Discusses 7 or 8 energy myths and provides statistics to refute these myths. Presentation give at the 2011 APES Reading professional night by Susan Postawko

1. Energy Myths and Facts “Everything we consume or use—our homes, their contents, our cars and the roads we travel, the clothes we wear, and the food we eat—requires energy to produce and package, to distribute to shops or front doors, to operate, and then to get rid of.” Worldwatch Institute

2. Fuel is not getting any cheaper.. . . . but confusion abounds as to what, if anything, we can do about the rising cost of energy

4. We should switch to using more natural gas because it is a “clean” fossil fuel

5. Renewable energies aren’t economically viable without huge subsidies

6. Compact fluorescent bulbs are bad because they contain mercury

7. Wind turbines are basically noisy bird-blenders

9. Approximately 50% of the electricity in the U.S. is generated by coal-burning power plants

11. transportation (31,000)

12. power plant employment (60,000)In the early 1900s, some 500,000+ people were employed by the coal industry According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average earnings of nonsupervisory coal workers is about $55,000 annually

13. Coal Mining Deaths YEAR U.S. CHINA 1907 3,242 2000 38 5,300 2001 42 5,670 2002 27 5,791 2003 30 7,200 2004 28 6,027 2005 23 5,986 2006 47 4,746 2007 28 3,786 2008 30 3,215 2009 18 2,631 2010 48 600+? Although China mines about 2x as much coal annually as the U.S., the death rate of miners in China is about 37x that in the U.S. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, mining is the second deadliest occupation in the U.S. (those who make a living in agriculture, fishing, and forestry have the highest death rate per 100,000 employees)

14. The Wind Industry Less than about 2% of the electricity in the U.S. is generated by wind turbines In the U.S., wind industry technician jobs surpassed coal mining jobs in 2008. Wind employment increased by 70% from 50,000 in 2007 to 85,000 in 2009 Median annual salary for wind turbine technicians (high school education + special training) is about $45,000 Since 1975, 44 deaths world-wide have been attributed to wind energy – mostly from accidents during installation of large turbines

15. Without fossil fuels, the U.S. economy would collapse/unemployment would sky-rocket We should switch to using more natural gas because it is a “clean” fossil fuel Renewable energies aren’t economically viable without huge subsidies Compact fluorescent bulbs are bad because they contain mercury Wind turbines are basically noisy bird-blenders Ethanol will ruin your car’s engine

16. Natural gas is often described as the cleanest fuel, producing less carbon dioxide per joule delivered than either coal or oil In particular, when compared to the energy-equivalent amount of coal: Pollutant Natural gas Coal Carbon dioxide 117,000 ppm 208,000 ppm Carbon monoxide 40 ppm 208 ppm Nitrogen oxides 92 ppm 457 ppm Sulfur dioxide 1 ppm 2,591 ppm Mercury 0 0.016 Particulates 7 ppm 2,744 ppm However, natural gas itself is a greenhouse gas more potent than carbon dioxide when released into the atmosphere

17. In addition: Cornell scientist Robert Howarth recently completed a study that concludes: Natural gas has a far greater carbon footprint than oil, and could even be more harmful to climate than coal. The Reason? All of the associated activities involved with recovering fossil natural gas: energy for digging the pipeline, laying the pipe, trucking the water, hydraulic fracturing – in addition to methane leakage from all of these activities Howarth’s take-home message is that natural gas is going to accelerate global warming if we use it as a replacement for oil. The hidden climate costs of natural gas: Emissions are measured in g C of CO2 per million joules of energy.

18. Without fossil fuels, the U.S. economy would collapse/unemployment would sky-rocket We should switch to using more natural gas because it is a “clean” fossil fuel Renewable energies aren’t economically viable without huge subsidies Compact fluorescent bulbs are bad because they contain mercury Wind turbines are basically noisy bird-blenders Ethanol will ruin your car’s engine

20. The US federal government paid US$74 billion in energy subsidies to support R&D for nuclear power and fossil fuels from 1973 to 2003

21. According to Donald Lubick, the U.S. Department of Treasury's former Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy, the petroleum industry "probably has larger tax incentives relative to its size than any other industry in the country”

22. Analysts say the U.S. is more generous to oil companies than most other countries, demanding a smaller share of revenues than others that let private companies drill on public lands and in public waters

25. Exxon spent more than $3.8 billion in clean up costs, fines and compensation

26. In the case of Baker v. Exxon, a jury awarded $287 million for actual damages and $5 billion for punitive damages. The punitive damages amount was equal to a single year's profit by Exxon at that time.

27. After many appeals (over more than 10 years) by Exxon, judgment by the U.S. Supreme Court will limit punitive damages to $507.5 million.

28. While the appeals were taking place, it is estimated that Exxon earned nearly $800 million a year in interest on the original $5 billion

30. By November, BP was reporting profits even with an estimated $40 billion price tag for the response to its blown out well in the Gulf of Mexico

31. BP said that costs related to the April 20 oil spill dragged down its third-quarter profit by more than 60 percent

39. Wind towers, nacelles, and blades all reflect radar energy

40. Turbines have high reflectivity that can reduce radar sensitivity

41. Rotation of wind turbine blades causes Doppler reflections

42. Wind towers have a large “radar cross sectional area”

44. Is Ethanol Really Bad for Your Car?

46. Range in model years from 1999 to 2007

48. average reduction for E20 was ~7.7% compared to E0

49. As ethanol content increased:

50. no significant change in oxides of nitrogen emission

51. non-methane hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide emissions decreased

52. None of the vehicles displayed a malfunction indicator light as a result of the ethanol content of the fuel

53. No fuel filter plugging symptoms were observed

55. Is ethanol/biodisel an improvement over fossil fuels? environmentally? financially? Who would benefit most from more use of ethanol/biodiesel? Are there alternatives to using food crops? What questions still need to be answered?