2. MODULE FIVE: NON-RENEWABLE
ENERGY
FOSSIL FUELS
Coal, oil, natural gas, kerogen from shale oil,
and peat were all formed from the bodies of
ancient plants and animals that have been
buried in sedimentary rock, under heat and
pressure for millions of years.
Made mostly of methane, natural gas
burns cleaner than any other fossil
fuel.
Although these are limited, non-renewable,
and produce pollution, we still burn them,
because we already have the infrastructure
(ways and means) to get and use fossil fuels,
they are relatively cheap, and changing over
to newer alternatives is expensive.
USGS Fact Sheet 26-03: Geologic Sequestration of Carbon
Dioxidepubs.usgs.gov - 500 × 236 - Search by imageRed lines indicate CO 2
being pumped into the reservoirs for sequestration, green lines indicate
enhanced recovery of fossil fuels caused by CO 2
3. PEAT IS THE FIRST STAGE
OF COAL.
The Carbon Cycle
All living things are made of carbon. Carbon is also a part of
the ocean, air, and even rocks. Because the Earth is a
dynamic place, carbon does not stay still. It is on the move!
In the atmosphere, carbon is attached to some oxygen in a
gas called carbon dioxide.
Plants use carbon dioxide and sunlight to make their own food
and grow. The carbon becomes part of the plant. Plants that
die and are buried may turn into fossil fuels made of carbon
like coal and oil over millions of years. When humans burn fossil
fuels, most of the carbon quickly enters the atmosphere as
carbon dioxide.
Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas and traps heat in the
atmosphere. Without it and other greenhouse gases, Earth
would be a frozen world. But humans have burned so much
fuel that there is about 30% more carbon dioxide in the air
today than there was about 150 years ago, and Earth is
becoming a warmer place. In fact, ice cores show us that
there is now more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than
there has been in the last 420,000 years.
https://eo.ucar.edu/kids/green/cycles6.htm
Carbon Cycle Diagram from the DOE with numbers | Spark
spark.ucar.edu900 × 700Search by image
Credit: Office of Biological and Environmental Research of the U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Science.
4. DAMAGE TO THE
ENVIRONMENT
Getting coal involves old-fashioned
subsurface mining, using tunnels. This is very
dangerous due to collapse of tunnels,
methane gas build up and acid mine
drainage, emissions of more greenhouse gases
than the country of Denmark, and more
habitat destruction than mountain top
removal are hazards of subsurface mining.
Mountain top removal and strip mining are
modern ways of digging out the seams of
coal.
Fly ash, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are
two pollutants that come from burning coal.
Mercury Contamination from Historical Gold
Mining in Californiapubs.usgs.gov - 504 × 645 -
Search by imagePhotograph showing
Monitors (water cannons)
5. NUCLEAR ENERGY
Nuclear power plants create electricity by using
uranium for nuclear fission. While it does not
pollute the air, other hazards exist.
Nuclear waste has an extremely long half-life and
remains deadly for centuries, so storing it is a
problem. Meltdowns of reactors, fires and
explosions have spread deadly nuclear fallout
worldwide.
Although uranium is not a fossil fuel, it is in limited
supply, and someday, there will be no more to fuel
these power plants.
Right: HowStuffWorks "Inside a Nuclear Power
Plant"science.howstuffworks.com - 360 × 340 -
Search by imagePage by Robert Lamb - In order
to turn nuclear fission into electrical energy, ...
fission1.gifwww.kids.esdb.bg
6. MODULE SIX: RENEWABLE ENERGY
RENEWABLE ENERGY
Biomass: fuel made from fermentation of plants
Hydrogen can be used in fuel cells for cars, with
only water as a waste product.
Hydroelectric dams: using water falling by gravity
,turns turbines, which creates electricity.
Wind turbines: expensive to set up, but produce
tremendous amounts of electricity when the wind
is blowing.
U.S. Geological Survey: Ecosystemswww.usgs.gov - 232 × 300 - Search by imageImage of
Product: Wind Energy and Wildlife Research at the Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science
7. SOLAR POWER
Passive solar energy is simply allowing the sunlight to enter and provide light and heat to a place.
Active solar energy is made by using solar panels to convert the sun’s energy into electrical energy.
The Southwestern states in the US use more solar panels, because they receive more sunny days than the
eastern states.
Although it is not yet popular everywhere, because it is expensive to start up, the use of solar panels for
energy is growing.
Right: NASA Invites Media to Showcase of Solutions Finalists Announcement ...www.nasa.gov - 4256 × 2832 - Search by imageElectrical power required for the building is more than offset by on-site photovoltaic solar panels and solid oxide
fuel cell technology from aBloom Energy .
8. CONSERVATION OF
ENERGY
Allows us to phase in renewable energy,
slows global warming, lowers
environmental damage, decreases our
dependency on oil. This can give us a
little more time to phase in the
renewable, non-polluting energy
sources.
Right: USGS Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5195:
U.S. Geological Survey
pubs.usgs.gov - 250 × 323 - Search by image
Southwest Wyoming's wildlife and habitat resources
are increasingly affected by energy and
urban/exurban development, climate change, and
other key drivers.
9. MODULE SEVEN:
GEOLOGIC TIME AND
NORTH CAROLINA
GEOLOGIC HISTORY
According to fossil records, life first emerged from shallow seas.
Dinosaurs disappeared from Earth 65 million years ago.
The largest time span on the geological time scale is the EON.
Right: Geologic Maps - Geologic Map of North Carolina,
2000x1340geology.about.com - 2000 × 1340 - Search by image North
Carolina geologic map page
10. TEXT FROM THE
LESSONS
Wordle art from Bing Online
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