Welcome to Energy and the Environment

PHYSC 110

Energy and the Environment

• Energy is about change. It is the ability to do work. Nothing happens without energy. Energy cannot be created or destroyed. Energy can be transferred from place to place, or it can change form.

• The environment is everything that surrounds us, that is, the physical conditions that we interact with every moment of our lives.

Energy and the Environment

• Every time energy is utilized, something happens. Something gets hotter or colder. Something moves. Something falls, breaks, blows up, rusts, or crumbles to dust.

• Thus, energy constantly changes our environment. It is impossible to utilize energy without changing the environment (for better or worse)

Energy and the Environment

• All life forms need sources of energy to survive.

• Science and technology has allowed us humans to harness energy sources not just to survive but to increase the productivity and comfort of life.

• But there are consequences to the expanded energy use by humans.

Energy and the Environment• This class will explore human energy use

and how it is changing our environment and society.

• We will study the basic principles of chemistry, physics and engineering how they apply to the science of energy and environmental issues.

• Be cause of the instructor’s background as a geologist, we will be using a “geoscience” perspective in this class.

U.S. Energy Consumption

• To begin our exploration, let’s analyze energy consumption in the United States.

• Review the figure on the next slide showing U.S. Energy Consumption by Source and Sector in 2008.– 1 Quadrillion = 1,000,000,000,000,000 (1015) – One Btu is approximately equal the energy

released in the burning of a wood match.

U.S. Primary Energy Consumption by Source and Sector, 2008 (Quadrillion Btu)

What is Energy Consumption?When an energy source is consumed it is not “used up”, rather it is converted to a more useful form. Remember: Energy cannot be created or destroyed.

Chemical Energy

(Oil)

Thermal Energy

(Boiler)

Mechanical Energy

(Turbine)

Electrical Energy

(Generator)

Types of Energy Sources

• Non- renewable Energy Sources– Energy sources that require millions of years or

more to replenish (e.g. all fossil fuels)– Most non-renewable resources release harmful

emissions when consumed

• Renewable Energy Sources– Energy sources that are naturally and

continually replenished by natural process (e.g. hydropower, solar, wind, geothermal, biomass)

– Less harmful emissions when consumed

U.S. Renewable Energy Consumption, 2008

Fossil Fuels• There are three main types of fossil fuels: coal,

petroleum, and natural gas. • They all contain carbon and were formed as a

result of geologic processes acting on the remains of (mostly) plants and animals that lived and died hundreds of millions of years ago.

• Fossil fuels are very valuable because they are a concentrate energy sources. They deliver lots of energy in a small volume.– One pound of coal contains twice as much energy as

the same amount of wood (biomass).

Fossil Fuels

• Fossil fuels currently provide more than 85% of all the energy consumed in the United States, nearly two-thirds of our electricity (mainly from coal), and virtually all of our transportation fuels (primarily from oil). 

• Over the past 200 years, the United States has been built upon abundant, cheap, high energy fossil fuels!!!

• We can breakdown U.S. fossil fuel history into three phases…….

History of U.S. Energy Consumption

Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3

Population

Phase 1: The Biomass Age

• The United States seemed to have an “Unlimited” supply of wood in virgin forests and land to support livestock.

• All Renewable Resources• America is the land of Cheap and Abundant

Energy• As population increased and eastern forests

were depleted, Americans moved west to find new resources.

Phase 2: The Coal Age

• Note switch to primarily non renewable energy sources

• The United States seemed to have an “Unlimited” supply of coal in Midwest and West for heating and transportation

• America is still the land of Cheap and Abundant Energy

• As new technologies like automobiles and electricity developed, the U.S. adapted to new resources…..

Phase 3: The Petroleum Age

• Entirely fossil fuel energy sources

• The United States seemed to have an “Unlimited” supply of petroleum for vehicles and coal for electricity

• America is still the land of Cheap and Abundant Energy

Energy and The United States

• From the biomass age to today’s petroleum age, the United States has been blessed with abundant energy resources.

