develop sustainable energy plans.

The Difference Between Renewable and Nonrenewable Energy Sources

The main difference between renewable and nonrenewable energy is in the combustion and
consumption of fuel. Nonrenewable energy sources burn oil and petroleum products such as
gasoline, diesel fuel and propane to power a motor or electrical generator. Natural gas is also
burned for heat and electricity, as is coal. Uranium ore is mined for use as fuel in fission
reactors. All of these types of energy rely on fuels that are in finite supply. On the other hand,
renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, water and geothermal all rely on collecting and
converting the energy from naturally occurring phenomena that are relatively permanent and
require no external fuel source.

Positive Aspects of Nonrenewable Energy

The energy infrastructure of much of the industrialized world is built to be powered by
fossil fuel. According to Andy Darvill’s Science Site, nonrenewable fossil fuels provide
66 percent of the world’s electrical power, while satisfying 95 percent of our total
energy needs. These include heating, transportation and electricity generation. This
pre-existing infrastructure makes the use of fossil fuels much easier to adopt than
renewable options, which require a greater initial investment. Photovoltaic solar cells
or windmills, for example, may require substantial amounts of money to install. But an
existing building can draw energy from an electrical grid and current natural gas
pipelines without any new equipment. Nonrenewable energy sources are also able to
generate a more constant supply of power, as long as their fuel exists. Renewable
energy sources may rely on irregular or less frequent conditions, such as sunlight to
generate solar power or wind to turn turbines.

Negative Impact of Nonrenewable Energy

One long-term concern with the use of nonrenewable resources is their lack of
sustainability. Eventually, these limited resources will either run out or become too
difficult to mine and our energy infrastructure will lack needed fuel sources. Of more
imminent concern is the pollution generated by mining, refining and consuming these
fuel sources. Harmful levels of air pollution are generated by coal power plants and
power derived from burning petroleum products. Another concern in using these types
of fuels is the potential for accidents, which can devastate both human life and the
environment. While relatively rare, the results of an accident in a coal mine, on an oil
rig or at a nuclear reactor are very severe.

The Disadvantages of Non-Conventional Sources of Energy

In recent years, calls for a stalwart shift toward renewable non-conventional natural
resources as sources of energy have increased. Potential players in the renewable
non-conventional energy sector include solar, wind, algae, geothermal, nuclear,
hydropower and ocean (tidal or wave) alternatives. While these non-conventional
options show promise, they have their drawbacks.

 Inconsistent, Unreliable Supply

 For a number of these non-conventional energy sources, the weather, atmospheric
conditions and the environment have to cooperate for harnessing their energy. Wind
might be in short supply for wind turbines, or cloud cover might interfere with solar
energy collection. Geothermal plants have been known to deplete their energy source,
sometimes unpredictably. This inconsistency and low reliability can be costly, especially
when the goal is to convert an energy source into electricity for power distribution.

When the supply is inconsistent and unreliable, large quantities of power might not be
generated from non-conventional energy sources. That is problematic if a country wants
to depend on the energy source to meet the demands of powering an entire nation. The
inconsistency, unreliability and unpredictability of non-conventional energy sectors that
are still in their infancy lead to debate on whether the sectors are feasibly sustainable for
the long term.

 Pollution
Pollution is a major ecological issue when it comes to non-conventional energy
sources. Wind turbine farms create noise pollution. Nuclear reactors create
toxic wastes that are harmful to living things, thus making storage, transport
and disposal a serious challenge. Geothermal plants have been associated with
toxic emissions such as sulfur dioxide, silica and heavy metal deposits of
mercury, arsenic and boron.

 Harmful to Wildlife and Surrounding Environment

Harmful risks from certain non-conventional energy sources are a reality. Wind
energy farms are notorious for harming species of birds, bats and insects with
windmill blades. Certain solar energy farms create intense hot zones in the
atmosphere from the amount of heat bouncing off their reflective surfaces.
These hot zones have harmed, blinded and killed passing birds and insects.
The construction of facilities to take advantage of ocean energy can destabilize
marine ecosystems, adversely affecting both nesting grounds and hunting
grounds, threatening the future of entire species.

As for nuclear energy, there is the risk of a reactor meltdown. Earthquakes,

floods, sinkholes, tornadoes, hurricanes and all manner of natural disasters can
damage a nuclear plant, creating leaks and environmental contamination.
Nuclear cleanup is not easy, and given the half-life of nuclear elements used in
nuclear plants, it can be extensive. That length of time for recovery from a
nuclear plant disaster might not sit well with constituents and political groups.
Even if no nuclear meltdown takes place, nuclear plants produce harmful waste
materials that are difficult to dispose of, transport and store.
 High Cost
Starting a farm or plant that leverages solar, wind, algae, geothermal, nuclear,
hydropower and ocean avenues requires hefty funding and investments.
Acquiring the real estate to place the windmills, solar panels, algae farm,
geothermal facility, nuclear plant, hydropower dam and ocean center requires
sizable upfront capital outlays to fund, build, maintain and implement the
endeavors properly with infrastructure and technologies that are up to code
standards. The large-scale production, maintenance and harvesting of algae
can translate into exorbitant expenditures.

 Not Every Non-Conventional Energy Source Is

Commercially Viable
Geothermal and ocean energy sources require specific locations close to a
geothermal or ocean energy source. Sometimes that access is not without risks
and hazards, which could affect distribution networks and infrastructure. These
risks and hazards, not to mention the insurance costs to cover them, might be
too pricey for the project to be commercially viable under present technological
standards. Some form of technological breakthrough is needed to further
geothermal and ocean energy sectors. If unfavorable economics exist, these
non-conventional energy sources can turn out to be too costly and inefficient to
be relied upon.

 Location-Specificity Means Lower Chances of

Universality
Non-conventional energy sources that are location-specific have limited
accessibility. Land-locked states can't have ocean energy sources available.
States that do not have deserts, estuaries, geothermal locales, or large tracts of
available land free of development won’t be able to take advantage of solar,
hydropower, geothermal or wind energy resources.

 Low Efficiency Levels

Initial setup costs are steep for unconventional energy sources. The land
management afterward can be taxing as well. Political groups in a state or city
might try to hinder the progress of the project, especially if they argue about
 environmental concerns, displacement of people from large tracts of land or any
other competing interests.

Wind farms are only practical in areas with a lot of wind, and even if the area is
known to be windy, there will be moments when no winds blow. In that situation,
a viable backup solution to address where the energy will come from to power
up the electric grid is needed. Consider hydropower dams during a drought.
Dams might seem advantageous during a boon year of water flow. However,
when there’s a drought or an environmental concern from the redirection of
natural water flow – whether it be interference with the salmon runs in the
Pacific Northwest or the creation of toxic chemical runoff in southern California's
Salton Sea – questions are raised. Even if drought isn't a problem, hydropower
dams are still met with controversy from conservation groups about biological
diversity loss, nutrient flow interference and erosion concerns. Controversies
arise about how efficient the non-conventional energy resource can be during
times of hardship. The non-conventional energy sector is still an industry in its
infancy. Consequently, there will often be arguments and debates revolving
around feasibility, efficiency and scalability.

Examples of Renewable Resources

Interest in so-called renewable sources of energy has risen in concert with rising
concerns in the U.S. and worldwide about climate change. Ample scientific evidence
exists that links the greenhouse gases and other compounds emitted from the
combustion of nonrenewables such as fossils fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) with
undesirable effects on both the world's climate and human health.

There are five basic types of renewable energy sources. These are biomass,
hydropower, geothermal, wind and solar. Renewable resources have the advantage of
being self-replenishing: The world will never run out of them. They carry the
disadvantage, however, of being "flow-limited," meaning that humans cannot simply
ramp up the supply of these fuels in response to growing demand. If a hydroelectric
plant is built on a river with a flow that inexorably diminishes over time, there is little to
nothing engineers can do to drive more water through the hydro turbines at the plant.

