...lighting, cooling, and warming our homes and automobiles. People consume a great amount of energy. Energy is generated from non-renewable fuels. When people use non renewable energy harmful pollutants are let loose into the air and water. The more people operate ones vehicle the energy power plants produce gasoline that burns which releases pollutants. Another problem is the cost; people are noticing that ones public service utility bill is on the rise. People need to get the information that is needed to conserve energy. People need to realize that the negative effects that non renewable energy has on the planet. Non renewable energy resources are coal, oil, and natural gas. Coal resources are too expensive to expand and have the possibility to supply an efficient amount of coal to last. Coal use has risen in the last 4 years. Coal is a difficult non renewable resource to obtain because it is accessed by mining. Oil is a combustible energy that is access by drilling and pumping. When non renewable energy has been used up it can not be replaced. The living factor is that mining damages existing vegetation and the land is sensitive to the wind destruction causing air pollution. There is also water destruction which causes pollution to the waterways and destruction to aquatic habitats. Farmers are concerned about the water depletion in the underground due to the open-pit gold mining which uses a large amount of water. The deeper the miner dig it...
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...Progress is defined by Webster’s dictionary as the process of developing something over time. This idea of progress is usually associated with improvement or at least being beneficial. In some circumstances this is not the case. An example of this was shown in the film Surviving Progress, where men tried to improve their methods of hunting. This improvement starts out by simply sharpening the tools so they can kill an animal more efficiently. After a period of time they discover herds of animals can be forced off a cliff in a stampede. This would kill the entire herd without much effort. While this seemed to be a simple method for an abundance of food, it ended up slaughtering more animals then needed. This forced certain species into extinction...
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...The Burning of Fossil Fuels GS104-Intro to Environmental Science Steven Wimberly February 05, 2013 Fossil fuels are a very important part of our society today. Natural gas, Coal, and oil are the world’s primary and most important source of energy. “90% of the energy we use in this country [USA] comes from fossil fuels.” (http://www.ucsusa.org) Unfortunately, there are costs of using these fossil fuels to run our society. Some costs are obvious such as the cost of labor, equipment and supplies needed to extract, refine and transport the fossil fuels. These costs are taken care of in electricity bills, in the price of gasoline for automobiles and other governmental and company funding. There are many other costs that are less obvious. These costs are the effects fossil fuels have on our environment and on human health. Air pollution caused by the burning of coal and oil as well as dust in mines is causing problems for human health. The environment is suffering from acid rain, global warming and water and air pollution. Many times, the costs go unpaid for and unnoticed. It is imperative that we as a society take responsibility and strive to reduce the negative effects of fossil fuels on our environment. The global warming is a major environmental issue that is caused by the use of fossil fuels. When fossil fuels are burned, carbon dioxide is emitted. It captures heat in the earth’s atmosphere. What is happening is that the more carbon dioxide emitted the warmer the...
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...Geothermal Energy a Better Alternative than Coal Power For many years, people have been developing technologies that can improve the quality of life; help save human labor, provide entertainment and make life more comfortable. This technology has led us to depend on different energy-consuming machines like computers, electric motors, televisions, cars, motorcycles etc. because this technology needs energy to function, energy supply is very essential to sustain for the energy-consuming machines that people use. There are renewable and non-renewable sources of energy that are available in the world. Some are fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gases. Geothermal energy and hydrothermal power are also available. In the Philippines, coal power is the most common source of energy. However, this source of power brings about pollution that can cause harm to the environment. With these observations, some sectors and environmental groups propose an alternative source of power which is geothermal energy. This paper aims to compare geothermal energy and coal power in terms of social implications, environmental impacts and feasibility. Furthermore, this paper aims to know geothermal energy and coal power as well as their advantages and disadvantages. Most energy consumers are not aware of a good energy source as long as it can sustain the technology that they use. This study aims to inform the power consumers on which is a better power source. This will also help them understand...