• Americans have always felt they have a “birthright” to cheap and abundant energy, BUT….

Energy and The United States

• The United States was self-sufficient in energy until the late 1950s when energy consumption began to outpace domestic production. – Note: No one can produce oil and other natural

resources. Production essentially means extraction.

• At that point, the United States began to import more energy to fill the gap.

• America is no longer the land of Cheap and Abundant Energy

• In 2007, net imported energy accounted for 30 percent of all energy consumed.

U.S. Energy Consumption Overview

In 1950, the United States became reliant on other countries for petroleum. We lost our energy independence.

U.S. Energy Production

• Crude oil is the main energy source that we have to import.

• Crude oil production peaked in 1971 in the United State and has declined since.

• So where do we get our crude oil from?

U.S. Crude Oil Imports Top 10 Countries, May 2009

(Thousand Barrels per Day)

* Member of OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries)

CANADA 1,746

VENEZUELA* 1,228

MEXICO 1,088

SAUDI ARABIA* 996

NIGERIA* 552

ANGOLA * 493

RUSSIA 416

BRAZIL 380

IRAQ* 254

COLOMBIA 227

Our addiction to oil supports these countries financial even though many are not considered our “friends”

Based on my experiences as a petroleum geologist and environmental scientist, I strongly feel that our fossil fuel dependant society is fast

approaching a two-fold storm.

1. Peak Oil2. Climate Change

Fossil Fuel based Society

The waters are starting to

get choppy

What is “Peak Oil”?

• The concept of Peak Oil was developed in the 1950s by petroleum geologist M. King Hubbert

• It’s a mathematical model that seeks to predict the point at which maximum possible oil production will be reached by an individual field, a region, a country, or even the entire world.

Does Hubbert’s Model Work?

• Based on his model, in 1956 Hubbert predicted that oil production in the US lower 48 states would peak in the early 1970s– This prediction received nearly universal ridicule

from oil industry and government experts, most of whom believed peak US production was many decades away

• Hubbert was right: US oil production peaked in 1971, and has been steadily declining ever since

Fig. 1-12, p. 19

Actual Production

Hubbert’s Prediction

U.S. Oil Peak, 1971

We’re Not “Running Out of Oil”

• Peak Oil means we’ve used up about half of nature’s bounty of fossil fuels

• This sounds good; however, the half we’ve used was the easy stuff to get - - the cheap oil

• From the peak onward, every barrel will be harder and more expensive to produce, and, as a result, we’ll produce less of it

• Eventually, it’ll take more energy to produce the remaining oil than the oil itself will generate

• At that point, unless we have an energy alternative in place, the lights go out

When WORLD Oil Will Peak?

• There is a growing scientific consensus that world oil production is nearing, or has already passed, its point of maximum production ("Peak Oil”) and will enter a prolonged period of irreversible decline leading to ever-increasing prices.

• Here are some of the experts ideas of when World Peak oil has occurred or will occur in the future.

Forecast Source

2006-2007 Bakhtiari (Iran)

2007-2009 Simmons (U.S.)

After 2007 Skrebowski (U.K.)

2008 Campbell (Ireland)

Before 2009 Deffeyes (U.S.)

Before 2010 Goodstein (U.S.)

After 2010 World Energy Council

2012 Weng (China)

2016 Doug-Westwood (U.K.)

After 2020 CERA (U.S.)

2031 or later EIA (U.S.)

The Consequences of Peak Oil

How will oil depletion impact our lives in the years ahead?

Our modern lifestyle may may be a thing of the past!!

Big deal. If gas prices get high, I’ll just  drive less. Why should I give a damn?

Transportation Runs on Fossil Fuels

• Modern Transport Requires Petroleum– We’ve invested trillions in a petroleum-based transport

infrastructure (i.e. roads).