Overview of Renewable Resources

When the U.S. population was far smaller than it is today and energy technology was
in its relative infancy, burning wood, although labor-intensive, was sufficient to meet
the nation's energy needs. Through the mid-1800s, there were no electrical
appliances, and heating and cooking needs were the main drivers of seeking out
combustible fuels of any sort. Then the Industrial Revolution and the development of
electrical power followed, and for the last 150 years or so, fossil fuels have provided
the overwhelming majority of humankind's energy needs both in the U.S. and
worldwide.

Renewables have been a major "should" in conversations about energy sources for
decades, but only in the 1990s did their use really start to take off in the U.S. As of
2017, 11 percent of all energy and 17 percent of electricity was produced using a
renewable resource, and 57 percent of renewable energy was dedicated to generating
electrical power.

A list of renewable resources and the amount of energy derived from each can be
found on the Energy Information Administration site in the Resources.

Solar Power
Energy from the sun can be collected and converted to heat and electricity in a
number of different ways. The obvious pitfall with relying on this type of renewable
resource is that the sun is not always visible, and even in the half-day or so that the
sun is above the horizon in most places, cloud cover can render the amount of radiant
solar energy negligible on some days. Because electricity cannot be stored in large
amounts (batteries, while useful, hardly represent a substantial electricity reserve),
solar power is not as useful for around-the-clock needs. Still, arrays of photovoltaic
(PV) cells in sunny areas can provide enough power for a small community.

Hydro Power
Hydro power (or hydropower, as it is sometimes written) is power generated by the
kinetic energy of flowing water. Water has mass, often lots of it, and flowing water
obviously possesses some measure of velocity; energy is nothing more than the
product of mass times the square of velocity multiplied by a constant. Like sunlight,
the amount of water flowing into a given area is not entirely predictable, although
hydro projects usually fraught with less uncertainty than solar or wind in terms of
availability of the resource.

Hydro power was the primary renewable energy resource in the U.S. as of 2018,
although its share among renewables is declining as renewables as a commodity
become more prevalent overall. The major consideration with this type of power is that
it can disrupt ecosystems and wildlife habitats. Since many hydro projects involve
dams, the resulting artificial lakes can literally flood creatures out of their homes.

Wind Power
Wind is the movement of air, and this movement is caused by the fact that the Earth's
surface varies a great deal from place to place (e.g., water here, a desert there,
mountains over there) and these different surfaces absorb and release heat from the
sun in different ways. Generally, air over land warms and rises, and cool air from over
oceans rushes in to replace it; in the evenings, the wind blows back toward the water.
Wind is therefore really a form of solar energy, although the physical rotation of the
planet on its axis does contribute to wind currents to some extent.

Wind power is wonderfully inexpensive, but alas, the unpredictability of wind patterns
makes it a less than optimal choice for power generation on significant scales.

Biofuels
Also called biomass, biofuels represent a diverse and rapidly expanding form of
renewable energy. Various material from living things can be converted to energy, from
decaying plant matter (including wood and the waste from wood-processing centers)
to garbage to manure and sewage. Biofuels such as ethanol (a biogas) can assume
some of the the same roles as traditional gasoline and diesel fuel.

Not only do these fuels reduce the "carbon foorprint" of the municipality or entity using
them, they also dispose of waste in an extremely useful way, making for a win-win.
Whereas fossil fuels release long-stored carbon dioxide into the atmosphere when
they are burned, plants, a major contributor to biofuels, actually take up carbon dioxide
that is released when biofuels are burned, making for a more cyclical scheme.

Geothermal Power
This kind of power is derived from heat energy released from deep within the Earth
itself thanks to radioactive decay processes in rocks far beneath the planet's surface.
Its high reliability and the fact that it can be generated locally make it an increasingly
attractive renewable resource option.

Heat moves from the center of the Earth (the core) upward through the mantle and
finally to the 3- to 5-mile-thick crust. People can tap the resulting hot underground
springs and use the heat to power a variety of processes. This renewable is, by
definition, not going away, but it is perhaps more potent than many people realize: The
center of the Earth is, believe it or not, warmer than the surface of the sun!

Renewable Energy Options

So if you're interested in "going green" yourself but have no idea where to begin, how
do individuals and businesses go about implementing renewables in their own
everyday lives?

One obvious, though not always practical, way is to generate energy from renewables
yourself, in the location where it will be used. This could mean installing PV solar cells
on the roof of your home or, if you're a developer or administrator, an office or school
building. Private geothermal heat pumps and heat and power derived from biomass
are other options. You may also be able to buy renewable energy from your electric
company if it offers a "green pricing" or "green marketing" option. Coordinating with
your municipal government is a great place to start here.

Non-renewable energy comes from sources that will run out or will not
be replenished in our lifetimes—or even in many, many lifetimes.

Most non-renewable energy sources are fossil fuels: coal, petroleum,

and natural gas. Carbon is the main element in fossil fuels. For this
reason, the time period that fossil fuels formed (about 360-300 million
years ago) is called the Carboniferous Period.

All fossil fuels formed in a similar way. Hundreds of millions of years

ago, even before the dinosaurs, Earth had a different landscape. It was
covered with wide, shallow seas and swampy forests.

Plants, algae, and plankton grew in these ancient wetlands. They

absorbed sunlight and created energy through photosynthesis. When
they died, the organisms drifted to the bottom of the sea or lake. There
was energy stored in the plants and animals when they died.

Over time, the dead plants were crushed under the seabed. Rocks and
other sediment piled on top of them, creating high heat and pressure
underground. In this environment, the plant and animal remains
eventually turned into fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, and petroleum).
Today, there are huge underground pockets (called reservoirs) of these
non-renewable sources of energy all over the world.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Fossil fuels are a valuable source of energy. They are relatively

inexpensive to extract. They can also be stored, piped, or shipped
anywhere in the world.

However, burning fossil fuels is harmful for the environment. When coal
and oil are burned, they release particles that can pollute the air,
water, and land. Some of these particles are caught and set aside, but
many of them are released into the air.

Burning fossil fuels also upsets Earth’s “carbon budget,” which

balances the carbon in the ocean, earth, and air. When fossil fuels
are combusted (heated), they release carbon dioxide into
the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is a gas that keeps heat in Earth’s
atmosphere, a process called the “greenhouse effect.” The greenhouse
effect is necessary to life on Earth, but relies on a balanced carbon
budget.

The carbon in fossil fuels has been sequestered, or stored,

underground for millions of years. By removing this sequestered
carbon from the earth and releasing it into the atmosphere, Earth’s
carbon budget is out of balance. This contributes to temperatures
rising faster than organisms can adapt.

Coal

Coal is a black or brownish rock. We burn coal to create energy. Coal is

ranked depending on how much “carbonization” it has gone through.
Carbonization is the process that ancient organisms undergo to
become coal. About 3 meters (10 feet) of solid vegetation crushed
together into .3 meter (1 foot) of coal!

Peat is the lowest rank of coal. It has gone through the least amount of
carbonization. It is an important fuel in areas of the world including
Scotland, Ireland, and Finland.

Anthracite is the highest rank of coal. Anthracite forms in regions of

the world where there have been giant movements of the earth, such
as the formation of mountain ranges. The Appalachian Mountains, in
the eastern part of the United States, are rich in anthracite.

We mine coal out of the ground so we can burn it for energy. There are
two ways that we can mine coal: underground mining and surface
mining.

Underground mining is used when the coal is located below the

surface of the Earth, sometimes 300 meters (1,000 feet) deep—that’s
deeper than most of the Great Lakes! Miners take an elevator down a
mineshaft. They operate heavy machinery that cuts the coal out of the
Earth and brings it above ground. This can be dangerous work because
cutting coal can release dangerous gases. The gases can cause
explosions or make it hard for miners to breathe.

Surface mining is used when the coal is located very near the surface
of the earth. To get to the coal, companies must first clear the area.
They take away the trees and soil. The coal can then be cut out of the
ground more easily. Entire habitats are destroyed during this process.

