Fusion: The Unlikely Union of Physics and English Comp NAME: ENERGY RESOURCES RESEARCH NOTES Use this handout as a guideline for the research you need to do for the final project. The first page is an example of how to fill out each page. As you research each energy source, make sure you keep a working bibliography of the sources you have used during this project. EXAMPLE Hydrogen: Hydrogen is not an energy source since it takes just as much energy to get hydrogen as we get out of the hydrogen later. Hydrogen may be a useful way of storing and transporting energy in the future. Not much. In a few California cities here are enough hydrogen stations that people can get around in hydrogen powered cars, as long as they don t go too far from those cities. Hydrogen will NEVER be a source of energy itself, but electrical power plants in one location could generate hydrogen that could be transported to other locations. In principle every motor vehicle could be hydrogen powered, which would allow all transportation to run on power that originated in solar, nuclear, or hydroelectric plants. The beauty of hydrogen is that we can t run out. We produce it by running electricity through water. When the hydrogen is burned, water vapor is the only waste product so the water simply returns to the environment. We could power many times the number of vehicles currently on the road without significantly altering the balance of water on Earth. The technology exists and it isn t terribly expensive so widespread production could begin any day. The only obstacle is the absence of a hydrogen economy. Energy companies have little incentive to make more hydrogen filling stations and without the stations, consumers have little reason to buy the cars. Nope, not unless the original source of electricity does. If the hydrogen is generated in a coal-burning electrical plant, then the energy produced is just as polluting as coal. If the hydrogen is produced in a solar electric plant, then there are no greenhouse gases involved. Some hydrogen fuel cells are made of the same kinds of rare metals that are found in microelectronics. The metals can be dangerous if left alone to leach into water supplies. However, recycling is usually effective when dealing with objects as large as a vehicle.
1) Domestic oil: This is ordinary crude oil pumped from wells in Texas, Alaska, and the Gulf of Mexico. It is separated and refined into heating oil, jet fuel, and gasoline. Energy Resources Research Notes Page 2 of 2
2) Foreign oil: Same stuff as domestic oil, but we this import from countries such as Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, and Venezuela. How long can we keep importing it? Energy Resources Research Notes Page 3 of 3
3) Alternate oil sources: tar sands and shale oil: From a geological perspective, there is a lot of oil in some rock and sand quarries. Can we use it for fuel? How do we get it? Energy Resources Research Notes Page 4 of 4
4) Coal: The first fossil fuels to find widespread use, how much is left? How hard will it be to get it? What would be the costs? Energy Resources Research Notes Page 5 of 5
5) Natural Gas: Advertisers call it clean burning but is it? How much do we have? Can we get more? Energy Resources Research Notes Page 6 of 6
6) Solar electricity: Solar cells already power our calculators but can they power entire cities? How long would it take and how much would it cost? Energy Resources Research Notes Page 7 of 7
7) Solar heat and passive solar: Direct solar energy in the form of heat can warm buildings and heat our water. How much of a difference could it make? Energy Resources Research Notes Page 8 of 8
8) Wind: Humans have used windmills for hundreds of years. How much energy can these things produce? What are the obstacles? What are the costs? Energy Resources Research Notes Page 9 of 9
9) Hydroelectricity from rivers: The Grand Coulee Dam lights our homes and our schools. Can this technology be expanded to power the rest of the country? Energy Resources Research Notes Page 10 of 10
10) Hydroelectricity from waves and tides: Many countries are working on hydroelectric plants that get power from the oceans. How much power can this produce? Energy Resources Research Notes Page 11 of 11
11) Nuclear fission: This is the basis of every nuclear power plant in the world. Heavy atoms are split and energy is produced. What are the benefits? What are the risks? Energy Resources Research Notes Page 12 of 12
12) Nuclear fusion: The sun produces energy by squeezing light atoms together into heavier atoms. Could humans pull off the same trick on Earth? If so, when? Energy Resources Research Notes Page 13 of 13
13) Biomass: wood, ethanol, and friends. Our original energy resource was the forest and the campfire. Now we are funding factories that turn corn into ethanol. Do we have to use food to power these factories? How much energy can they produce? Energy Resources Research Notes Page 14 of 14
14) Geothermal and Ocean thermal: Heat is the basis of much of our power generation and the Earth produces a lot of it. How much power can we get from the Earth s heat? Energy Resources Research Notes Page 15 of 15
ENERGY RESOURCES BIBLIOGRAPHY Energy Resources Research Notes Page 16 of 16