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...lighting, cooling, and warming our homes and automobiles. People consume a great amount of energy. Energy is generated from non-renewable fuels. When people use non renewable energy harmful pollutants are let loose into the air and water. The more people operate ones vehicle the energy power plants produce gasoline that burns which releases pollutants. Another problem is the cost; people are noticing that ones public service utility bill is on the rise. People need to get the information that is needed to conserve energy. People need to realize that the negative effects that non renewable energy has on the planet. Non renewable energy resources are coal, oil, and natural gas. Coal resources are too expensive to expand and have the possibility to supply an efficient amount of coal to last. Coal use has risen in the last 4 years. Coal is a difficult non renewable resource to obtain because it is accessed by mining. Oil is a combustible energy that is access by drilling and pumping. When non renewable energy has been used up it can not be replaced. The living factor is that mining damages existing vegetation and the land is sensitive to the wind destruction causing air pollution. There is also water destruction which causes pollution to the waterways and destruction to aquatic habitats. Farmers are concerned about the water depletion in the underground due to the open-pit gold mining which uses a large amount of water. The deeper the miner dig it...
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...Recently, the issue of the Adani Coal mine, the ‘world’s biggest export calming’ has caused concern for the future of the environment and status of the Great Barrier Reef. ‘The Adani mine is this generation’s Franklin River. People power can stop it,’ a passionate opinion piece by environmental activist Bob Brown, (The Guardian, 24/03/17) contends that ‘people power’ is ‘unbeatable’ and this will stop the construction of the billionaire Adani’s mine. He argues that the ‘campaign’ to stop this mine can be compared to the one that saved the Franklin River in Tasmania; an environmental battle where Brown was personally involved, that the devastating effects of coal has national and even global impacts and declares that people power will eliminate...
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...1. There are various types of Fossil Fuels. Here’s a list. Coal • Coal has to be mined and it is the only one of the fossil fuels still in its solid state. It is comprised of five elements which are sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen and carbon. Oil (petroleum) • This is the most popular around the globe. It is way down beneath the layers of the earth meaning it has to be mined as well. It is used for electricity and so forth. It is used for almost everything and is expensive in certain areas of the world. Crude oil is the type of petroleum that occurs naturally. Natural Gas • Natural gas is made up primarily of methane and is incredibly lightweight and not forgetting incredibly flammable. Natural gas is used primarily to heat homes, power air conditioning systems, and fuel stoves and other cooking appliances. 2. 3. The energy source most used in Anguilla is Petroleum(oil). 4. Every good thing must have its disadvantages, and when it comes to fossil fuels there are many. It also has to do with wasting, over extending the product and so forth. With the use of fossil fuels comes along the harmful impact on the environment. For example oil spills, kill hundreds of thousands of fish and marine life and harm coral reefs. Also there is the harmful effect on the environment. Transport and modern technology uses a lot of fossil fuels. For example cars and power plant factories use coal and petroleum. Which release tons of exhaust and pollute the atmosphere with fumes...
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...environment a favor. However, no matter the energy source for use on a large scale, it is going to have its own unique issues. There are a number of energy alternatives within the United States. The two sides to the argument are renewables, such as wind and solar energy (the two most popular) versus fossil fuels, such as coal and natural gas. Wind turbines can kill birds, cause health problems, and destroy forests and other wildlife. Solar energy is extremely costly (not only in money, but in energy as well) and it needs to be in the right climate to effectively capture the sun's energy. Fossil fuels emit carbon dioxide and other environment-harming pollutants. Despite coal's negatives, it is still critical for energy infrastructure in the United States because it is inexpensive, it is available, and the future of coal is becoming cleaner and more efficient all the time. Renewable energy sources such as wind and solar energy are very attractive because the wind will always be blowing and the sun will always be shining. It theoretically is a great way to harness energy; there is no burning of rocks or descending into mines just to get your energy like coal. Solar panels create a number of issues, most of which are harmful to not only the environment, but wildlife as well. According to Andy Tully of Oilprice.com, birds that are flying over or near a Mojave Desert solar panel thermal project, known as Ivanpah, are literally being roasted in...