About half the electricity in the United States comes from coal. It
gives power to our lights, refrigerators, dishwashers, and most other
things we plug in. When coal is burned, it leaves “byproducts” that are
also valuable. We use the byproducts to make cement, plastics, roads,
and many other things.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Coal is a reliable source of energy. We can rely on it day and night,

summer and winter, sunshine or rain, to provide fuel and electricity.

Using coal is also harmful. Mining is one of the most dangerous jobs in
the world. Coal miners are exposed to toxic dust and face the dangers
of cave-ins and explosions at work.

When coal is burned, it releases many toxic gases and pollutants into
the atmosphere. Mining for coal can also cause the ground to cave in
and create underground fires that burn for decades at a time.

Petroleum

Petroleum is a liquid fossil fuel. It is also called oil or crude oil.

Petroleum is trapped by underground rock formations. In some places,

oil bubbles right out of the ground. At the LaBrea Tar Pits, in Los
Angeles, California, big pools of thick oil bubble up through the ground.
Remains of animals that got trapped there thousands of years ago are
still preserved in the tar!
Most of the world’s oil is still deep under the ground. We drill through
the earth to access the oil. Some deposits are on land, and others are
under the ocean floor.

Once oil companies begin drilling with a “drill rig,” they can extract
petroleum 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Many
successful oil sites produce oil for about 30 years. Sometimes they can
produce oil for much longer.

When oil is under the ocean floor, companies drill offshore. They must
build an oil platform. Oil platforms are some of the biggest manmade
structures in the world!

Once the oil has been drilled, it must be refined. Oil contains many
chemicals besides carbon, and refining the oil takes some of these
chemicals out.

We use oil for many things. About half of the world’s petroleum is
converted into gasoline. The rest can be processed and used in liquid
products such as nail polish and rubbing alcohol, or solid products
such as water pipes, shoes, crayons, roofing, vitamin capsules, and
thousands of other items.

Advantages and Disadvantages

There are advantages to drilling for oil. It is relatively inexpensive to

extract. It is also a reliable and dependable source of energy and
money for the local community.

Oil provides us with thousands of conveniences. In the form of

gasoline, it is a portable source of energy that gives us the power to
drive places. Petroleum is also an ingredient in many items that we
depend on.

However, burning gasoline is harmful to the environment. It releases

hazardous gases and fumes into the air that we breathe. There is also
the possibility of an oil spill. If there is a problem with the drilling
machinery, the oil can explode out of the well and spill into the ocean
or surrounding land. Oil spills are environmental disasters, especially
offshore spills. Oil floats on water, so it can look like food to fish and
ruin birds’ feathers.

Natural Gas

Natural gas is another fossil fuel that is trapped underground in

reservoirs. It is mostly made up of methane. You may have smelled
methane before. The decomposing material in landfills also release
methane, which smells like rotten eggs.

There is so much natural gas underground that it is measured in

million, billion, or trillion cubic meters.

Natural gas is found in deposits a few hundred meters underground. In

order to get natural gas out of the ground, companies drill straight
down. However, natural gas does not form in big open pockets. Natural
gas is trapped in rock formations that can stretch for kilometers.

To reach natural gas, some companies use a process called “hydraulic

fracturing,” or fracking. Hydraulic means they use water,
and fracturingmeans to “split apart.” The process uses high-pressure
water to split apart the rocks underground. This releases the natural
gas that is trapped in rock formations. If the rock is too hard, they can
send acid down the well to dissolve the rock. They can also use tiny
grains of glass or sand to prop open the rock and let the gas escape.

We use natural gas for heating and cooking. Natural gas can also be
burned to generate electricity. We rely on natural gas to give power to
lights, televisions, air conditioners, and kitchen appliances in our
homes.

Natural gas can also be turned into a liquid form, called liquid natural
gas (LNG). LNG is much cleaner than any other fossil fuels.

Liquid natural gas takes up much less space than the gaseous form.
The amount of natural gas that would fit into a big beach ball would fit
into a ping-pong ball as a liquid! LNG can be easily stored and used for
different purposes. LNG can even be a replacement for gasoline.
Advantages and Disadvantages

Natural gas is relatively inexpensive to extract, and is a “cleaner”

fossil fuel than oil or coal. When natural gas is burned, it only releases
carbon dioxide and water vapor (which are the exact same gases that
we breathe out when we exhale!) This is healthier than burning coal.

However, extracting natural gas can cause environmental problems.

Fracturing rocks can cause mini-earthquakes. The high-pressure water
and chemicals that are forced underground can also leak to other
sources of water. The water sources, used for drinking or bathing, can
become contaminated and unsafe.

Other Non-renewable Energy Sources

Fossil fuels are the leading non-renewable energy sources around the
world. There are others, however.

Nuclear Energy

Nuclear energy is usually considered another non-renewable energy

source. Although nuclear energy itself is a renewable energy source,
the material used in nuclear power plants is not.

Nuclear energy harvests the powerful energy in the nucleus, or core, of

an atom. Nuclear energy is released through nuclear fission, the
process where the nucleus of an atom splits. Nuclear power plants are
complex machines that can control nuclear fission to produce
electricity.

The material most often used in nuclear power plants is the

element uranium. Although uranium is found in rocks all over the
world, nuclear power plants usually use a very rare type of uranium, U-
235. Uranium is a non-renewable resource.

Nuclear energy is a popular way of generating electricity around the

world. Nuclear power plants do not pollute the air or emit greenhouse
gases. They can be built in rural or urban areas, and do not destroy the
environment around them.

However, nuclear energy is difficult to harvest. Nuclear power plants

are very complicated to build and run. Many communities do not have
the scientists and engineers to develop a safe and reliable nuclear
energy program.

Nuclear energy also produces radioactive material. Radioactive

waste can be extremely toxic, causing burns and increasing the risk
for cancers, blood diseases, and bone decay among people who are
exposed to it.

In this kind of power generation, uranium atoms are split in a process called nuclear
fission that releases enormous quantities of energy per unit mass. This energy is used
to drive steam turbines. The specter of radioactive fallout reaching the environment as
a result of nuclear reactor mishaps has plagued the industry for decades, but that has
not stopped its overall progress and development.

Biomass Energy

Biomass energy, a renewable energy source, can also be a non-

renewable energy source. Biomass energy uses the energy found in
plants.

Biomass energy relies on biomass feedstocks—plants that are

processed and burned to create electricity. Biomass feedstocks can
include crops such as corn or soy, as well as wood. If people do not
replant biomass feedstocks as fast as they use them, biomass energy
becomes a non-renewable energy source.

WATER RESOURCES
Water resources are sources of – usually fresh – water that are useful, or potentially
useful, to society; for instance for agricultural, industrial or recreational use. Examples
include groundwater, rivers, lakes and reservoirs.

Water is the world’s most precious resource because the life of animals and plants
depends on it. Most industries also require water for various applications, so the global
economy depends on it as well. Most of the water on Earth is saltwater, which cannot
be used by terrestrial organisms. Glaciers are the major freshwater resource, while the
most important resource for human use is the surface runoff found in lakes and rivers.

Water is a renewable resource through the hydrologic cycle whereby water from the
ocean moves onto the land and back again. Sometimes human intervention in the
form of dams and pipelines diverts natural water resources to meet local needs. As
need for water grows, tensions over water resources are likely to increase.
Conservation measures and smarter technologies may help to ensure more equitable
distribution of water around the world

The oceans contain about 0.3 billion cubic miles of liquid water, which is around 97%
of all water on Earth. Saltwater contains more than one gram per liter of dissolved
solids, of which the most significant is sodium chloride or common salt. This renders it
unfit for use by terrestrial animals, including humans, and plants, and for most
industrial applications. Freshwater contains less than one gram per liter of dissolved
solids, and is the main resource for human use. Most of it is, however, inaccessible
because it is locked in glaciers, icecaps, and snow cover in the polar regions and
elsewhere. Ice and snow account for about 90% of all freshwater. Varying amounts are
released into nearby streams at various times during the year where they then
become available as resource. Around 1% of all freshwater is available for human use,
amounting to only around 0.007% of the total amount of water on Earth.

