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ENERGY RESOURCES

COME FROM THE MOON , SUN AND EARTH.

SOURCES ENERGY
SOLAR ENERGY DRIVES FROM THE FOLLOWING:
THE GLOBAL CLIMATIC SYSTEMS WHICH GIVE US WIND POWER
WAVE POWER
HYDROELECTRIC POWER
SOLAR HEATING AND SOLAR LIGHTING
THE GLOBAL ECOSYSTEMS WHICH GIVE US BIOMASS POWER SUCH AS WOOD
THE ANCIENT ECOSYSTEMS WHOSE ENERGY IS NOT STORED AS FOSSIL FUEL
THE AVERAGE HUMAN BEING GIVES OFF 60 WATT S OF HEAT BY SIMPLY STANDING IN A ROOM.WITH EFFECTIVE
INSULATION AND VENTILATION IT IS POSSIBLE TO HEAT MANY BUILDING TYPES BY THE HEAT ENERGY OF THEIR
OCCUPANTS ALONE.

TYPES OF ENERGY
IT CAN BE DESCRIBED AS RENEWABLE, NON RENEWABLE AND SUSTAINABLE.
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES INCLUDES :
WIND POWER
WAVE POWER
OCEAN THERMAL EXCHANGE CAPACITY (OTEC) BASED ON TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCES IN OCEAN LAYERS.
SOLAR POWER
HYDRO POWER
FUEL CELLS
BIO FUELS
KEY CHARACTERISTIC : CONTINUALLY AVAILABLE
IT REQUIRES GOOD MANAGEMENT.
NON RENEWABLE TYPES OF ENERGY INCLUDE ALL FOSSIL FUELS. THEY ARE INFINITE IN SUPPLY AS THEIR
RATE OF FORMATION IS SO SLOW.
SUSTAINABLE ENERGY WILL LAST FOR A LONG TIME BECAUSE A GREAT DEAL OF ELECTRICITY IS PRODUCED
FROM A SMALL AMOUNT OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL.

ENERGY TYPE ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES

RENEWABLE WIDE AVAILABILITY UNRELIABLE SUPPLY


LOWER RUNNING COST USUALLY PRODUCED IN SMALL QUANTITIES
DECENTRALIZED POWER PRODUCTION OFTEN DIFFICULT TO STORE
LOW POLLUTION CURRENTLY PER UNIT COST OF ENERGY IS
AVAILABLE FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE MORE COMPARED TO OTHER TYPES
NON AVAILABLE IN HIGHLY CONCENTRATED HIGHLY POLLUTING
RENEWABLE FORM AVAILABLE ONLY IN FEW PLACES
EASY TO STORE HIGH RUNNING COST
RELIABLE SUPPLY LIMITED SUPPLY
LOWER COST PER UNIT OF ENERGY IS
PRODUCED AS TECHNOLOGY IS MATURED
SUSTAINABLE HIGHLY RELIABLE RISK OF RADIOACTIVITY
PRODUCES LARGE AMOUNT OF ENERGY HIGH WASTE DISPOSAL COSTS
WITH LITTLE CO2 EMISSIONS HIGH CAPITAL INVESTMENT AND
USE SMALL AMOUNT OF RAW MATERIAL MAINTANANCE COST
PER UNIT ENERGY PRODUCTION

IT IS UNWISE TO RELY ONLY ON ONE SOURCE OF ENERGY.ANY SHORTAGE IN ENERGY AVAILABILITY OR


CHANGE IN ENERGY PRICE WOULD CAUSEHAVOC WITH THE NATIONAL ECONOMY.SO NATIONS SHOULD
ADOPT DIFFERENT ENERGY SOURCES TO GIVE THEM MORE ENERGY SECURITY.
IT IS UNWISE TO RELY ONLY ON ONE SOURCE OF ENERGY.ANY SHORTAGE IN ENERGY AVAILABILITY OR
CHANGE IN ENERGY PRICE WOULD CAUSEHAVOC WITH THE NATIONAL ECONOMY.SO NATIONS SHOULD
ADOPT DIFFERENT ENERGY SOURCES TO GIVE THEM MORE ENERGY SECURITY.
EG: IN EARLY 1970sWHEN THE MAJOR OIL PRODUCTING NATIONS AGREED TO RAISE THE PRICE OF OIL BY 300%.
THE SAME TREND IS FELT IN 2004 WITH THE PRICE OF CRUDE OIL.