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...Working Outline Thesis: The use of hydraulic fracturing or “Fracking” to provide natural gas is immoral because the risks far outweigh the advantages on an environmental and ethical scale. I. What is Fracking? A. Used to release oil or gas from underground formations of shale beds that are too hard to mine. 1. It can pollute local water systems * Toxins from the fracking leak into water systems and poison them * The toxins can get into the drinkable water supply and ruin them 2. The chemicals used damage the environment * The greenhouse emissions from fracking are almost less than half of what we get from coal furnaces. They still have an effect on the air, so one form of pollution changes with another, when there are clean air energy alternatives that have not been utilized effectively. * The recovered water that is used during fracking is usually held in open pits close to the well site causing contamination to nearby wildlife. II. Fracking consumes over one million gallons of water, which only half is recoverable. A. The amount of water used to frack some wells is well over a million gallons. Only 30 to 50% of that water is recoverable. B. 40,000 gallons of chemicals are used per well in fracking. Many of these chemicals haven’t been disclosed to the public at all. III. Fracking can cause a buildup of methane gas in groundwater in surrounding areas. A. Methane gas is a highly flammable, colorless and odorless gas....
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...Natural Resources Fossil fuel is crude hydrocarbons like coal, fuel, oil, and natural gas which is created from the remains of dead plants and animals. Found in countries like Kuwait, Iraq, and Venezuela (that have low demand for the material) and larger countries like Western Europe and India (high demands). The organic materials of living things sink into the ground and form combustible geologic deposits which then turn into these fuel sources. This happens due to the heat exposure or pressure in the earth’s crust in a process that lasts hundreds to millions of years. Fossil fuel extraction is a tedious job, though less than it used to be. Instead of wildly picking an area where we think there might be fossil fuel we now have the technology to more accurately guess. People looking for the recourse will use geophones which receive reflected sound waves from an explosion that is also conducted by the people searching. Since sound waves travel through solids, liquids, and gases and different paces people are able to detect what is beneath them using this technology. Most of our sources are found in the ocean floor and thus we must drop the drill and container which will extract and hold them to the floor in that certain spot. A platform is then created on water allowing for the process to continue. After the oil is detected rotary drilling rigs are used to extract the oil or natural gas below the earth’s surface. The drill sinks into the earth while heated metal in the center...
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...Electricity is a fundamental form of energy observable in positive and negative forms that occurs naturally (as in lightning) or is produced (as in a generator) and that is expressed in terms of the movement and interaction of electrons. (http://www.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/sources/electricity.html) Electricity is one of the most powerful forces in our lives. As a matter of fact, it can even kill you. The most vital part of electricity is called electric energy. (Stylianou: 1993) This is what we commonly think of when we hear the word electricity. “Electricity” reminds us of anything that we plug into an electrical outlet in order to make it work, such as lights, refrigerators, video games, microwaves, and computers. Scientists discovered ways to produce electric energy in large amounts in order to make heat, light and motion. These discoveries have improved our lives greatly and for many of us it would be difficult to picture what life would be like without electricity. One of the most common ways to produce electricity is through the burning of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels include coal, oil, and natural gas. When fossil fuels are burned, they release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere which leads to acid rain and global warming. These are big problems for our environment. Another concern is that we will eventually run out of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are non-renewable sources of...
