ENERGY

Week 8
• Mankind has lived on the earth for hundreds of thousands of years in relative
harmony with their natural surroundings. The earth and its climate were unaffected
by the activities of early man. Within the last two hundred years, however, this
peaceful co-existence has drastically changed as a result of our scientific
knowledge and its widespread technological application.

• New agricultural techniques have greatly increased the productivity of the land and
enabled the population to rise rapidly.

• The industrial revolution of the nineteenth century greatly increased the living
standards in many countries, but at the same time it has polluted the earth to an
unprecedented degree. This pollution is changing the face of the earth and its
climate at an unforeseeable rate. If it is not checked our whole civilisation is in
peril.

• At the basis of these changes is the demand for more and more energy to drive
our industries, to heat our homes and to power our transport and communications
• All known ways of generating this energy affect the earth in one way or
another, by using up the energy stored over geological timescales as
coal or oil and by the pollution they cause.

• These sources of energy will ultimately be exhausted, but if we

continue to rely on them we may well cause irreversible climate
change.

• It is therefore a matter of urgency to find safe and clean ways of

generating energy.

• At the same time it is necessary to reduce and if possible eliminate all

the other sources of pollution.
• There is intense debate about the choice of new energy sources; should we rely on
nuclear power, or wind and solar? As in most technological decisions, a balance has to
be struck between the competing demands of cost, safety, reliability and effects on the
environment.

• the whole decision process is made far worse by psychological, emotional and political
forces. This makes it very likely that the wrong decisions will be taken, with disastrous
effects in the future.

• Since countries differ greatly in their natural resources and industrial capacity, no one
solution is generally applicable; each county has to decide its own energy policy.

• Oilfields, for example, have very different extraction costs. In the Middle East, oil
gushes out freely and is cheap and readily available. It is much more expensive to
extract it from the North Sea, as oil rigs have to be built in deep water. This
consideration applies even more strongly to minerals such as those containing
uranium. Rich ores are relatively rare, while poorer ones are very widespread.
• Inevitably this has a great effect on international relations, particularly
concerning the availability of oil during the next few decades, and of coal
thereafter.

• In addition, the increasingly sophisticated energy technologies originate

in the developed countries and are then exported worldwide. This implies
continuing dependency, and with it the dangers of economic imperialism.

• These decisions are not just matters of economics or politics; they raise
serious moral problems.
• How, for example, do we decide whether to increase the level of
expenditure on safety measures, or on protecting and conserving the
environment, knowing that this inevitably means less money for
education or the medical services?
• The technological problems concerned with energy production are highly complex,
and adequate understanding of them requires extensive scientific knowledge. It is one
of the perils of democracy that vitally important decisions have to be taken by
people who lack this knowledge.

• Political and psychological pressures are often far more influential than proven
scientific data. It is possible to ignore reality for a time, but the longer this is done the
more severe the ultimate reckoning. As Feynman remarked, Nature cannot be fooled.
These problems are of serious concern to the more well-developed countries, but they
are a matter of life and death for the poorer ones.

• Already climate change is believed to be causing widespread drought, and with it

famine and disease. Most of these countries lack both the will and the means to
improve their situation, so it can be maintained that it is the duty of the developed
countries to do all they can to improve the living standards of the people in the poorer
ones.
• The primary responsibility of scientists is to explain the scientific facts and their
technological implications. In some cases, once the facts are known, the way
forward is obvious, in others any attempt to provide an answer would be premature.
However, the necessary knowledge cannot be obtained easily; it requires years of
study and research.

• Now scientists have made increasingly accurate forecasts of the dangers threatening
the world and the actions that must be taken to avert them. More and more people are
becoming convinced that these actions are necessary, but virtually nothing has been
done.

• Governments have indeed set up committees to examine these problems and make
recommendations, but they are subsequently ignored if it seems politically expedient
to do so.

• We are heading into disaster with our eyes open.

• What is Energy?