• Energy output per unit of petroleum is much higher than from any other energy source

• Petroleum products are very convenient• Easy to transport and to store• Relatively safe to use• Very versatile

• No combination of alternative energy source comes close to matching these advantages for transportation

Agriculture Runs on Fossil Fuels

• The “green revolution” was based on petroleum– Industrial agriculture uses about 50 times the energy

inputs of traditional agriculture

• Modern agriculture is fossil energy intensive– Farm equipment is powered by petroleum energy – Nitrogen fertilizer is produced with natural gas– Pesticides and herbicides are synthesized from oil

• Monocrop agriculture involves long-distance transport of seeds, inputs and crops.– North American food travels an average of 1,300 miles

from farm to plate

Mass Consumption Runs on Fossil Fuels

• Without cheap, plentiful petroleum, globalized production will grind to a halt– The flood of cheap goods from China will become a

trickle (Wal-Mart is toast)

• The current US standard of living depends on global distribution of cheaply-produced goods– The end of this system will see a marked decline in the

living standard of most Americans

• Mass quantities of oil are required for all plastics, computers, and high-tech devices.

So, What Happens After We Peak?

• Continual warfare for control of remaining resources?

• Severe, long-term (permanent?) economic decline?

• Societal breakdown?

Sounds bleak but it might be even worse…

Global Climate ChangeThe scientific consensus on global climate change is that

1) the Earth is warming, and

2) humanity's greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels are making a significant contribution to this warming.

Read about the latest survey of scientists here:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090119210532.htm

What is the greenhouse effect, and is it affecting our climate?

• The greenhouse effect is unquestionably real and helps to regulate the temperature of our planet.

• It is essential for life on Earth and is a natural processes.

• Greenhouse gasses trap the thermal energy radiated from the earth.

What is the greenhouse effect, and is it affecting our climate?

• Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and water are the most common greenhouse gasses ion out atmosphere.

• Without a natural greenhouse effect, the temperature of the Earth would be about 30°C cooler with an average temperature of -15°C.

Concentration of CO2 in Earth’s Atmosphere

• Since the mid-eighteenth century fossil fuel use and cement production have released billions of tons of CO2 to the atmosphere.

• Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere before the Industrial Revolution were some 280 parts per million (ppm).

• By 2007, levels had reached 384 ppm—a 37-percent increase.

Concentration of CO2 in Earth’s Atmosphere, 1744–2008

Average Global

Temperature at Earth’s Surface,

1880–2008• Average global temperature increased by 0.74°C

between 1906 and 2005. • Scientists predict an additional rise of 1.8–4.0 °C this

century, depending on how much and how soon greenhouse gas emissions are curbed.

What’s a Degree or So?

“The typical temperature difference for the whole world between an ice age and an interglacial interval is only 3o to 6o C. This should set the alarm bells ringing: A temperature change of only a few degrees can be serious business.”

Carl Sagan,Billions & Billions, 1997.

Possible Consequences of a “Degree or So”

• Changes are already being observed in various forms in different areas, such as prolonged drought, heavier rain falls, retreating glaciers, melting permafrost, loss of sea ice, and rising sea levels.

• The impacts of these changes are disrupting transportation, energy, agriculture and health systems, and are expected to increase.

Possible Consequences of a “Degree or So”

• Climate change will stress water resources, challenge crop and livestock production, increase risk from rising sea levels and storm surge, and threaten human health.

• It will also interact with other social and environmental problems exacerbating their impacts, and threatening to undermine international stability and national security. – The US Pentagon has said that climate change poses

a greater threat to the US than does terrorism, and increasingly the Department of Defense is focusing on climate change as a key strategic issue.

Projected climate change for Illinois

• Illinois is projected to have a warmer climate in the future much like Texas or Louisiana today.

• More information is available here: http://www.globalchange.gov/images/cir/region-pdf/MidwestFactSheet.pdf

“We are leaving an era in which whatever effects we are having on the environment were perceived to be manageable and reversible (air pollution, smog, acid rain) and entering an era in which our effects on the climate and earth’s natural system are becoming potentially unmanageable and irreversible”.

Much more on climate change later in the semester