Fortunately, water is a renewable resource through the hydrologic or water cycle,

which allows the vast body of water in the oceans to be tapped for human use. Water
molecules at the surface of the oceans evaporate into the atmosphere and move over
the land as droplets of freshwater in clouds. These fall as rain or snow, known as
precipitation. Some precipitation evaporates and the rest moves either vertically or
horizontally on land. The vertical portion fills up pores in rocks, clay, sand, or soil
which, when saturated, are known as aquifers. The water in an aquifer is called
groundwater. When an aquifer is trapped between two layers of impermeable rocks,
the resulting pressure may create an Artesian well that brings the water up to the
surface. Pumps can also bring groundwater to the surface through a well.
Groundwater is generally of high quality but care should be taken not to draw off too
much, as it renews itself only slowly, particularly in dry regions.
Precipitation that moves along horizontally is called surface runoff and it is carried, by
gravity, to the nearest body of surface water, which could be a stream, river, pond, or
lake. Eventually it arrives back in the ocean, completing the hydrological cycle.
Surface water is the most important water resource because it is often readily
accessible. A stream is a small channel of water that eventually runs into a river.
Streams and rivers account for about nearly 500 billion gallons of water, which is
about 0.0001% of the total water on Earth, including the oceans. Yet they are probably
the most important water source. If rivers and streams were not replenished by
precipitation, melting snow and ice, and seeping groundwater, they would probably run
dry in a matter of weeks because of human withdrawals.

A pond is a small body of water that is shallow enough for plants to root there. Lakes
are larger bodies

WORDS TO KNOW

AQUIFER: Rock, soil, or sand underground formation that is able to hold and/or
transmit water.

GROUNDWATER: Fresh water that is present in an underground location.

SURFACE WATER: Water collecting on the ground or in a stream, river, lake, wetland,
or ocean, as opposed to groundwater.

Of water whose depths may vary from a few feet to over a mile, as in Lake Baikal in
Siberia. Their areas vary from around an acre to hundreds of thousands of acres like
Lake Superior, which is really an inland sea. Reservoirs are natural or artificial ponds
or lakes used for storing water. Lakes and reservoirs account for around 0.28% of the
total water on Earth and they are also an important resource for human use.

Impacts and Issues

Although water is a renewable resource, the amount available for human use is
affected by various threats. These include pollution, urban growth, landscape
changes, drought, and climate change. Farming, deforestation, mining, and road-
building can all impair the quality of water by allowing too much soil and pollutants to
enter local rivers, streams, and lakes.

Care must also be taken not too overexploit a water resource. Twenty million people in
Chad, Niger, Nigeria, and Cameroon depend on Lake Chad for water. But the lake has
shrunk drastically in recent years, and shortages have caused conflicts between the
local populations. Meanwhile, the Aral Seabetween Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan
in Central Asia has been shrinking since the 1960s because two of the rivers that feed
it are diverted for irrigation. The water is also heavily polluted because of sewage
dumping. Many major rivers, such as the Nile, Ganges, and Rio Grande, are showing
signs of drying up. One major factor is that water withdrawals are still being poorly
managed and controlled. There has also been a trend to increase groundwater
withdrawals, where depletions are less obvious than in surface water. But signs of
poor management are there in terms of subsidence, poor water quality, and a
sinking water table, which is the top part of an aquifer.

The relationship between climate change and water resources is currently little
understood, although it is more likely than not to lead to water shortages. For instance,
while climate change tends to shrink glaciers, the effect is not to enrich nearby water
resources. Most of the water released tends to evaporate long before it reaches any
drought-stricken areas that need it. Global warming increases the incidence of
drought, increasing the pressure on water supplies in dry areas. Meanwhile, extreme
weather events stemming from global warming, such as floods, tend to degrade the
quality of water resources.

Types of Water Resources

Around 71 percent of the earth's surface is covered in water. This massive quantity of
water is hard to visualize: the total water resources of the earth equal roughly 326
million cubic miles, with each cubic mile equal to around 1 trillion gallons of water. To
imagine just one trillion gallons of water, try to picture 40 million swimming pools, or 24
billion baths. Now, multiply those numbers by 326 million!

Of all of this water, only about 2.5 percent is freshwater: the other 97.5 percent is
saltwater. Almost 69 percent of freshwater resources are tied up in glaciers and ice
caps, about 30 percent is groundwater, and a mere 0.27 percent is surface water.
While all kinds of water resources are important for the survival of the planet,
accessible freshwater is especially important for humans.

Water resources come in many forms, but the three main categories are
saltwater, groundwater and surface water.

Saltwater Resources
As mentioned, saltwater is abundant in the surface of the planet. However, saltwater is
currently not particularly useful when it comes to potable water supplies. Desalination
plants, while they do exist, are scarce because the energy required for desalination
makes the process extremely expensive.

That said, there are saltwater resources from which humans benefit, aside from
beautiful ocean views. Saltwater fish are a staple in much of the world's diet (although
overfishing and pollution has put much of the marine life population at risk).
Furthermore, tidal waters are being used as a source of hydroelectric energy. So,
while saltwater is not helpful in dealing with scarce water supplies, it does provide
resources that humans rely on.

Groundwater Resources
Groundwater is the most plentiful of all freshwater resources. As water percolates into
the ground through layers of soil, clay, and rock, some of it adheres to the topmost
layers to provide water to plants. This water is in what is called the unsaturated,
or vadose, zone. Most of the pores in the vadose zone are filled with air, rather than
water.

Gravity continues to move the water down through the ground. Eventually, the water
reaches the saturated zone, where all the pores are filled with water. The separation
between the saturated and unsaturated zone is called the water table.

Aquifers are areas of permeable rock that hold water. Typically, aquifers are made of
bedrock that has many fractures and connected pores, such as limestone, sandstone
and gravel. Shale and clay layers are impermeable, and therefore make poor aquifers.
An aquifer is "recharged" through precipitation from above percolating through the
layers of soil and rock. Therefore, there is significant interaction between surface
water and ground water.

In turn, groundwater feeds surface water through springs, and surface water can also
recharge groundwater supply.

Most often, groundwater is accessed by humans via wells. To build a well, one must
drill down past the water table. In most cases, a pump is placed in the bottom of the
well, and it is pumped into homes, businesses and water treatment plants, where it is
then dispersed. As water is pumped from the ground, a cone of depression forms
around the well. The groundwater from the surrounding area moves towards the well.
Wells can run dry during times of drought, or if surrounding wells are pumping too
much water, causing the cone of depression to be large.

Water pumped from wells is generally very clean. The layers of soil, clay and rock acts
as a natural filter. However, contaminants from nearby contaminated soils, leaky
underground tanks, and septic systems can pollute a well, rendering it unusable.
Furthermore, salt water intrusion can occur when the rate of pumping near a shoreline
exceeds the rate of recharge. Saltwater gets pulled from the ocean into the cone of
depression, and enters the well.

Subsidence, the gradual settling of the land due to continuous pumping and
development, has also become an issue as groundwater is mined. This occurs when
groundwater is pumped out faster than it can be replenished, and the sediment
beneath becomes compacted. Subsidence is a permanent phenomenon. It can cause
structural problems to foundations, an increased incidence of sinkholes and flooding
problems. To top it off, subsidence is extremely costly. In some areas, such as the San
Joaquin Valley in California, the land has subsided over 30 feet due to groundwater
withdraw.

Surface Water Resources

Surface water is the water that exists in streams and lakes. This water is primarily
used for potable water supply, recreation, irrigation, industry, livestock, transportation
and hydroelectric energy. Over 63 percent of the public water supply is withdrawn from
surface water. Irrigation gets 58 percent of its water supply from surface water.
Industry gets almost 98 percent of its water from surface water systems. Therefore,
surface water conservation and quality is of the utmost importance.

