Energy Use in the United States

• What percentage of the World’s population lives in the United States?

• 5%

• How many passenger vehicles are there in the United States?

• ~211 million

• What percentage of the world’s oil reserves does the U.S. have?

• 2%

• What percentage of U.S. petroleum consumption is supplied by imports?

• 60%

• If all production and imports stopped, how long would the United States petroleum stocks last?

• ~82 days

• What percentage of the world’s supply of natural gas does the United States have?

• 3%• What percentage of the world’s coal supply

does the United States have?• 27%

• How long would the United States coal reserves last if we continued to use it at the same rate?

• ~242 years

Energy Resources

Chapter 4

Resources

• Renewable–Can be replenished overly a fairly short

period of time

Nonrenewabletake millions of years to form and accumulate

Fossil Fuels

Any hydrocarbon that may be used as a source of energy.

90% of energy used in USA comes from fossil fuels !!!!!!

What is Coal?

• Made from decayed plant material from millions of years ago (usually in swamps)

• Transformed by weathering, erosion, and heat pressure

• Main resource power plants use to produce electricity

Fossil Fuels: Coal• NONRENEWABLE• Located underground• Burned to make

electricity• U.S. has largest coal

reserves in world• Produces half the

electricity in the U.S.

Coal Issues : Mining

• Destroys land surface

Coal Issues: Air Pollution

• Leads to acid rain

Petroleum (Oil) -NONRENEWABLE

• Formed from remains of tiny sea plants and animals – LIQUID

• Found underground • Refined into different

fuels which are burned to produce heat

• Majority used for transportation

Oil Trap

• A layer of impermeable rock causes the oil/gas to become trapped … we tap into these reserves

Petroleum Issues

• Burning can cause air pollution and carbon dioxide

• Drilling and transporting can damage land and water if leaks and spills

Important Petroleum Facts

• U.S. uses more petroleum than any other energy source

• We do not produce enough to meet our needs• We import 2/3 of the petro that we use from

foreign countries• Middle East has the majority of the world’s

reserves

Fossil Fuels: Natural GasNONRENEWABLE

Natural Gas• Found in underground

rock formations• Burn to produce heat• Used in industry,

homes/businesses, and power plants to produce products, heating, and electricity

Natural Gas Issues

• Clean burning fossil fuel • Does produce some air pollution and carbon

dioxide

• Interesting fact: an odorant that smells like rotten eggs is added to natural gas so leaks can be detected

Possible oil substitute?

• TAR SANDS

OIL SHALE

Tar Sands

• Mixtures of clay and sand combined with water and varying amounts of bitumen, a heavy black viscous oil.

• Tar sands can be mined and processed to extract the oil-rich bitumen, which is then refined into oil.

Tar Sand Drawbacks

• Causes significant land disturbances• Requires large amounts of water to process• Large amounts of contaminated water and

sediment accumulate in toxic disposal ponds

• Accounts for 15% of Canada’s oil production

Oil Shale

• Oil shale is a sedimentary rock containing petroleum-like solids

• ½ of worlds supply is in Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming

• Unprofitable to mine and not as efficient as crude oil

Mineral Resources

• Deposits of useful minerals that can be extracted

• Mineral reserves - deposits from which minerals can be extracted profitably

• Ore – useful metallic mineral that can be mined for a profit

Mineral Deposits

• Must be profitable to extract

• Large deposits known but unprofitable to extract them

• Deposits are associated with the Rock Cycle

Mineral Deposits

• Most important mineral deposits form through igneous processes and from hydrothermal solutions.