THE RANGE OF ENERGY SOURCE THEY CHOOSE IS KNOWN AS ENERGY MIX.IT CAN BE DETERMINED BY
MANY FACTORS. THESE INCLUDE:
ECONOMICS
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONSIDERATIONS
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS
ENERGY CHARACTERISTICS
ENERGY IS RELATED TO POWER.MANY GLOBAL INDUSTRIES HAVE VESTED INTEREST IN ENERGY SUPPLY AND ARE
PUSHING TO EXPLOIT NEW TECHNOLOGIES. THERE IS NO ENERGY SOURCE.MOST CONCENTRATED FORMS OF
ENERGY ARE FOSSIL FUELSBY NATURE THESE ARE THE LEAST LONG LASTING AND MOST ENVIRONMENTALLY
DAMAGING.
IMPACTS
THE PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION
OF ENERGY IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST CAUSES
OF ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE. IT HAS LEAD
TO LARGE AMOUNTS OF DESTRUCTION OF
NATURAL LANDSCAPES AND HABITATS
THROUGH THE PROCESS OF FUEL EXTRACTION,
POLLUTION OF SOIL, WATER, AIR ETC. WHICH
INTURN CAUSES CLIMATE CHANGE.
INCREASE IN POPULATION DENSITIES, INDUSTRIALIZATION, CONSUMERISM OVER THE PAST CENT,
FOLLOWING THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION , HAVE LEAD TO DRAMATIC RISES IN ENERGY DEMANDS FOR
BOTH INDUSTRIAL AND DOMESTIC PURPOSES.
25% INCREASE IN ENERGY CONSUMPTION EVERY
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS ASSOCIATED WITH ENERGY CAN BE SPLIT INTO 2 MAIN AREAS:
IMPACTS THAT ARISE DUE TO ENERGY PRODUCTION
IMPACTS THAT ARISE DUE TO ENERGY USE
IMPACTS ARE VARYING ACCORDING TO THE TYPE OF FUEL, METHOD OF USE AND THE WAY IT RELEASES
ENERGY
EG: FOSSIL FUELS LIKE COAL AND OIL ARE ASSOCIATED WITH HIGH LEVELS OF GASIOUS EMISSIONS
DURING THE ENERGY PRODUCTION PROCESS,
LIKE CO2 AND OTHER GREEN HOUSE GASES THAT HAVE LINKED WITH CLIMATE CHANGE.THIS CONTRASTS WITH
NUCLEAR FUEL, WHICH PRODUCES NO
GREEN GAS EMISSIONS , BUTUSES URANIUM
AND RESULTS IN THE PRODUCTION OF
RADIOACTIVE WASTES THAT ARE DANGEROUS
AND TAKES A LONG TIME TO DECAY.
A SERIES OF WORLD CONFERENCES ON
CLIMATE CHANGE COMMENCING WITH THE RIO
CONFERENCE IN 1922 HAVE LED TO THE
DEVELOPMENT OF GLOBAL AGREEMENTS SUCH
AS THE KYOTO PROTOCOL TO ADRESS ISSUES
ASSOCIATED WITH GAS EMISSIONS AND GLOBAL
WARMING.
IT HAS BEEN RECOGNISED THAT ENERGY
PRODUCTION AT PRESENT IS UNSUSTAINABLE AND
HAS BOTH DIRECT IMPACTS ON ENVIRONMENT AS
WELL AS MANY ASOCIATED SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC
IMPLICATIONS.
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES HAVE LOW
IMPACTS COMPARED TO NON RENEWABLE ENERGY
SOURCES

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