• Our civilisation and our standard of living depend on an adequate supply of energy.
We need energy to light and heat our homes, to cook our food, to drive our transport
and power our communications and to provide the motive force that drives the
factories.

• People in the poorer countries, especially in Africa and Asia, people in the rich well-
developed countries in Europe, North America and Japan…... Do u think their
energy demand & consumption are the same?

• Over the centuries this energy has been obtained in many ways. In ancient times
wood was the main fuel, and it provided heat for cooking and warmth. It was often
used more rapidly than it was replaced by new growth, and the forests of countries
surrounding the Mediterranean were gradually destroyed, followed by the forests of
central Europe.
• In many countries even today wood is the main fuel, but
housewives have to walk increasing distances to gather the wood
they need. Other energy sources are crop residues and dried
animal dung. These are still the main sources of fuel for some
two billion people in the developing countries.

• The increasing scarcity of wood stimulated searches for

alternative energy sources, and soon coal was found. It has a
higher calorific value than wood and can be transported rather
more easily.

• Soon it became the main energy source in many developed

countries and provided the power for the industrial revolution.
• During the nineteenth century oil was found, first in the USA and then in many
other countries. It has many advantages over coal: it can easily be transported
over large distances by pipelines and tankers, and is the basis of the petrochemical
industry. During the twentieth century it gradually displaced coal as the favoured
energy source. Natural gas was often found in association with oil, and provided a
convenient source of lighting and heating.

• The nineteenth century also saw the rapid development of the electrical
industry for communication, heating and power. Electricity has the advantage
of being very easily transported from the generating station to where it is needed.
It soon displaced gas as a source of light and became a convenient power source
for factories. Electricity is practicable for suburban trains, but long distance trains
and ships, which used to be driven by coal, are now mainly driven by oil.
Electricity is generated by turbines driven by steam produced by burning coal,
WATER or oil.
• During the twentieth century the world’s economy and
population increased more rapidly than ever before and the total
energy consumption rose even more rapidly.

• World population is doubling on the average every 35 years;

• Together with the increase in the standard of living, this results in

the world energy consumption doubling every fourteen years.

• Energy is very often wasted, and it is frequently urged that the

energy crisis can be solved by increasing the efficiency of energy
use and eliminating waste.
 ENERGY CRISIS
• At present we are very wasteful.
• We leave lights on in empty rooms, heat parts of our houses that are not in use, and allow the rooms
in use to be too hot, so that most of the heat escapes through the windows and walls. In many warm
countries air conditioners are over-used in summer so that the rooms become too cold. Much larger
amounts of energy are wasted by inefficient processes in factories. Huge amounts of energy are
spent on unnecessary journeys and leisure activities. Advertising and high-pressure salesmanship
encourages people to buy things that they really do not need, and credit schemes make it easy to do
so. Changes of fashion in clothing and house-styles mean that perfectly useable items are thrown
away.

• It is very often easier and cheaper to throw away a defective machine and buy another rather than have
it repaired. Indeed it is now almost impossible to find people willing to repair anything. All this is
happening at a time when billions of people lack the energy needed to provide the bare necessities of
life.

• It is immoral to allow this to continue.

• In any case in the long run it cannot continue as the resources of the earth are limited
and thus unable to sustain indefinite growth.

• It is easy to urge that energy be saved, but far more difficult to convince people to
take the necessary action. If energy is cheap, people just cannot be bothered to take
energy-saving measures

• It is easy to reduce energy consumption by increasing the price but this can provoke
a violent political reaction, a rise in energy price hits the poor harder than the rich
and can seriously affect their health. Many poor people suffer from malnutrition and
even die from hypothermia in the winter because they cannot afford food and fuel.

• Care must be taken to avoid this by measures such as reducing the price of
electricity for the first few units every month and then increasing the price for higher
levels of consumption.
• Transport is a large consumer of energy in the form of petroleum, which is polluting
as well as running out.

• At present they are more costly than petrol-driven cars, so perhaps government
intervention in the form of subsidies could encourage the widespread use of such
vehicles. To avoid pollution the electricity must be generated by a nonpolluting
source, of which nuclear is the only practical way at the present time.

