EnergySource

Howdoesitwork?

Pros

Cons

SolarPower

Thepoweracquiredby
harnessingtheenergy
oftheSunsrays.It
worksbyhaving
photovoltaic(PV)cells
convertsunlightto
directcurrent(DC)
electricity.Thephotons
ofsunlightforce
electronsoffofatoms.
Metalplatescollectthe
electronswhichcan
thenbeusedas
electricity.

renewable
abundant
sustainable
lowmaintenance
environmentallyfriendly
reduceselectricitycosts
manyapplications
silent
technologyisimproving

Expensive
lotsofspacerequired
Exoticmaterials
Intermittent

Doesntpollutetheair
sustainable
costeffective
canbebuilton
preexistingfarms
createsjobs

goodsitesforaturbineare
oftenremote
canhurtwildlife(birds)

http://www.thinksolarpow
er.com/HowDoesSolarP
owerWork.html

WindPower

Poweracquiredby
harnessingtheenergy
ofthewind.Therotor
thatthebladesturn
hascopperloops
arounditandhas
oppositelycharged
magnets.Whenthe
rotorspins,itcreates
electromagnetic
induction(aprocess
thatcauseselectrons
inaconductorto
move)whichgenerates
electricity.Thiscreates
energy.

http://energy.gov/eere/wind
/howdowindturbineswor
k

HydroPower

http://fuelcellstore.com/image/data/hy
droenergy.jpg

Damsholdwaterina
reservoir.Thedam
closesandopensto
controlthewaterflow,
whichpushesa
turbine.Theturbine
spinsageneratorthat
produceselectricity.

cheapestwayto
continuallygenerate
energy(builddamthenits
free)
cleanfuelsource
renewable

disruptwildlife,
occasionallydestroys
naturalresources
lowersdissolvedoxygen
levelinwater
fishmigrationpath
expensivetobuildthe
powerplant

canberenewable
plantstakeincarbon
inexpensivematerial
easytouse
carboncycleneutral

takesalotofenergy
materialsnotalways
available
deforestationproblem
expensivetomake

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi
a/commons/thumb/5/57/Hydroelectric
_dam.svg/2000pxHydroelectric_dam
.svg.png

Biomass/Biofuel

Biomassislivingor
previouslyliving
organismsthatisused
forsomethingother
thanfoodorfeed.
Biomasscanbe
convertedtobiofuelvia
avarietyofdifferent
methods.These
methodsarethermal,
chemicaland
biochemical.Thermal
conversionuses
burningtoconvert
biomassintoenergy.
Chemicalconversion
useschemical
reactionstoconvert

biomassintofuel,such
asburningand
compressingbiomass
intoacombustiblegas.
Biochemical
conversionuses
microbacteriaand
othermicroorganisms
toconvertbiomassinto
energy.Wood,
sugarcane,andcorn
starchderivitivesare
frequentlyused
biofuels.Biomassis
mostlyconvertedinto
bioethanols(oneofthe
mostcommon
biofuels),whichisan
alcoholfuelthatcanbe
usedtomakefuelcells
orasanadditiveto
gasoline.

GeothermalEnergy

Plantspumpcoldwater
intothegroundwhere
itheatsupandis
forcedtothetopas
steamthatiscaptured
andusedtodrive
electricgeneratorsor
turbinesthatcreate
energyinthree
differentways

veryefficient(300500%
morethanheatfurnaces)
environmentallyfriendly
(nocombustion)
renewablesourceof
energy
potentialof2terawattsof
energy
canbeusedinanyspace
canmeettheenergy
baseloaddemand
smallhouseholdscan
benefit(greatforsimple

heatingandcooling)
smalllandfootprint

electricityisstillneeded

veryexpensive

geothermalenergyusing
wellsusesuplotsofwater
dischargeintoearthcould
includesulfurdioxideand
silica

Oil/Petroleum(fossilfuel)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wik
i/Petroleum

NaturalGas(fossilfuel)

https://www.pseg.com/busi
ness/small_large_business
/convert/advantages.jsp

Petroleumisa
naturallyoccurring
liquidfoundunderthe
earthssurfacethatcan
berefinedintodifferent
typesoffuels.Itis
mostlyrecoveredbyoil
drilling.Itisthen
burnedtocreate
energy.

Agasturbineignites
gasunderpressure
whichthenproduces
hightemperature
gases.Thisgasthen
powersaturbinewhich
powersagenerator
whichthengives
electricityto
buildings/street
lamps/blocks.

itisveryabundant
easytouse
createsjobs
Nonew
technology
required
Easytotransport
inliquidform

c
leanestburning
fossilfuel
veryfew
byproductsare
releasedintothe
atmosphere
Cheap
nontoxic
saferdon'tneed
tostoregasonsite
abundantsupplyof
domesticnatural

gases

Veryabundant
alotcheaperthan
anyothertypeof
energy
scientistsare
developingclean
coal.Thisprocess
involvesstripping
thecoalofmostof
itsCO2
hasanexisting
infrastructure

Emitscarbondioxide
(20pounds/1gallon
ofgasoline)
Nonrenewable
Drillingcanleadto
spills
Expensive
Dangerous
Endangers/Destroys
environment

Nonrenewable.
Pollutionresponsible
forglobalwarming
andacidrain
Canhaveoilspills
andtherothe
givesoflarge
amountsofCO2
whenburned
contains8590
percentmethane

Coal(fossilfuel)+

Coalispulverizedand
burned.Theheat
generatedbythecoal
heatswater,turningit
intosteam.Thesteam
thenturnsaturbineto
produceenergy.

