Every day on Earth we burn: 15.9 million tons of coal, 82.4 million barrels of oil & 7.4 billion m3 of natural gas.
The U.S. consumes 20 million barrels of oil/DAY. (42 gallons/barrel – 840 million gal/day)
100 tons of ancient plant life is required to create 1 gallon of gasoline
Each year humans have required several centuries of sunlight to keep the economy going.
Ex 1997 = 422 years worth
The 20 richest countries use 80% of the natural gas, 65% of the oil & 50% of the coal produced/yr.
The U.S. with less than 1/20th world’s population uses more than ½ of the commercial energy supply.
Fossil fuels provide 85% of all commercial energy in the world.
Industrial 36.5%
Mining, milling, smelting, & forging of primary metals consume ¼ of industrial energy.
Chemical industry is 2nd
Remainder is raw material for plastics, fertilizers, solvents, lubricants & others.
Manufacture of cement, glass, bricks, tile, paper & processed foods also consume large amounts.
COAL
Transportation (26%) – 98% from petroleum products & 2% natural gas & electricity
75% of transport energy is used by motor vehicles.
Nearly 3 trillion passenger miles & 600 billion ton miles of freight are carried annually by motor vehicles in the U.S.
Much is very inefficient: Taking a 2,000 kg car to transport one 60 kg person a few km to work or shopping isn’t a wise use of resources.
COAL FORMATION
A variety of industries use coal's heat and by-products. Separated ingredients of coal (such as methanol and ethylene) are used in making plastics, tar, synthetic fibers, fertilizers, and medicines.
Coal is also used to make steel. Coal is baked in hot furnaces to make coke, which is used to smelt iron ore into iron needed for making steel. It is the very high temperatures created from the use of coke that gives steel the strength and flexibility for things like bridges, buildings, and automobiles.
The concrete and paper industries also use large amounts of coal.
PROBLEMS:
Mining dangers: Cave-ins, fires, accidents & accumulation of poisonous or explosive gasses. Health hazards including black lung disease.
The Sago Mine Disaster was a coal mine explosion on January 2, 2006, in the Sago Mine in Sago, West Virginia, USA near the Upshur County seat of Buckhannon, West Virginia. The blast and ensuing aftermath trapped thirteen miners for nearly two days. Only one miner survived. It was the worst mining disaster in the U.S. since a 2001 tragedy in Alabama killed 13, and the worst in West Virginia since a 1968 event that took 78 lives.
Environmental degradation: Strip mining removes vegetation & soil. Mine tailings leach into water.
 |
Mountaintop removal/valley fill strip mining is relentlessly consuming Kayford Mountain in southern West Virginia. |
 |
Mine tailings in the Savage River. |
 |
| Mountaintop removal/valley fill strip mining is relentlessly consuming Kayford Mountain in southern West Virginia. |
Sulfur dioxide (SO2), which has been linked to acid rain and increased incidence of respiratory illnesses
Nitrogen oxides (NOx), which have been linked to the formation of acid rain and photochemical smog and to depletion of the Earth’s ozone layer
Particulates, which have been linked to the formation of acid rain and increased incidence of respiratory illnesses
Carbon dioxide (CO2), which is the primary greenhouse gas emission from energy use.
Mercury, which has been linked with both neurological and developmental damage in humans and other animals. Mercury concentrations in the air usually are low and of little direct concern. However, when mercury enters water — either directly or through deposition from the air — biological processes transform it into methylmercury, a highly toxic chemical that accumulates in fish and the animals (including humans) that eat fish.
Americans consume almost 21 million barrels of oil a day, a quarter of the world total of 84 million barrels a day, reports the International Energy Agency. But China is now second at 6.4 million barrels a day, and its demand could double by 2020.
OIL FORMATION:Oil is the lifeblood of America’s economy. Currently, it supplies more than 40% of our total energy demands and more than 99% of the fuel we use in our cars and trucks. The Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy focuses on two important concerns over oil - an immediate readiness to respond to oil supply disruptions and keeping America’s oil fields producing in the future.
1. Ocean creatures die and are buried in sediments.
2. Organic material must be heated to a certain temperature (100 to 135 C) . This occurs when the sediments get pushed downward between 10,000 and 13,000 ft. below sea level. Known as the “kitchen” it is hot enough to boil the sediments into petroleum.
