Earth’s Energy Resources

Renewable Resources
 Energy sources that are continually
replenished (Sustainable)
 Ex: Fresh air, trees, water in lakes or
rivers.

Nonrenewable Resources
 Exists in a fixed amount in Earth’s crust
or can only be replaced by processes
that take hundreds of millions of years.
 Ex: Fossil fuels, minerals, gems, metals
 Fossil fuels are energy sources that formed
over geologic time as a result of the
compression and partial decomposition of
plants and other organic matter trapped in
sedimentary rock.
 Nonrenewable
 Ex: peat, coal, natural gas, and petroleum
 Widely used as a primary energy source
but it is considered non-renewable
 Can be accessed through oil wells or off
shore oil platforms
 Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking) can also
be used to access oil deposits
Pros
It has proven to be a reliable energy
source and can produce abundant energy

Cons
The burning of oil produces large
amounts of pollutants
Setting up wells is destructive to natural
environments
Hydraulic Fracturing can have long
lasting environmental effects
 The second most used energy source
but it is also considered non-renewable
 Can be accessed much like oil
 Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking) can also
be used to access natural gas deposits
 Has many of the same pros and cons as
oil
 Fracturing rock uses large amounts of water
and may use chemicals that could be harmful to
humans and animals.
 Large amounts of water used for oil production
may affect the availability of water for other
uses.
 May also produce large amounts of wastewater
from fracked wells that contains harmful
compounds.
 Treating the wastewater can be difficult and
expensive, in some places it is pumped
(injected) deep underground. Unfortunately, this
disposal method may cause earthquakes that
are large enough to damage buildings.
 Two billion tons of mineral are
extracted and used each year in the
US (~ 10 tons for every American).

 Metallic mineral resources: iron,

aluminum, gold, lead and zinc
 Nonmetallic mineral resources: salt,
sulfur and phosphate.
 Energy resources: uranium, coal, oil
and coal bed methane.
 Ore: a mineral that contains a
valuable substance that can be
mined for a profit
 Examples:
Magnetite and hematite for iron
Galena for lead
Sphalerite for zinc
Chalcopyrite for copper
Gemstones
 Coal is primarily used
for the production of
electricity.
 Bituminous coal is the
most commonly used
type of coal

 Burning coal produces

a large amount of
pollution and is a
major contributing
factor to acid rain
 Also called subsurface
mining
 Large shafts are dug
into the Earth to
reach underground
resources.
 Advantage: less
surface destruction
and waste rock than
in surface mining
 Disadvantage: unsafe
for miners
 Earth-moving equipment is
employed to access
materials.
 Advantages:
 safe and cost-effective
 Disadvantages:
 Topsoil and vegetation are
removed
 Dust causes air quality issues
 Large amounts of waste
material
 Groundwater is pumped out
Pros
When done properly mining can yield large
amounts of materials for use

Cons
The mining process is disruptive to the
environment and ecosystems
The waste materials from mining can be
hazardous to the health of humans and wildlife
Mining has a high potential for accidents

Reclamation of land is important but can be

expensive
 Modern mines reclaim and rehabilitate the
land during and after mining is completed,
returning the land to useful purposes.
 Examples:
 Restoring the natural ecosystem and
habitats
 Turning the land into a park or other public
access area
Before After
Before After
 Most people rely on nonrenewable fossil fuels
for their energy needs which are being used up
at an alarming rate.
 Some experts estimate that petroleum
resources may be used up within the next 60
years.
 Renewable alternatives to traditional energy
resources include solar energy, wind, water,
geothermal energy, nuclear energy, and
biomass.
 Harnesses the power of the Sun, the ultimate source of
most energy on Earth.
 Pros:
 It is free (sunlight)
 Doesn’t cause any kind of pollution