Igneous Processes

• Form most metallic mineral deposits by settling at the bottom of the magma chamber as it cools– Gold– Silver– Copper– Lead– Mercury– Platinum– nickel

Mineral Deposit: Hydrothermal Solutions

Hydrothermal Solutions

• Form from hot, metal-rich fluids that are left during the late stages of movement and cooling of magma – ex. Gold, silver, mercury

Secondary Mineral Deposition

• Placer Deposits– Eroded minerals are

moved by water and settle on the inside, cracks and depressions of streams

Nonmetallic Resources

• Extracted and processed for either the nonmetallic elements they contain or for their physical and chemical properties– Examples:• Fertilizers• Limestone• Sand, gravel, etc..

Extraction of Resources:Mining

What is mining?

• Mining is extracting ore or minerals from the ground

• An ore is a natural material with a high concentration of economically valuable minerals that can be mined for a profit

Types of Mines

• There are two main types of mines.

1) Surface Mining

2) Subsurface Mining

Surface Mining

• Mineral deposits are on or near the surface of the Earth and are removed.

• There are 3 types of surface mines:1. Open-pit: removes large, near surface deposits of

minerals such as gold and copper. Mined downward in layers

2. Quarries: stone, crushed rock, sand, gravel3. Strip Mining: removing surface coal in strips up

to 50 m wide x 1 Km long

Chimney Rock, Bridgewater, NJ

Bridgewater Sports Arena

Rt 78 near Watchung Reservation

Bernardsville Quarry, NJ

Images from Google Maps

Subsurface Mining

• Minerals are located too deep for surface mining

• Shafts and passageways are dug into the ground to reach the ores.

Subsurface Mining

http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/images/minmethd.gif

Reclamation

• Mining can destroy or disturb habitats

• Waste products can pollute water systems

• When a mine is no longer being used, the land should be returned to its original state or better = Reclamation

• Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1975

Reclamation

Mine Albert, Quebec, before and after reclamation. Government of Quebec

http://www.abandoned-mines.org/home-e.htm

Why do we need mines?

Why do we need mines?

• Houses• Cars• Toothpaste• Plumbing• Wiring• Planes• Electronics• Jewelry• Glass

If we can’t grow it, it has to be mined!

Alternative Energy Sources

• World’s population is increasing and our need for resources is increasing as well

• Most resources we use are nonrenewable so we need to develop alternative energy sources

Solar Energy

• Uses sun’s rays to supply heat or electricity– Fuel is free and non-polluting

Solar Power

Advantages• Renewable• Clean• Free

Disadvantages• Sun not out all the

time (at night, clouds)

• Expensive

Nuclear Energy - Uranium

• Comes from radioactive materials that release energy through nuclear fission

Uranium - Nonrenewable

• Metallic element found in rocks

• Turned into pellets to use in nuclear power plants

Uranium 235

Advantages• Little to no pollution

Disadvantages• Produces radioactive

waste• No storage site

available for waste• Potential for large

scale disasters

Wind Energy

• Uses the wind to produce electricity

Wind Energy - Renewable

Advantages• Clean, no pollution• Land can be used for

other things at the same time

Disadvantages• Take up a lot of land• Noisy• Do not produce a lot

of electricity• Must be placed in

windy areas (coast, etc…)

Hydroelectric Power

• Use the energy from falling water to create electricity

Hydropower - Renewable

Advantages• Clean• Can be generated on

demand• Cheapest

Disadvantages• Few places where

dams can be built• Can flood and

displace large amounts of land

Geothermal Energy

• Using underground hot water and steam to generate electricity

Geothermal - Renewable

Advantages• Clean• Cheap

Disadvantages• Can only be used at

specific places (ex. Plate boundaries)

Biomass - Renewable

• Uses organic material (wood, trash, animal waste, etc…)

• Burned to produce heat

• Oldest form of heat

Biomass - Renewable

Advantages• Renewable• Cleaner than fossil

fuels

Disadvantages• Burning can produce

air pollution• Produces odor

Tidal Power

• Using the tides (flow of water in and out to sea) to generate electricity

Tidal Power - Renewable

Advantages• Renewable• Cleaner than fossil

fuels

Disadvantages• Only usable near the

coast