Watershed organizations continuously measure the stream flow and quality of surface
water. Stream flow is monitored to warn of flooding and drought conditions. Water
quality is very important, as the majority of the water used in the United States comes
from surface water. It is the measure of how suitable the water is from a biological,
chemical and physical perspective. Water quality can be impacted negatively by both
natural and human causes: electrical conductivity, pH, temperature, phosphorus
levels, dissolved oxygen levels, nitrogen levels and bacteria are tested as a measure
of water quality.

Water that runs off into the stream can naturally carry sediment, debris and
pathogens. Turbidity, the measure of suspended sediment in a stream, is also a
measure of water quality. The more turbid the water, the lower the water quality.

Manmade contaminants such as gasoline, solvents, pesticides, and nitrogen from

livestock can wash over the land and can leach in to waterways, degrading the quality
of nearby waters. The Clean Water Act in the United States protects the quality of the
stream and issues fines to those contributing to the degradation in water quality. By
protecting and conserving the water supply, there is a greater guarantee of future
water resources for human use.

Droughts and Floods

Extreme Weather

When it comes to the issue of climate change, many people instantly think about
global warming, the recent and average raise in temperature of the Earth’s surface.
The media discusses melting ice caps or rising temperatures and debates over
whether or not it’s humanity’s fault. While global warming is an important worry that
should be dealt with, it is also important to realize that climate change comprises
much more than just rising global temperatures. According to the ENSAA, climate
change is a long-term change in weather patterns, either in average weather
conditions or in the distribution of extreme weather events, in areas like temperature,
wind patterns, or rainfall (ENSAA). As a result, even weather “extremes” – that is,
weather events varying significantly from average patterns (BBC) – and “normal”
weather – temperatures and the number natural events that are a part of an average
range – change periodically as climate changes.

Like all living organisms, human beings need water to survive. It is used for washing, drinking,
and watering crops, to name just a few things. The amount of water that is available usually
depends on the amount of rain and snow that falls. Unfortunately, precipitation is not
distributed equally around the world. Some areas barely see rain while others get more than
their share. Over time, most people in an area get used to too little or too much. The problems
start when dramatic changes occur when they are least expected. Droughts occur when an
abnormally long dry period uses up available water resources. Floods happen when
watercourses or rain swallow up land that is usually uncovered. These natural disasters are
often made worse by human action. Paved roads and cities full of asphalt prevent water from
sinking into the ground. As it builds up on the surface, the water ends up causing widespread
damage.

Too much rain

An overflowing river, long periods of rain, uncontrollable seas, or a break in a dam can all
cause flooding. Swelling rivers cause the most floods. Abundant rains and rapidly melting ice
may raise water levels in rivers until they overflow their banks. Storms sometimes cause
unexpected flooding, along with the extremely heavy rains that accompany cyclones and
hurricanes. Besides destroying everything in their path, floods sometimes contaminate
underground reserves of drinking water with all kinds of waste. The dirty water becomes more
than undrinkable: It also helps spread disease that can infect thousands of people.

Rainstorms and flooding: when rain rules !

A heavy rain falls on the town and the surrounding countryside. The sudden downpour is too
much for the ground and the nearby river to soak up in a short amount of time. The river starts
to rise, and then overflows its banks. Confusion and destruction follow as the town begins to
flood. During severe floods, furniture, trees, rocks, and even vehicles are carried away by the
rushing waters. Drivers are caught inside their cars, houses fill with mud, and the town’s
drinking water becomes too dirty for people to use. Every year, more damage is caused and
more lives are lost because of floods than because of lightning, hurricanes, or tornadoes.

The ground collapses

Very heavy rains falling in the mountains often cause landslides. Under the pressure from all
the water hitting the ground, tons of mud and rocks may fall down the mountainsides with
amazing speed. Landslides can bury roads under debris, uproot trees, and destroy houses.
20,000 miles of dikes!

Floods along the Chang River (also called Yangtze) are dreadful. In 1931, this river in China
swallowed up the surrounding land after weeks of uninterrupted rain. The flooding and famine
that followed led to the deaths of more than 3 million people. Following the disaster, the
Chinese built almost 20,000 miles (32,000 km) of dikes along the river and its tributaries. As
effective as they were, however, these barriers were still unable to prevent the Chang from
overflowing its banks again a few times.

DROUGHT (Too little rain)

Many countries that receive very little rain count on small downpours to water their crops. If
the absence of rain lasts a few years, it can result in poor harvests and soil that can never
recover its nutrients. In regions where the survival of inhabitants depends on agriculture, a lack
of rain can be dramatic. Famine may occur, causing many deaths. In the last 50 years, the
longest-lasting droughts and the most frequent famines have been in Africa. The drought that
ravaged countries like Chad and Ethiopia from 1968 to 1988 killed thousands of people and
forced millions of others to move to more humid regions.

Droughts occur when an abnormally long dry period uses up available water
resources. Floods happen when watercourses or rain swallow up land that is usually
uncovered. These natural disasters are often made worse by human action. Paved roads and
cities full of asphalt prevent water from sinking into the ground.

A drought or drouth is an event of prolonged shortages in the water supply, whether

atmospheric (below-average precipitation), surface water or ground water. A drought can last
for months or years, or may be declared after as few as 15 days. It can have a substantial
impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region and harm to the local economy.
Annual dry seasons in the tropics significantly increase the chances of a drought developing
and subsequent bush fires. Periods of heat can significantly worsen drought conditions by
hastening evaporation of water vapour.

Drought is a recurring feature of the climate in most parts of the world.

Many plant species, such as those in the family Cactaceae (or cacti), have drought tolerance
adaptations like reduced leaf area and waxy cuticles to enhance their ability to tolerate drought.
Some others survive dry periods as buried seeds. Semi-permanent drought produces arid
biomes such as deserts and grasslands. Prolonged droughts have caused mass migrations and
humanitarian crisis. Most arid ecosystems have inherently low productivity. The most
prolonged drought ever in the world in recorded history occurred in the Atacama Desert in
Chile (400 Years).

Drought affect food production and human society, so they are considered a disaster, of natural,
supernatural or human cause (which itself could be supernatural causes, malediction, .). It is
among the earliest documented climatic events, present in the Epic of Gilgamesh and tied to
the Biblical story of Joseph's arrival in and the later Exodus from Ancient Egypt.Hunter-
gatherer migrations in 9,500 BC Chile have been linked to the phenomenon, as has the exodus
of early humans out of Africa and into the rest of the world around 135,000 years ago. Rituals
exist to prevent or avert drought, rainmaking could go from dances to scapegoating to human
sacrifices. Nowadays, those ancient practices are for the most part relegated to folklore and
replaced by more rational water management.

Types of drought

People tend to define droughts in three main ways:

Meteorological drought occurs when there is a prolonged time with less than average
precipitation. Meteorological drought usually precedes the other kinds of drought.

Agricultural droughts affect crop production or the ecology of the range. This condition can
also arise independently from any change in precipitation levels when either increased
irrigation or soil conditions and erosion triggered by poorly planned agricultural endeavours
cause a shortfall in water available to the crops. However, in a traditional drought, it is caused
by an extended period of below average precipitation.

Hydrological drought is brought about when the water reserves available in sources such as
aquifers, lakes and reservoirs fall below a locally significant threshold. Hydrological drought
tends to show up more slowly because it involves stored water that is used but not replenished.
Like an agricultural drought, this can be triggered by more than just a loss of rainfall. For
instance, around 2007 Kazakhstan was awarded a large amount of money by the World Bank to
restore water that had been diverted to other nations from the Aral Sea under Soviet rule.
Similar circumstances also place their largest lake, Balkhash, at risk of completely drying out.

As a drought persists, the conditions surrounding it gradually worsen and its impact on the
local population gradually increases.

