Energy Yesterday Today and Tomorrow Yesterday Burning Wood
Energy Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
Yesterday – Burning Wood • Heat • Light • Cooking
Yesterday – Fossil Fuels • Coal, oil, and natural gas formed from plants and animals that lived up to 300 million years ago. • Fossil fuels are found in deposits beneath the Earth’s surface. • Fossil fuels are an exhaustible energy source because it takes millions of years for them to form. • In the 19 th century we started to extract and use fossil fuels for energy.
Energy Today • 85% of U. S. energy consumption is still fossil fuels. • 34% of U. S. energy needs are imported. • 64% of the petroleum used in the U. S. is imported.
Energy Today • The 7% of renewable energy used in the U. S. is divided into 5 sources as shown below.
What is Energy Used for Today?
Energy in the Future – Petroleum • At current levels of consumption, the world’s oil reserves are expected to last about 40 years. • There may be some oil that is currently undetected, but it cannot be economically extracted with current technology.
Energy in the Future – Natural Gas Known gas reserves are expected to last about 60 years at current consumption levels with current technology.
Energy in the Future – Coal If we continue to use coal at the current consumption rate, we expect to run out in about 200 years.
Energy in the Future • We are using fossil fuels that were made more than 300 million years ago. • They are not renewable; they can’t really be made again. • We can save fossil fuels by – Conserving energy – Using alternative energy sources
Alternative Energy – Future More money and research will go into developing alternative energy sources. Nuclear Nonrenewable potential energy stored in the nucleus of an atom Hydropower Renewable gravitational energy of moving water Biomass Renewable stored chemical energy from wood, garbage, and agricultural wastes Wind Renewable kinetic energy from moving air
Alternative Energy – Future Solar Renewable radiant energy from the sun Geothermal Renewable heat energy from beneath the Earth’s surface Many career opportunities will be involved with the research and development of alternative energy sources.
Smart Grid - Future • Smart Grid technology changes the way we manage and distribute energy by making our current power grid more intelligent. • A Smart grid delivers electricity from suppliers to consumers using digital technology to save energy, reduce cost and increase reliability. • Smart Grid for Intelligent Energy Use
Image Resources Microsoft, Inc. (2009). Clip art. Retrieved April 10, 2009, from http: //office. microsoft. com/en-us/clipart/default. aspx
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