Exercise 1.

Consider the following conventional and alternative energy sources, and discuss
each in terms of long-term sustainability: Oil, coal, wind power, solar, nuclear,
hydropower. What conclusions do you reach? Defend your conclusions.

The only long-term sustainable power sources on the list are solar, wind, and hydropower. The Sun’s life
cycle has billions of years left, and each of these power sources ultimately derives their energy from the
Sun. Solar gets it directly, wind through temperature differentials caused by solar heating, and hydro
through solar evaporation of water.

Oil, coal, and nuclear power are all limited resources. Oil and coal are finite fossil fuels. Nuclear is likely
to last much longer, but is ultimately dependent on the availability of radioactive fuel sources. If nuclear
fusion ever becomes a viable power source, that could be considered long-term sustainable because of
the vast amount of hydrogen available, though safety precaution had to be considered as what
happened in Japan recently.

Exercise 2. The Union of Concerned Scientists has created a clean energy blueprint. One
component of this blueprint is efficiency standards on furnaces and automobiles. The
CAFE standards for automobiles stipulate that a company's cars must average a certain
fuel mileage. The diagram below illustrates the effects of the new standards proposed in the
blueprint. Look at the savings in millions of barrels per day and compare those values to
our daily consumption of petroleum (19.6 million barrels for North America).

Maridm1, there must be a typo, because current oil consumption is approximately 20 million
barrels in the U.S. and 25 million in North America. The UCS blueprint calls for a reduction to
roughly 14 million barrels per day by 2030. This would represent a reduction of 6 million
barrels or 30% of the U.S. total and 24% of the North American total.

Exercise 3. Look at your own situation. Suppose you were able to double your gas mileage.
How many barrels of oil do you calculate you could save in a year? Assume the average
American car gets 25 miles per gallon and is driven 12,000 miles each year. How many
barrels of oil could the U.S. save in a year? Note: you will need to research how much
gasoline can be obtained from a barrel of oil and how many cars are on the road in the U.S.

According to the Department of Energy, a barrel of oil yields between 19 and 20 gallons of gasoline.
(tonto) I drive about 10,000 miles per year and my car averages 20 miles per gallon. Thus, my current
use is 10,000 miles per year / 20 miles per gallon / 19.5 gallons per barrel = 25.64 barrels per year.
Savings would be 25.64 / 2 = 12.82 barrels per year.

There are roughly 250,851,833 vehicles in the U.S. according to a 2006 Department of Transportation
study. (Wikipedia) If each averages 12,000 miles per year and 25 miles per gallon, their current total
use is 250,851,833 cars * 12,000 miles per car per year / 25 miles per gallon / 19.5 gallons per barrel =
6,174,814,351 barrels. Savings would be 6,174,814,351 / 2 = 3,087,407,176 barrels. Since total yearly
consumption is about 20,000,000 * 365 = 7,300,000,000 barrels, this represents 3,087,407,176 /
7,300,000,000 = 42% of U.S. consumption.
(http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/ask/gasoline_faqs.asp#gallons_per_barrel)

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passenger_vehicles_in_the_United_States)