Causes of drought
Precipitation deficiency

Mechanisms of producing precipitation

include convective , stratiform, and orographic rainfall. Convective processes involve strong
vertical motions that can cause the overturning of the atmosphere in that location within an
hour and cause heavy precipitation,while stratiform processes involve weaker upward motions
and less intense precipitation over a longer duration. Precipitation can be divided into three
categories, based on whether it falls as liquid water, liquid water that freezes on contact with
the surface, or ice. Droughts occur mainly in areas where normal levels of rainfall are, in
themselves, low. If these factors do not support precipitation volumes sufficiently to reach the
surface over a sufficient time, the result is a drought. Drought can be triggered by a high level
of reflected sunlight and above average prevalence of high pressure systems , windscarrying
continental, rather than oceanic air masses, and ridges of high pressure areas aloft can prevent
or restrict the developing of thunderstorm activity or rainfall over one certain region. Once a
region is within drought, feedback mechanisms such as local arid air, hot conditions which can
promote warm core ridging, and minimal evapotranspiration can worsen drought conditions.

Dry season

Within the tropics, distinct, wet and dry seasons emerge due to the movement of
the Intertropical Convergence Zone or Monsoon trough.The dry season greatly increases
drought occurrence, and is characterized by its low humidity, with watering holes and rivers
drying up. Because of the lack of these watering holes, many grazing animals are forced to
migrate due to the lack of water in search of more fertile lands. Examples of such animals
are zebras, elephants, and wildebeest. Because of the lack of water in the plants, bushfires are
common. Since water vapor becomes more energetic with increasing temperature, more water
vapor is required to increase relative humidity values to 100% at higher temperatures (or to get
the temperature to fall to the dew point). Periods of warmth quicken the pace of fruit and
vegetable production, increase evaporation and transpiration from plants,and worsen drought
conditions.

El Niño

Drier and hotter weather occurs in parts of the Amazon River Basin, Colombia, and Central
America during El Niño events. Winters during the El Niño are warmer and drier than average
conditions in the Northwest, northern Midwest, and northern Mideast United States, so those
regions experience reduced snowfalls. Conditions are also drier than normal from December to
February in south-central Africa, mainly in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Botswana.
Direct effects of El Niño resulting in drier conditions occur in parts of Southeast
Asia and Northern Australia, increasing bush fires, worsening haze, and decreasing air quality
dramatically. Drier-than-normal conditions are also in general observed in Queensland,
inland Victoria, inland New South Wales, and eastern Tasmania from June to August. As warm
water spreads from the west Pacific and the Indian Ocean to the east Pacific, it causes
extensive drought in the western Pacific. Singapore experienced the driest February in 2014
since records began in 1869, with only 6.3 mm of rain falling in the month and temperatures
hitting as high as 35 °C on 26 February. The years 1968 and 2005 had the next driest
Februaries, when 8.4 mm of rain fell.

Erosion and human activities

Human activity can directly trigger exacerbating factors such as over farming,
excessive irrigation, deforestation, and erosion adversely impact the ability of the land to
capture and hold water. In arid climates, the main source of erosion is wind. Erosion can be the
result of material movement by the wind. The wind can cause small particles to be lifted and
therefore moved to another region (deflation). Suspended particles within the wind may impact
on solid objects causing erosion by abrasion (ecological succession). Wind erosion generally
occurs in areas with little or no vegetation, often in areas where there is insufficient rainfall to
support vegetation.

Consequences of drought

One can divide the effects of droughts and water shortages into three groups: environmental,
economic and social.

 In the case of environmental effects: lower surface and subterranean water-levels, lower
flow-levels (with a decrease below the minimum leading to direct danger for amphibian
life), increased pollution of surface water, the drying out of wetlands, more and larger
fires, higher deflation intensity, loss of biodiversity, worse health of trees and the
appearance of pests and dendroid diseases.
 Economic losses include lower agricultural, forests, game and fishing output, higher
food-production costs, lower energy-production levels in hydro plants, losses caused by
depleted water tourism and transport revenue, problems with water supply for the
energy sector and for technological processes in metallurgy, mining, the chemical,
paper, wood, foodstuff industries etc., disruption of water supplies for municipal
economies.

 Social costs include the negative effect on the health of people directly exposed to this
phenomenon (excessive heat waves), possible limitation of water supplies, increased
pollution levels, high food-costs, stress caused by failed harvests, etc. This explains
why droughts and fresh water shortages operate as a factor which increases the gap
between developed and developing countries.

Effects vary according to vulnerability. For example, subsistence farmers are more likely to
migrate during drought because they do not have alternative food-sources. Areas with
populations that depend on water sources as a major food-source are more vulnerable to
famine.

Drought can also reduce water quality, because lower water-flows reduce dilution of pollutants
and increase contamination of remaining water-sources. Common consequences of drought
include:

 Diminished crop growth or yield productions and carrying capacity for livestock
 Dust bowls, themselves a sign of erosion, which further erode the landscape

 Dust storms, when drought hits an area suffering from desertification and erosion

 Famine

 Habitat damage, affecting both terrestrial and aquatic wildlife

  Hunger – drought provides too little water to support food crops.

 Malnutrition, dehydration and related diseases

 Mass migration, resulting in internal displacement and international refugees

 Reduced electricity production due to reduced water-flow through hydroelectric dams

 Shortages of water for industrial users

 Snake migration, which results in snake-bites

 Social unrest

 War over natural resources, including water and food

 Wildfires, such as Australian bushfires, become more common during times of drought
and may cause human deaths.

ENERGY RESOURCES
Energy resources are all forms of fuels used in the modern world, either for heating, generation
of electrical energy, or for other forms of energy conversion processes. Energy resources can
be roughly classified in three categories: renewable, fossil, and nuclear.

Fossil energy resources are obtained from dead plant and animal deposits created over the long
history of the planet. These resources are vast, but limited, and are not renewable. Until
recently fossil fuels have provided for the majority of humanity’s energy demands. These
resources mainly include coal, oil, and natural gas.

Renewable energy resources are forms of energy that are naturally replenished on our planet.
Examples of traditional renewable resources are hydropower and biomass (e.g., plant fuels
such as wood traditionally have been used throughout history, mostly for heating). Modern
renewable resources include wind, wave, tidal, solar, and geothermal. Some forms of fuels
created from biomass (plants and animals) also fall under this category.

Deposits of certain radioactive elements in Earth’s crust can be classified as nuclear energy
resources. These resources are used as fuel for nuclear fission-based power plants. The amount
of these rare radioactive elements is limited on our planet and cannot be replenished. Over the
years, there has been some research on fusion power but it is still not proven to be a feasible
energy resource. This form of energy conversion aims to harvest the energy from sustained
fusion of hydrogen atoms into helium.
Energy is the capacity to do work and is required for life processes. An energy resource is something that
can produce heat, power life, move objects, or produce electricity.
Matter that stores energy is called a fuel. Human energy consumption has grown steadily .throughout
human history. Early humans had modest energy requirements, mostly food and fuel for fires to cook
and keep warm. In today's society, humans consume as much as 110 times as much energy per person as
early humans. Most of the energy we use today come from fossil fuels (stored solar energy). But fossils
fuels have a disadvantage in that they are non-renewable on a human time scale, and cause other
potentially harmful effects on the environment. In any event, the exploitation of all energy sources
(with the possible exception of direct solar energy used for heating), ultimately rely on materials on
planet Earth.

Energy Sources
There are 5 fundamental sources of energy:
1. Nuclear fusion in the Sun (solar energy)
2. Gravity generated by the Earth & Moon.
3. Nuclear fission reactions.
4. Energy in the interior of the Earth.

5. Energy stored in chemical bonds.

Solar Energy

Solar Energy arrives from the Sun by electromagnetic radiation. It can be used directly for heat
and converted to electricity for other uses. It is a nearly unlimited source, it is renewable, and
largely, non-polluting.

Gravity Generated by the Earth & Moon.

Gravitational pull of the Moon on the Earth causes tides. Tidal flow can be harnessed to drive
turbines. This is also a nearly unlimited source of energy and is largely non-polluting.

