GGR202H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 85: Oil Springs, Ontario, Offshore Drilling, Shale Gas
Document Summary
Alternative fossil fuels (tar sands, oil shales, shale gas) o! Biomass energy (wood, ethanol, energy-from-waste) hydropower o! Energy resources can be renewable, inexhaustible, or nonrenewable. Fossil fuels are nonrenewable they are replenished, but not on a humanly accessible timescale. Mineral resources can be recycled, but energy resources cannot, because of the second law of thermodynamics. We are not in danger of running out of energy in the earth system. A watt is one joule/second (1 j/s) o! 500 x 1018 joules per year = 16 terawatts. What is in question is the availability of energy that is available, economically affordable, socially acceptable, and environmentally benign. Developed nations consume more energy than developing nations. Use energy for transportation, industry, home/business and industrial needs o! Use much more fossil fuel than other forms of energy. Use energy for industry but also subsistence activities, agriculture, food preparation o! Use much more manual energy, animal energy, and biomass energy than in industrialized nations.