 Cons:
 Solar panels are expensive to make
 Not reliable at night or during cloudy days
 These facilities use solar
power to heat water to
form steam. The steam
goes to generate electricity
just as in fossil fuel or
nuclear electric plants.
 No release of air pollutants
 No electricity generated at
night
 They do work on cloudy
days, though.
 Active  Passive
 Energy from sun
is stored in a
“thermal mass”
 When needed,
heat from thermal
mass is then
pumped
throughout
structure
 This also refers to
electrical generation
using solar power
 Two ways to do this
are photovoltaic cells
and huge commercial
electric facilities
 This shows the
diagram for the house
seen in the previous
slide. The PV panels
are on the roof
 Works on the
principle that hot
air rises and cool
air sinks
(convection)
 Solar heats air and
it moves through
convection through
the structure or to
thermal mass
 Pros
 Cons
 Retrofitting
 Abundant
needed if structure
 No greenhouse is not already
gases, few other designed as
pollutants passive solar
 Has limitations,
 Simple, minimal
night, some
repair needed locations better
 Cheap over the such as south
long term rather than north
facing slopes
 Initial costs for
set-up can be high
 Hydroelectric power:
produced by water
moving through turbines
that drive generators.
 Pros:
 Nonpolluting

 Cons:
 Flooding large areas can
occur or be necessary
 Destroying wildlife
habitats
 Changing the natural
pattern of water flow
 Tidal dam
 Essentially entails
placing a dam
across an ocean
inlet and harnessing
the energy as water
moves in and out
with the tides
 Positive & negative
effects are same as
hydropower
 Fresh Water: Renewable or
Nonrenewable?
 Fresh water is a renewable material when it is
carefully controlled. If not, it would become a
non-renewable resource.

 Groundwater is usually removed at a much

greater rate than it can be replenished, so
groundwater is considered non-renewable.

 97% of the water on the Earth is salt water,

and 3% is fresh; slightly over two thirds of this
is frozen in glaciers and polar ice caps.
 Geothermal energy is
energy produced by
steam and hot water
generated by Earth’s own
internal heat.
 Abundant at plate
boundaries.
 Can heat buildings and
generate electricity.
 Drill to deep, hot rock
 Eitherwet system where heated water below
ground is used
 Dry system sends above ground water below
ground to get heated
 Resulting steam can be used for a number
of purposes
Pros
 Can be used for electricity generation, space
heating, cooking & low temperature industrial
 Inexpensive after initial outlay
 No greenhouse gas emission

Cons
 Same problems as we see with oil drilling
 Localized distribution
 Wind turbines on a wind
farm convert the energy
of the wind to mechanical
energy, which is used to
produce electrical energy.

 Most of the large scale

wind farms in the United
States are currently in
California, although North
Dakota, South Dakota,
and Texas have the best
locations.
 High speed, low
torque machines
 Will turn themselves
off if wind speed
exceeds their limits
 As the blades turn it
generates
electricity/energy
that can be stored
or immediately used
 Pros Cons
 No greenhouse
 Some noise
gases pollution
 Few other
 Metal blades
pollutants interfere with TV
& radio reception
 Cheap
 Aesthetic
 Abundant
pollution
 Simple  Can harm wildlife
 Biomass is a renewable energy resource as long as the
organisms that provide the biomass are replaced.
 Examples:
 Wood
 Field crops
 Fecal material
 Peat
 Liquid biofuels (biogas/biodiesel, liquid ethanol)
 Disadvantage: when burned, they release CO2 and
particulate matter into the atmosphere
 Pros Cons
Burning biomass  Burning biomass
gets rid of solid releases CO2 and
waste other gases
Creates energy associated with
combustion
Creates new
 Creates solid
markets for crops waste from ash
 May cause more
grasslands to be
planted to corn
 Harnesses energy from nuclear fission
 The process in which a heavy nucleus divides
and releases energy
 Supplies about 14% of the world’s electricity

 Pros:
 Cheaper than fossil fuels
 Does not release greenhouse gases
 Cons:
 High operating costs
 Radioactive waste requires special storage
 Possibility for nuclear accidents
Sustainable Yield
The replacement of
renewable resources at
the same rate at which
they are consumed
 People can recycle old appliances and
vehicles and purchase newer, more
energy-efficient models as well as
improve the energy efficiency of older
homes.
 Local power companies can use energy
from alternative resources.
 Governments can offer tax savings to
people who buy more efficient vehicles
and appliances, and provide funding for
research and development projects
related
to energy efficiency.
 Using more than one form of energy to
meet needs is an important way to
ensure long-term energy needs will be
met

 Just as in ecosystem ecology, we find

that Diversity = Stability

 Depending on only one form of energy

leaves nations vulnerable to all sorts of
problems