Geography 5 Week 7 Lecture 12 Energy Natural Gas Mostly refers to methane o pipelines or liquefied natural gas LGN Over 50 in Russia and Middle East US Natural Gas Reserves Recent discoveries in Shale Formations NE USA 88 years 118 years of gas at current rate of development and use China and Xinjiang Environmental Impacts Extraction o Infrastructure pipelines Methane released without burning major GHG 20 x more potent than CO2 Use o Far lower amount of SO2 NO2 than any other fossil fuel o Much less particulate matter than coal or oil o Cleanest of the major fossil fuels T Boone Pickens Pushes natural energy natural gas Conservative Nuclear Energy France produces most nuclear energy 76 protective of nuclear power Top 3 France 76 Ukraine 47 South Korea 36 Three Mile Island Accident 1979 Anti nuclear movement Shift in nuclear construction attitudes Chernobyl Nuclear Accident 1986 Radiation cloud over Ukraine area is very radio active and off limits higher cancer rates mortality Accidents and awareness stall nuclear plant construction in the United States Nuclear Waste Storage o e g Yucca Mountains Nevada Selected as the national nuclear waste repository two decades ago NIMBY effect not in my backyard Renewable Energy Seen as the future talked about as the future but in reality there s a big question mark as to how much it can help us in society Total recoverable o solar hydro less potential geothermal wind global consumption Hydroelectric Energy o China 18 Canada 62 Brazil 97 o e g China s 3 Gorges Dam is expected to provide 3 of China s electricity needs Solar Energy o global distribution of solar energy concentrated in the low latitudes esp in Desert Areas Europe o Method 1 passive solar systems use architecture sun angles and such to maximize or minimize heating o Method 2 active solar systems use pumps etc to circulate air water or other fluids from solar collectors to a location where the heat is stored and used o Method 3 photovoltaic solar systems turn sunlight directly into electricity made from silicon or thin film technologies o Concentrated solar power Both photovoltaic and convection generated power o Combining different types of solar energy for your home Passive 1 Daylighting window orientation vegetation 2 Translucent panels Active 3 Solar water heaters Photovoltaic 4 Solar panels 5 Solar safety lighting Wind Energy Wind resources of the US Wind power generation by state o California Texas Iowa leaders Leaders in installed capacity MW o European Union 75 000 US 35 000 Germany China Spain India Installed Capacity increasing over time Biomass Plant and animal wastes that can be burned to produce electricity or converted to a more convenient form i e gas Biomass provides 35 of people s NRG in the developing world Ethanol Sugarcane in Brazil provides 60 of auto fuel they have ethanolpowered cars Corn in US Problems o Land degradation due to farming o Air pollution o Oil use Food price increase Other forms of renewable energy geothermal energy wave power tidal power hydrogen power US Energy Policy Approaches The Hard Path supply o Develop domestic sources of oil Alaska Gulf of Mexico California Develop domestic sources of coal coal technologies o e g coal liquefaction Develop more nuclear energy Bush administration s current republican party path Why has the hard path remained popular o Technology readily available up and running o Doesn t involve or require a re tooling of our current economic political and social ways of thinking o Powerful forces i e Big Oil are behind it Still relatively cheap at this point compared with other sources Discussion Week 7 Energy Consumption What is Energy Energy is the capacity of a physical system to perform work Two types of energy Kinetic and Potential o Potential energy is stored energy e g water backed up behind the dam is not doing work but could do work if released Chemical energy the energy stored in chemical bonds nuclear fusion and fission o kinetic Kinetic energy is energy in motion e g water spilling over a damn can be harnessed to do work since it is in motion light heat sound Laws of energy thermodynamics Under normal conditions energy cannot be created or destroyed simply transformed from one type of energy to another Any time you do work some of the starting energy is going to be lost as heat no process is 100 efficient living systems will break down unless they have some input of energy Why do humans need energy Warm our houses in winter cool our houses in summer light our homes play music To grow store and cook our food To extract process natural resources for manufacturing items we use daily To power various form of transportation Sources of Energy Oil 38 Gas 23 Coal 26 Hydroelectric 6 Nuclear 6 Geothermal Solar Wind and Wood 1 Energy use in developed developing countries Per person energy consumption in developed countries far exceeds that in developing countries Energy in California CA is the most populous state in the nation its total energy demand is second to the state of Texas Compared to other states CA has one of the lowest per capita energy consumption Mild climate condition Energy efficiency programs CA energy Resources CA s crude oil and natural gas deposits are located in six geological basins in the Central Valley and along the coast CA s hydroelectric power potential ranks second in the U S behind Washington State Has substantial geothermal and wind power resources found along the coastal mountain ranges High solar power potential is found in SE CA deserts Renewable energy resources Direct solar heating Indirect solar heating Other types of renewable energy sources Direct Solar Energy Active solar heating A series of collection devices mounted on a roof or in a field to gather solar energy E g panel or plate of black metal Passive solar heating Solar energy heats buildings without the need for pumps panels pr fans to distribute the heat Involve some specific designs e g large windows facing south North Hemisphere Photovoltaic Solar Cells Convert sunlight directly into electricity Generate electricity with no pollution minimal maintance Indirect Solar Energy Biomass energy Energy stored in plant and animal material Wood fast growing plant crop wastes animal wastes Wind energy As the sun warms the earth the air particle start to move and this results in wind Wind produce no waste is clean source of energy Hydropower Hydrologic cycle is driven by sun s energy Dams can harness make use of kinetic energy in