http://www.triplepundit.com
/special/energyoptionspro

nonrenewable.
Largecontributionto
globalwarming
highlevelsof
radiation
contributesto31
percentofallCO2
emitted
Releasesahuge
amountofcarbon
dioxide

sandcons/cleancoalpros
cons/
Nuclear/Uranium

https://en.wikipedia.org/wik
i/Gundremmingen_Nuclear
_Power_Plant

http://imgtagram.com/rewto
u2duraniumperiodictable
/

Anuclear
fueledpower
plantuses
fissiontoturn
waterinto
steamand
thensendit
pastdrive
turbineswhich
spin.Thedrive
turbineis
attachedtoa
generator,
whichproduced
electricity
Mostplantsuse
therare
uranium235
isotope,which
onlymakesup
0.7%ofall
natural
uranium.
Uraniumrods
areproducedin
aspecial
factory,where
theygothrough
several
processesto
enrichit.Itis
thenformed
intotherod
shapecorrect
forthereactorit
isbeing
producedfor.

relativelylowcost
(creatingthe
energy)
providestable
sourceofenergy
(cancrankupand
lowerenergy
dependingon
demand)
Itis
environmentally
friendlycompared
toothermethods
Requireslessfuel
thanothertypesof
powerplants
Energyreleased
bynuclearfission
is10milliontimes
greaterthan
burningafossil
fuel(oil,gas)
Thoriumcanbe
usedtofuel
nuclearplantsit
isgreenerthan
Uranium

accidentscan
happenrarely,but
whenoccur,scaleof
accidentismajor
radioactivewaste
dangerousfor
environmentand
humans
releasesmass
amountsofcarbon
dioxideintothe
atmosphere
Lolrekt

http://www.livescience.com
/39773factsabouturaniu
m.html

Uraniumrods
aretypically
usedina
reactorfor6
years,thenthey
aremovedtoa
spentfuelpool,
wheretheystay
untilthe
dangerous
isotopes
createdby
fissiondecay.
Thistakes
about5years.

Whybuildahousewithoutelectricity?
Howmuchenergydohumansuse?Inwhatforms?
In2014,theaverageAmericanusedabout41poundsofcoalperdayin
energy.TheaverageenergyconsumptionofelectricityinCaliforniais
116,200,000BTUs(aBTUtheamountofheatneededtoraise1pintof
waterbyexactly1degreeFahrenheit).Thiscanbecomparedtotheenergy
in129,050sticksofdynamiteor24,418burritos.

Theworldpercapitaconsumptionofenergyin2011wasabout75millionBtu.

23,000TWhperyear/7billionpeople/365days=7828watthourperperson/
day.
Howmuchenergydoesourglobalpopulationofnearly7billionuseeveryyear?
Accordingtothe

USenergyInformationAdministration(EIA),totalprimary
energyconsumptioncameto493quadrillionthats493,000,000,000,000,000
BTUsin2008,themostrecentyearforwhichfiguresareavailable.(OneBTU,or
Britishthermalunit,istheamountofenergyyoudneedtoheatuponepound
ofwaterbyonedegreeFahrenheit.)Thatcountsenergyfromallsources:oil,
coal,gas,nuclearandrenewable.Theworldslargestoverallenergyconsumerin
2008?Nosurprisethere,itstheUS,devouringitswaythrough100.6quadrillion
BTUs.Chinawasclosinginrapidly,though:itconsumed85quadrillionBTUsin
2008andwilldoubtlessgoevenhigherwhennewfiguresbecomeavailable

Cost/Economicsofelectricity:TheaverageelectricitybillcostinCalifornia
is$88,comparedtotheUSaverageofabout$107.Californiasenergy
costs15.2centsperkilowatthour.

http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2011/10/27/141766341/thepriceofelectricityinyou
rstate
http://www.electricitylocal.com/states/california/
http://www.electricitylocal.com/states/california/novato/
http://www.triplepundit.com/special/energyoptionsprosandcons/nuclearenergypros
andcons/

Climatechangehowdoesithappen?(greenhouseeffect,carboncycle,
useofsunsenergy?
Thegreenhouseeffectcausesanincreasein
temperature.ThegreenhousegasesincludeCarbon
Dioxide,Methane,WaterVapor,andNitrous
Oxide.Thegasesintheatmosphereabsorbssolar
radiationwhichistrappedinsidetheatmosphere,
whichbeginstoheattheEarth.
TheCarbonCycleisabiochemicalexchangebetweenthe
biosphere,pedosphere,hydrosphere,atmosphere,and
geosphere.ItheatstheEarthbyabsorbinginfraredenergy
(heat)andemitsitbackinatmosphere.

Onlyabouthalfofthesunsenergyactuallyreachesthe
Earth.About20%oftheenergyisabsorbedbycloudsand
theatmosphere,and30%isreflectedbycloudsandEarths
surface.

ConsequencesofClimateChangewhatcouldhappen?

Polaricecapscouldmeltandcausetheglobalsealevelstorise.
Polarbearswouldgoextinct
Couldpossiblycauseaniceageiftheoceancurrentschanged
Europecouldfreezeoverduetothehotwaterfromtheequatorceasingfrom
flowingdotocurrentchange
Thechangeinwatertemperaturecouldcauseaquaticlifeinthoseareastohave
troublesurviving.
Theacidificationofzoceanwhichwoulddevastatecoralandshellfishdamaging
ecosystems
Anotherconsequenceofglobalwarmingisintensestorms.Duetothehigher
watertemperatures,hurricanescouldgetmoreenergyanddomuchmore
damagewhentheyhitland.
Anothereffectofglobalwarmingisfluctuationinrainfall.Areasthatusuallyget
asmallamountofrainwillreceivehigheramounts,andareasthatusually
receivehighamountsofrainwillexperiencedrought.