ENERGY – From Oil Addiction to Sustainability

1. ENERGY – From Oil Addiction to Sustainability

2. Energy Explained

3. Basic Science: Conservation of Matter Under ordinary circumstances, matter is neither created nor destroyed. It is recycled endlessly. Translation: There is no “away”. • Matter is transformed and combined in different ways, but it doesn't disappear. Everything goes somewhere. Especially trash, waste, pollution, and carbon emissions. • The atoms and molecules in your body have passed through many other organisms, over millions of years. (Are you part rock …. dinosaur?) • Carbon is recycled over and over again. • We are burning dead dinosaurs, among other things! 3

9. What Is Renewable Energy? Unlike fossil fuels, which are exhaustible, renewable energy sources regenerate and can be sustained indefinitely. The five renewable sources used most often are: Biomass — including wood and wood waste, municipal solid waste, landfill gas, and biogas, ethanol, and biodiesel Water (hydropower) Geothermal Wind Solar The use of renewable energy is not new. >150 years ago, wood, a form of biomass, supplied up to 90% of our energy needs.

10. Fossil Fuels Are Nonrenewable, but Not All Nonrenewable Energy Sources Are Fossil Fuels Coal, petroleum, natural gas (methane), are all fossil fuels, formed from the buried remains of plants and animals that lived millions of years ago. Uranium ore, a solid, is mined and converted to a fuel used at nuclear power plants. Uranium is not a fossil fuel, but is a nonrenewable fuel.

11. Basic scienceProperties of Energy Energy cannot be recycled without losing some of its usefulness. Energy is reused, but it is constantly degraded or lost from the system. Most energy used in ecosystems originates as solar energy. Photosynthesis: plants convert some of this energy to chemical energy, which may then be converted to other forms of energy by plants or organisms that eat the plants. The energy conversion continues up the food chain. 11

12. Laws of Thermodynamics First Law– Conservation of energy Energy is neither created or destroyed, only transferred or transformed from one kind to another. Examples: ??? Second Law – “Loss” of useful energy Energy is “lost” for useful purposes with every successive transfer or transformation, although the total amount of energy remains the same. Examples: ??? 12

13. Our problem today: We are addicted to fossil fuels. We are in carbon overshoot. We use too much non renewable energy. What does this mean? Is it sustainable?

14. FOSSIL FUELS • Fossil fuels - organic chemicals (hydrocarbons, C,H) created by decomposed once-living organisms MYA • Very energy rich, but costly to extract and process. • Fossil fuels take MY to form- essentially nonrenewable resources. • Coal • Oil • Natural Gas

15. Annual Per Capita Energy Consumption, Selected Countries 8.1 4.1 4.1 2.4 1.1 0.9 0.5 * China excludes Hong Kong 0.3 Per Capita Consumption of Commercial Energy (tons of oil equivalent)

16. “Losses” in energy ½ of all energy in primary fuels lost during conversion during shipping or use. ~ 2/3 two-thirds of energy in coal being burned to generate electricity is lost during thermal conversion in the power plant. Natural gas - the most efficient fossil fuel, bcs. only ~10% of its energy content is lost during shipping and processing. Gas-burning furnaces are 75% to 95& efficient.

17. Fossil fuels and Climate Global consensus that Earth is warming and that deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels are the major causes of climate change Digital Vision The two “worst” GHGs are: 1) 2)

18. The Greenhouse Effect Is it natural? So…what’s the problem?

19. What happens when… You add a thicker blanket or layer of insulation?

20. Our Unsustainable Path • Impacts of energy production and use • Environmental: air, soil, and water pollution, climate change • Social: impacts on human health, costs to communities where fuels are extracted • Economic and security: costs of relying on imported fuel from unstable regions of the world • Disparities within and among countries • Resource availability

21. Extreme Imbalance • Huge disparity in energy consumption between and within industrial and developing nations • World’s richestpeople consume on average 25 times more energy than world’s poorest

22. Energy Use and Quality of Life What are the objectives of increased energy use? …growing our economy? …achieving a better quality of life! How much energy do we really need?

23. Should water catch fire? Drilling for natural gas in Pennsylvania Clean Water Action video clip

24. What must we do? Conserve energy – stop wasting/using so ---- (four letter word) much! Replace non-renewable with renewable, sustainable sources of energy Enact smarter policies – let’s examine a few

25. Sustainable energy • rapidly replenished by natural processes, and not expected to be depleted within the lifetime of the human species. • solar, wind power, wave, geothermal, tidal, (sometimes) hydropower, biomass and others.

26. Making Better Energy Choices • Options and technologies are available to produce and use energy in a more sustainable manner, while maintaining a high quality of life • Forging a more sustainable energy path is a matter of our everyday choices and political will to enact the right policies

27. Increase fuel efficiency of vehicles Ways to Save Energy

28. Consumer choices & actions: Vote with your $$$: Demand and buy more energy and fuel efficient products Write to manufacturers and public officials Boycott harmful or energy-wasting products Policy decisions: Increase CAFÉ standards (new reg: Corporate Average Fuel Economy – 35.5 mpg by 2016) Provide financial incentives for conservation and fuel efficiency: Cash for clunkers Preferred or discounted parking for fuel efficient vehicles Discount public transit passes Reduce taxes for energy efficiency in buildings and industry Rebates & financing for installation of renewables

29. Purchase items made from recycled materials • Ex.: Producing aluminum out of recycled material requires 95% less energy than making it from raw material Replace your 5 most-used light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs • If every U.S. household did this, more than 20 large power plants could be shut down Ways to Save Energy

30. Buy the most energy efficient appliances and vehicles available when replacing old ones • In the U.S., look for the “Energy Star” label: energystar.gov • Check fuel economy for vehicles: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/ Conserve energy by… • Turning off lights and appliances when not in use • Vanquishing vampire power • Buying fewer items • Installing low-flow showerheads and dual-flush toilet valves Ways to Save Energy

31. Local energy alternatives Alternative Energy in Pennsylvania http://www.depweb.state.pa.us/energy/cwp/view.asp?a=3&q=482723 Energy Coordinating Agency - Philadelphia http://www.ecasavesenergy.org/ U.S. DOE http://www.eere.energy.gov/

32. Don’t just change your lightbulbs…change your politicians (policies).Paraphrase from a speech by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., April 17, 2009

33. Carbon cap & tradeMusical chairs Let’s try it!