Combining both both solar energy and gravity provides other useful sources of energy. Solar
radiation heats air and evaporates water.
Gravity causes cooler air to sink and condense water vapor. Gravity then pulls condensed water
back to Earth, where it flows downhill. The circulation of the atmosphere by the process is what
we call the wind. Energy can be extracted from the wind using windmills. Water flowing
downhill has a result of gravity can also be harnessed for energy to drive turbines and generate
electricity. This is called hydroelectric energy. This sources of energy are mostly renewable,
but only locally, and are generally non-polluting.
Nuclear Fission Reactions

Radioactive Uranium is concentrated and made into fuel rods that generate large amounts of
heat as a result of radioactive decay. This heat is used to turn water into steam. Expansion of the
steam can then be used to drive a turbine and generate electricity. Once proposed as a cheap,
clean, and safe way to generate energy, Nuclear power has come under some disfavor. Costs of
making sure nuclear power plants are clean and safe and the problem of disposing of radioactive
wastes, which are unsafe, as well as questions about the safety of the plants under human care,
have contributed to this disfavor.
Energy in the Interior of the Earth

Decay of radioactive elements has produced heat throughout Earth history. It is this
heat that causes the temperature to increase with depth in the Earth and is responsible
for melting of mantle rocks to form magmas. Magmas can carry the heat upward into
the crust. Groundwater circulating in the vicinity of igneous intrusions carries the
heat back toward the surface. If this hot water can be tapped, it can be used directly
to heat homes, or if trapped at great depth under pressure it can be turned into steam
which will expand and drive a turbine to generate electricity.

Energy Stored in Chemical Bonds

Energy stored in chemical bonds drives chemical reactions. When the reactions take
place this energy is either released or absorbed. If it is absorbed, it is stored in the
chemical bond for later use. If it is released, it can produce useful heat energy.
electricity, and light.

Hydrogen Fuel Cells are one example: A chemical reaction occurs wherein
Hydrogen reacts with Oxygen in an electrolyte bath to produce H 2O, and releases
electricity and heat. The reaction is non-polluting, but currently has problems, such
as safely storing and distributing compressed hydrogen gas, and producing hydrogen
efficiently.

Biomass Energy is an other example. It involves burning (a chemical reaction) of

wood, or other organic byproducts. Such organic material is produced by
photosynthesis, a chemical process which derives energy from the Sun and stores that
energy until the material is burned.

Fossil Fuels - Biomass energy that is buried within the Earth where it is stored until
humans extract and burn it to release the energy. Among these sources are petroleum
(Oil & natural gas), oil shale, tar sands, and coal. All of which will be one of the
primary topics of our discussion here.

ENERGY RESOURCES AND GLBAL DEVELOPMENT

In order to address the economic and environmental consequences of our global energy system,
we consider the availability and consumption of energy resources. Problems arise from our
dependence on combustible fuels, the environmental risks associated with their extraction, and
the environmental damage caused by their emissions. Yet no primary energy source, be it
renewable or nonrenewable, is free of environmental or economic limitations. As developed and
developing economies continue to grow, conversion to and adoption of environmentally benign
energy technology will depend on political and economic realities.

Energy is the lifeblood of technological and economic development. The energy choices made by
the United States and the rest of the world have ramifications for economic growth; the local,
national, and global environment; and even the shape of international political alliances and
national defense commitments. Countries of varying levels of wealth also face different energy
challenges. Here, we discuss the availability of global energy resources, how they are used and
by whom, and the consequences of the global distribution and use of energy resources.

Although estimates vary, the world’s proved; economically recoverable fossil fuel reserves
include almost 1 trillion metric tons of coal, more than 1 trillion barrels of petroleum, and over
150 trillion cubic meters of natural gas . In addition to fossil fuels, mineral resources important to
energy generation include over 3 million metric tons of uranium reserves. To put this into
context, consider that the world’s annual 2000 consumption of coal was about 5 billion metric
tons or 0.5% of reserves. Natural gas consumption was 1.6% of reserves, whereas oil was almost
3% of reserves, and nuclear electricity generation consumed the equivalent of 2% of uranium
reserves. Reported recoverable reserves have tended to increase over time, keeping pace with
consumption, and now are at or near all-time highs. In relation to current consumption, there
remain vast reserves that are adequate for continued worldwide economic development, not even
accounting for reserves that will become economically recoverable through continuing discovery
and technological advance. Thus, it seems that the world is not running out of mineral fuels.

Large fossil fuel reserves are concentrated in a small number of countries, with half of the low-
income countries and more than a third of the middle-income countries having no fossil fuel
reserves whatsoever. If energy reserves were necessary for economic development, several of the
world’s poorest nations would be disadvantaged. However, many energy-bereft countries (such
as Japan) have become highly developed through sufficient access to international energy
markets. Conversely, Nigeria possesses substantial reserves but remains one of the poorest
countries, its energy production activities mired in corruption. Thus, simply possessing large
fossil energy reserves is of questionable value to a country’s development if there is no deploy
those energy resources for their full social benefit.

Total global energy use exceeds 370 exajoules (EJ) [350 quadrillion British thermal units (Btus)]
per year, which is equivalent to over 170 million barrels of oil each day. Approximately 95% of
this energy comes from fossil fuels. Global energy consumption draws from six primary sources:
44% petroleum, 26% natural gas, 25% coal, 2.5% hydroelectric power, 2.4% nuclear power, and
0.2% nonhydro renewable energy . A considerable amount of primary energy is converted to
electricity either in the course of initial harvesting (as for hydroelectric, wind, and geothermal) or
by combustion (as for fossil, biomass, and waste fuels). These estimates do not include
nonmarket fuelwood and farm residues that are prevalent in many developing countries, because
global estimates of noncommercial energy use are often incomplete and unreliable. However, the
International Energy Agency (IEA) suggests that biomass provides on average one-third of the
energy needs in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and as much as 80 to 90% in the poorest
countries of these regions.

Processing and conversion of primary sources permit enormous versatility in energy use. The
end applications of this consumption can be categorized into five major sectors: industry,
transportation, agriculture, commercial and public services, and residential. Developing countries
use the most energy in the residential sector, followed by industrial uses and then transportation .
The opposite is true for developed countries, where transportation consumes the largest amount
of energy, followed by industrial and then residential consumption.

Unsurprisingly, the developing and industrialized worlds demonstrate striking disparities in

annual energy consumption per capita . Industrialized country energy use exceeds that of the
developing countries for all five end-use sectors by 3 to 14 times, depending on the sector. In
aggregate, the average person in the developing countries consumes the equivalent of 6 barrels of
oil [(34 gigajoules (GJ) or 32 million Btus] annually, whereas the average person in the
developed world consumes nearly 40 barrels (220 GJ or 210 million Btus) . Residents of the
poorest 10% of countries consume less than one barrel of oil equivalent per year per capita,
whereas their counterparts in the richest 10% of countries consume over 60 times as much. Also
striking are disparities within the developing world. On an annual per-capita basis, the
middleincome countries use four times as much energy as their low-income counterparts.

These relationships between wealth and energy consumption suggest that as a country becomes
richer, its people tend to consume substantially more energy . However, looking at energy use
within the high-income group alone, the correlation is weaker. For example, Norway has a gross
national income per capita (GNI/pop) of U.S. $34,530 and Japan is slightly higher at U.S.
$35,620, but energy consumption per capita is lower in Japan: 150 GJ compared to 250 GJ for
Norway. This discrepancy is probably due to the availability of relatively inexpensive
hydroelectric power in Norway, whereas Japan, possessing fewer local resources, has greater
incentives to be more energy efficient. Therefore, although at a coarse scale energy consumption
per capita increases with economic growth, there are different paths that a particular country’s
energy system can take in its development, with some paths resulting in greater efficiency and
less consumption than others.

Moreover, when one examines energy use per dollar of gross domestic product (GDP), the low-
income countries use more energy to create a dollar of GDP than do the highincome countries,
because of greater use of more energy-efficient technologies as a country develops .
Furthermore, as cleaner energy-efficient technologies generated by the industrialized countries
become cheaper, the growing economies of the developing world become more likely to adopt
them, bypassing more wasteful and polluting technologies. For example, countries such as
China, India, Brazil, and the Philippines have been installing high-voltage direct-current cables
to deliver electricity with greater reliability and efficiency than the alternating-current cables
prevalent in the United States.