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...prediction of the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the electricity demand in the United States will increase about 28 percent by 2035; and the world demand for electricity will increase 2.3 percent each year until 2035( EIA, 2011). If we keep producing energy like we are doing now, burning fossil fuels like coal, oil, we would face tremendous problems. Not just the resources might run out, but we would also face pollution, and green-house effects. Failure to develop a new technology that would produce enough clean power, would be devastating result. So when we are trying to find a new technology, why don’t we use a way we already have? I propose nuclear energy, because it will produce clean energy, and it also is more effective than wind or solar power. This is an interesting introduction TO your paper, but it needs to be a summary OF your paper. Nuclear Energy: The best help we have with the energy crisis You need an introduction with a thesis. Power plants are releasing carbon dioxide into the air. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the largest source of carbon dioxide emissions globally is the combustion of fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) in power plants, automobiles, industrial facilities and other sources. Generating electricity is the single largest source of carbon dioxide emissions, representing 41 percent of all emissions. (EPA 2003) So how are we producing carbon dioxide...
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...April 22, 2014 No More Consumption of Coal After the industrial revolution, energy is urgently needed for both daily life and industries. For hundreds of years, human beings have relied on the consumption of energy. People not only cannot live without them but also have to increase the amount for their better living methods and better life quality. Problems come along with increasing energy, especially when the major part of the energy comes from burning coal. Pollution caused by excess burning of coal and trade problems caused by coal prices and coal reserves are so apparent that need to be addressed. However, the advantages of burning coal for energies are so clear for its cheaper price compared to other energies. The balance between benefit and cost is hard to maintain. The choice between continuing current coal consumption and a healthy future is hard to make. For a sustainable society and to improve the quality of the environment and reform the economy, the global consumption of coal needs to be restricted. The balance between economy and environment is hard to maintain. Burning coal for energy has lots of advantages and disadvantages. There are two opposite opinions towards dealing with excess consumption of coal. According to objective global circumstance, it is impossible to ban coal directly. So a debate about whether to restrict coal makes more sense here. The consumption of coal is a fact and there must be a substitute for coal if people want to restrict it. Renewable...
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...Advantages 1) Nuclear power generation does emit relatively low amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2). The emissions of green house gases and therefore the contribution of nuclear power plants to global warming is therefore relatively little. Between mining the uranium, refining and enriching fuel, and finally to building and operating the plant, a big 1,250 250-megawatt nuclear facility produces an estimated 250,000 tons of carbon dioxide during its lifetime. In contrast, coal-fired plants produce close to 2 billion tons of carbon dioxide every year in the U.S. alone while also emitting lots of other pollution: soot that causes lung diseases; sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides that cause smog and acid rain; and mercury that contaminates fish. In fact, coal kills 4000 times as many people as nuclear power, according to one analysis. 2) It is possible to generate a high amount of electrical energy in one single plant. 3) This technology is readily available. Disadvantages 1) Uranium Waste- The chief danger lies with the mining waste; it contains radium, which is highly radioactive. Radon gas (one of the products that occur after radium undergoes radioactive decay) can expose workers and nearby and nearby communities to an array of health risks like lung cancer, bone cancer and lymphoma. 2) The energy source for nuclear energy is Uranium, which is a scarce resource. It’s supply is estimated to last only for the next 30 to 60 years depending on the actual...
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...The Timber Industry in the Pacific Northwest The timber boom in the Pacific Northwest began in 1900 when Frederick Weyerhauser, along with fifteen partners purchased 900,000 acres of land from the Great Northern Railway. During the early years, the industry had very little concern for the damage they were doing. They concentrated on how to maximize profit and production. The United States Forestry Service’s first attempts at regulating the industry was to strip all “old growth” to allow for “new growth”, but actually did more harm than good. The new trees did not grow fast enough to replace the older trees being removed so the regulation had the opposite effect. With the United States entry into World War II, any attempts at government regulation went by the wayside as the timber industry increased the production to meet the wartime timer demand. The invention of the gas powered chain saw and the availability of heavy equipment sped up the process even more. One harmful effect caused by the removal of the old growth trees was the destruction of the habitat of the Northern Spotted Owl. However, it wasn’t until June, 1990 that this owl was placed on the threatened species list by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The plywood mill located in Lebanon, OR changed ownership 4 times between 1941 and 1985. In 1967 it was purchased by Champion International Corporation. In 1985, Champion decided that certain timber areas no...
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