1. Unit 3: Resource Sustainability
Non-Renewable Energy
Unit 3: Resource Sustainability

2. Fuels for Different Uses
Cooking, transportation, manufacturing, heating/cooling, and generating electricity
Suitability is determined by the fuel’s energy content,
cost, availability, safety, and
byproducts of its use
i.e. Airplanes cannot
be powered off of coal
Campfires are not made
by burning airplane fuel

3. Fossil Fuels (FF)
Remains of ancient organisms that changed into coal, oil, or natural gas
Most of our energy comes from them, yet…
They’re limited
Obtaining/using them causes environmental problems

4. Formation of FF Deposits
Coal comes from the remains of 300 MY old swamp plants
As sea levels went up and down, sediment would cover those plants and then become compressed
Oil and natural gas come from the decay of tiny marine organisms that lived on the ocean floor
Over time, heat creates energy-rich molecules found in rocks where we get oil and natural gas from

5. Electricity Power on Demand
Quickly transported near or far
Generated in a power plant, transported through a grid
Converts motion into electricity by moving an electrically conductive material within a magnetic field
Disadvantage: hard to store and other energies (burning of coal) are used to produce it
Steam is created, turns the steam turbine, spins the generator
Roughly 50% of our electricity is generated from the burning of coal! (talk about with disadvantage)

6. Coal Inexpensive and needs little refining Effects on the environment:
Toxic chemicals can leech into water
Mountaintop removal - video
Lower grade, more sulfur, more air pollution (acid rain)
Underground typically okay

7. Next time: fracking and divestment

8. Posters: Global FF Distribution
Each group will be assigned a region of the world
With shading/markings/etc. (color/pictures) your group will map where the coal, oil, and natural gas is in the region
Outside of the outline of the region include the following information:
Other major industries of the region
(At least) Two implications from this distribution of fossil fuels
United States, Middle East, Africa, South America, China, Canada/Mexico/Central America, Europe

9. Petroleum/Oil
Oil that is pumped from the ground is petroleum. Anything that is made from petroleum (fuels, chemicals, plastics) is a petroleum product.
45% of the world’s commercial energy use
Found near major geologic features in the earth’s crust that trap it – folds, faults, salt domes.

11. Environmental Effects of Oil Use
Burning of fuels releases pollutants – formation of smog and acid rain; cause of health problems and global warming
Catalytic converters
Oil Spills – Free Willy and BP
Double hulls
Effects from cars are much greater than oil spills

13. Natural Gas FF that comes from decayed marine organisms
About 20% of the world’s nonrenewable energy; transported in pipelines
Produces fewer pollutants
Clip from The Promised Land
Actually used to be burned off because it was considered a nuisance!
Fracking - process of injecting liquid at high pressure into the ground to force open existing fissures and extract oil or gas.

14. The Future
Today, fossil fuels supply about 90% of energy in developed countries
Oil – 50 more years (though
there is untapped in the ocean)
As they run low, cost will
increase, and we’ll be forced
to look into renewables (or die)