• Further energy savings can be obtained by encouraging the use of more energy-
efficient means of transport such as trains and buses instead of cars and lorries for
passengers and for freight.

• Energy problems would be solved if energy could easily be stored on a large scale
and if the extra energy generated in these periods could be stored then fewer power
stations would be required. Unfortunately this is not possible because electrical
energy must be used as soon as it is generated and it cannot be stored economically.
 Energy conservation (CUT OFF)
• involves using less energy by adjusting your behaviors and habits.

• it can help reduce monthly heating and electricity bills and save
money.

• Examples; if you turn off the lights when you leave a room, you are
practicing energy conservation. Driving your car fewer miles per week,
unplugging your computer or home appliances when they are not in use.

• Energy conservation might cut down on your comfort level and make
things a bit less convenient
 Energy Efficiency
• “saving energy but keeping the same level of service.”

• If you replace an inefficient incandescent light bulb with a more efficient compact fluorescent bulb, you
are practicing energy efficiency. reusing energy, using renewable resources like solar panels, efficient
designs of buildings, lifestyle changes, so on and so forth.

• Energy efficiency uses advances in science and technology to provide services and products that
require the use of less energy.

• It is cost-effective and reduces the impact on health and the environment.

• reduces greenhouse gas emissions, household costs, and the need for energy imports.
Energy Efficiency And Climate
Change
• Climate change has become a serious issue in the 21st century & as
the years go by, climate change risks are increasing.

• According to research, since 1980, if there were no energy efficiency

investments, the rate of energy consumption and emissions would be
60 percent more (Zerrenner, 2020). Therefore, the key to fighting
long-term climate change is the proper use of energy.

• Hence, more investments in energy efficiency will reduce greenhouse

gas emissions to a greater extent.
• Reducing water levels, droughts, and heatwaves are the
signs of climate change.

• If the temperature rises, there will be high demand for

cooling systems like air conditioners.

• In addition, we will need more water to generate

electricity. Energy efficiency also impacts water supplies.
With fewer carbon emissions, we will require less water
to generate electricity.
 sustainable energy
• Include considerations of environmental aspects such as greenhouse gas emissions
and energy poverty.

• Renewable energy sources such as wind, hydroelectric power, solar, and

geothermal energy are generally far more sustainable than fossil fuel sources.
However, some renewable energy projects, such as the clearing of forests to produce
biofuels, can cause severe environmental damage.

• Nuclear power is a low-carbon source has been debated because of concerns about
radioactive waste, and accidents.

• Carbon capture and storage can be built into power plants to remove their
carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, but is expensive and has seldom been implemented.
• Fossil fuels provide 85% of the world's energy consumption
and the energy system is responsible for 76% of global
greenhouse gas emissions.

• Around 790 million people in developing countries lack

access to electricity and 2.6 billion rely on polluting fuels
such as wood or charcoal to cook.

• Reducing greenhouse gas emissions to levels consistent with

the 2015 Paris Agreement will require a system-wide
transformation of the way energy is produced, distributed,
stored, and consumed.
• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that
2.5% of world gross domestic product (GDP) would need to be invested
in the energy system each year between 2016 and 2035 to limit global
warming to 1.5 °C (2.7 °F).

• Well-designed government policies that promote energy system

transformation can lower greenhouse gas emissions and improve air
quality. In many cases they also increase energy security. Policy
approaches include carbon pricing, renewable portfolio standards,
phase-outs of fossil fuel subsidies, and the development of
infrastructure to support electrification and sustainable transport.
Funding research, development, and demonstration of new clean energy
technologies is also an important role of government.
• The burning of fossil fuels and biomass is a major
contributor to air pollution, which causes an estimated
7 million deaths each year.

• Therefore, the transition to a low-carbon energy

system would have strong co-benefits for human
health.

• Wind and solar energy generated 8.5% of worldwide

electricity in 2019.