Too deep and the sediments will be cracked into gas or destroyed. Too shallow – not high enough for “cooking”.
3. Surrounding rock must be permeable for the material to move through yet topped by a cap rock of impermeable rock.
4. Cooking takes millions of years.
A 42-U.S. gallon barrel of crude oil provides slightly more than 44 gallons of petroleum products. This gain from processing the crude oil is similar to what happens to popcorn, which gets bigger after it's popped. The gain from processing is more than 5%.
One barrel of crude oil, when refined, produces about 19 gallons of finished motor gasoline, and 10 gallons of diesel, as well as other petroleum products. Most petroleum products are used to produce energy. For instance, many people across the United States use propane to heat their homes.
Other products made from petroleum include:
Ink
Crayons
Bubble gum
Dishwashing liquids
Deodorant
Eyeglasses
CDs and DVDs
Tires
Ammonia
Heart valves
Nearly all of these byproducts have negative impacts on the environment and human health:
Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas and a source of global warming.1
SO2 causes acid rain, which is harmful to plants and to animals that live in water, and it worsens or causes respiratory illnesses and heart diseases, particularly in children and the elderly.
NOX and VOCs contribute to ground-level ozone, which irritates and damages the lungs.
PM results in hazy conditions in cites and scenic areas, and, along with ozone, contributes to asthma and chronic bronchitis, especially in children and the elderly. Very small, or “fine PM” is also thought to cause emphysema and lung cancer.
Lead can have severe health impacts, especially for children, and air toxics are known or probable carcinogens.
PROBLEMS
Environmental damage due to drilling & spilling. In 1989 Exxon Valdez spilled 10.8 million gallons of oil. Such disasters only account for 5% of the oil polluting oceans. Most comes from small oil tanker accidents & leaks, offshore oil rig leaks & oil leaks on land.
Pro drilling: (California coast, Beaufort Sea, Grand Banks & ANWR) An inexpensive, plentiful energy supply, even if only for a few decades, is worth the social & environmental costs.
Even if work began on ANWR today (January 2007), its benefits are years away. Current Department of Energy estimates are that the soonest ANWR production could begin is in 2015 and would not peak until 2024.
ANWR could help improve U.S. crude oil supply, but would still only make up a small fraction of U.S. oil demand. The U.S. Department of Energy projects peak ANWR production at 780,000 barrels per day after 2024. That represents only 3.7% of current U.S. consumption and about 3% of projected demand in 2024.
The U.S. Department of Energy projects a decline of 79 cents per barrel (1.9 cents per gallon) for crude oil prices as a result of peak ANWR production in 2024. Crude oil prices are currently about $70 per barrel. If ANWR were producing at peak today, we would see a price decrease of slightly more than 1%.
Natural Gas
23% of Global Energy Consumption & growing rapidly.
Convenient, cheap, clean burning (1/2 the amount of CO2 as coal)
Difficult to ship across oceans or store in large quantities.
Current global consumption will be use up known supplies in 60 years.
U.S. = 6% = 10 yr. Supply at current rate of consumption.
We can also use machines called digesters that turn today's organic material (plants, animal wastes, etc.) into natural gas. This replaces waiting for thousands of years for the gas to form naturally.
Natural gas is used to produce steel, glass, paper, clothing, brick, electricity and as an essential raw material for many common products. Some products that use natural gas as a raw material are: paints, fertilizer, plastics, antifreeze, dyes, photographic film, medicines, and explosives.
Slightly more than half of the homes in the United States use natural gas as their main heating fuel. Natural gas is also used in homes to fuel stoves, water heaters, clothes dryers, and other household appliances.
Problems with natural gas:
1. The combustion of natural gas emits almost 30 percent less carbon dioxide than oil, and just under 45 percent less carbon dioxide than coal.
One issue that has arisen with respect to natural gas and the greenhouse effect is the fact that methane, the principle component of natural gas, is itself a very potent greenhouse gas. In fact, methane has an ability to trap heat almost 21 times more effectively than carbon dioxide.
2. Natural gas emits virtually no sulfur dioxide, and up to 80 percent less nitrogen oxides than the combustion of coal, increased use of natural gas could provide for fewer acid rain causing emissions.
3. Leaks in transmission and highly explosive. (Mercaptan added to give it a smell.)
4 . Only about 11 years left at current use.
Post a Comment