The data also strongly indicate that the world is heavily dependent on fossil fuel energy, with
only about 5% coming from other sources, and it will remain so barring substantial technological
change. In the near term, this continued dependence is partially due to the paucity of convenient
alternatives to petroleum products as fuels in the transportation sector, which consumes the most
energy in the developed world. Currently, transportation in the poorest decile of countries
consumes less than 3% of the energy consumed by that sector in the richest countries. As
developing countries become richer and expand their transportation networks, petroleum
products will likely fuel them. The industrial sector of the developed world also relies heavily on
fossil fuels. Institutional inertia, as well as the cost of replacing capital-intensive, fossil energy–
dependent infrastructure, slow the pace at which nonfossil substitutions can occur.

Between 1980 and 2001, worldwide consumption of petroleum, coal, and natural gas increased
by 22, 27, and 71%, respectively. Concurrently, annual world carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
from the consumption and flaring of fossil fuels, implicated as the predominant cause of global
climate change, increased from 5 billion to 6.6 billion metric tons carbon equivalent, with
relatively steady increases occurring for all income groups . Fossil fuel consumption also results
in lesser emissions of other greenhouse gases (GHGs), such as carbon monoxide, methane, and
volatile organic compounds (VOCs), not to mention nitrous oxides (NOx) that facilitate the
formation of heat-trapping tropospheric ozone. Although fossil fuel reserves are in no danger of
diminishing in the foreseeable future, should the world continue to consume all or even a large
fraction of those resources though normal combustion processes, the release of additional GHGs
into the atmosphere would likely have substantial consequences for the global climate.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), climate models generally
predict that continued emissions of anthropogenic GHGs beyond the sequestration capacity of
natural sinks will result in not only increased mean temperatures but also more frequent extreme
climate events such as droughts and intense storms, with significant consequences for
ecosystems, agricultural productivity, and human welfare.

Besides GHG emissions, fossil fuel production and use come with other environmental costs.
Fossil fuel exploration requires seismic testing and road building that can harm wildlife and
fragment habitats. Extraction requires the replacement of natural habitat with infrastructure and
can lead to leaking of fuels and toxic byproducts, such as arsenic, cadmium, and mercury, into
the local environment. In the case of oil, spills that occur during transportation and refining also
damage local environments. Sulfur dioxide, NOx, and VOCs released from coal and petroleum
combustion cause a myriad of environmental problems, including acid rain, smog, and nitrogen
loading.

Furthermore, the traditional alternatives to fossil energy—hydroelectricity and nuclear power—

have environmental and social costs that limit their viability as longterm fossil fuel substitutes. In
addition to the drawback of being near saturation, hydroelectric power infrastructure causes
dramatic alterations in riparian ecosystems and often the inundation of human settlements and
terrestrial habitat. Fissile nuclear power, too, is unlikely to expand because of objections to waste
disposal and concerns over weapons proliferation.

It should be noted that no primary energy source and its associated technology are completely
free of environmental and other drawbacks. Wind-powered electric turbines require the
installation of infrastructure, can cause the death of migratory birds, and elicit local objections on
aesthetic grounds. Geothermal plants emit CO2 and hydrogen sulfide. Wind, solar, and
geothermal systems are capital-intensive and their viability is geographically limited . Without
affordable and practical electricity storage, intermittency is also a problem for wind and solar
power. The domestically combusted biomass used in developing countries is often a health
hazard because of indoor smoke inhalation , and mass-produced fuels derived from biomass
place greater burdens on agricultural and forest productivity. Even the highly touted hydrogen
fuel cell, which releases only water vapour, would initially require fossil fuels as hydrogen fuel
stock . In order to minimize environmental damage relative to the benefits of energy
consumption, a sustainable, environmentally benign energy system, or at least the transition to
one, will involve a heterogeneous portfolio of renewable primary sources in order to minimize
the environmental impact of any particular source.

The environmental costs of fossil, hydroelectric, and nuclear energy consumption could drive the
world toward alternative sources before scarcity becomes a significant issue. Government
programs to reduce the negative environmental impacts of fossil fuel production and
consumption have the same effect as scarcity-induced price increases, and would stimulate (or
mandate) new energy technologies that increase efficiency, mitigate pollution, and substitute for
fossil energy. Policy mechanisms to achieve these ends include environmental standards, fuel
and emission taxes, subsidies for renewable energy production, mandated diversified energy
portfolios, and emission permit–trading schemes. In the United States and elsewhere, several of
these policies (such as regulated limits, emission fees, and tradable permits) have been
successfully implemented to reduce noncarbon air pollution, improve air quality, and reduce acid
rain .

Given growing environmental concerns, the future use of fossil resources will likely not follow
the standard combustion path of the past but will involve processes with increased efficiency,
lower localized air pollution, and perhaps carbon capture and sequestration before, after, or
instead of combustion. Electricity in particular will remain the most important end-use energy
form because of its flexibility in both generation and use. Renewable sources of electricity from
solar, wind, geothermal, and tidal power are currently available, but they remain the least
consumed form of energy across all income groups . Per-capita consumption rates do not exceed
1 MJ (100,000 Btus) per year in the developingcountry categories (less than a gallon of oil
equivalent), and do not exceed 1 GJ (1 million Btus) per year in the high-income category, with
only 24 industrialized countries consuming significant amounts .

Renewable energy sources will become prevalent only if they can be more competitive than
fossil fuels in terms of relative prices . Competition from lowercost conventional power
production, notably by gas turbine combined cycle (GTCC) systems, will continue to undercut
renewables, even with falling costs . Rather than wait for scarcity-induced price rises,
governments can accelerate the adoption of renewables with two coordinated and selfreinforcing
actions. First, governments can adopt a variety of R&D polices (usually in the form of subsidies)
that would bring down the price and improve the performance of renewables in comparison with
fossil fuels. Second, they can raise the price of fossil fuels through carbon taxes or permits and
thereby tilt the economics toward renewables. These actions serve to push renewables forward
by subsidizing their development, while at the same time pulling renewables into the market by
disadvantaging the price competitiveness of fossil fuels.
As the recent blackouts in North America and Italy made clear, even energy systems in the
richest countries are far from problem-free. Similar systems in the developing world may be
even more troublefraught as they develop. However, subSaharan Africa and other poor countries
will probably never have an electricity grid exactly like those of today’s high-income countries,
even when they have pulled themselves out of wrenching poverty.

In the same way that the developing world is bypassing the paired-copper-wire grid that
characterizes telephony in the developed world and is leaping directly to cellular communication,
so too is it likely to rely much less heavily on our technological model of electricity generation.
Rather than adopting a system with large centralstation power plants generating electricity and
distributing it over long distances, we speculate that the developing countries, especially the
poorest, are more likely to eventually adopt smaller and less capitalintensive microturbines and
renewable sources of electricity generation such as biomass, wind, and solar that are closer to the
point of use. These applications will bring with them their own sets of problems, but will enable
the developing world to avoid others.

Will the world make a transition to alternative, more renewable sources of energy? The simple
answer is yes, if only because, in time, supplies of fossil fuels will become too costly. For the
next 25 to 50 years, however, this seems not to be a likely prospect. With energy choices driven
by relative prices, fossil fuels will dominate energy use for many years to come. These fuels
remain relatively inexpensive, and they are supported by a very broad and long-lived
infrastructure of mines, wells, pipelines, refineries, gas stations, power plants, rail lines, tankers,
and vehicles. Very powerful political constituencies exist worldwide to ensure that investments in
this infrastructure are protected.

If fossil fuel depletion occurs more rapidly than we expect, or if governments enact policies that
artificially increase fossil fuel prices, renewables and alternative energy sources may come
online more quickly. The requisite political will and financial support to enact such changes will
occur only when societies and their governments decide that the benefits of fossil fuel
consumption do not make up for the negative effects on environmental health and human welfare
of fossil fuel dependence.