Hello everyone and welcome back to my website! I haven't written for a while so I'm excited to get this post up for you all to see. A few weeks ago we started a new unit in Environmental Science and Action: energy sources, more specifically non-renewable and renewable energy. For this post I am going to be comparing the main types of non-renewable energy like nuclear, coal, crude oil and natural gas. I will also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each type of energy, the direct and indirect impacts on the environment, how these forms of energy produce energy, and how they are similar and different.
To start this post I'm going to explain what non-renewable energy is, because before starting the unit in class I had zero outside knowledge on it. Non-renewable energy comes from sources that will run out or will not be replenished at any point in our lifetimes. There are four main types of energy that are all classified as fossil fuels: nuclear, coal, crude oil, and natural gas. All three of these have there disadvantages and advantages that impact the economy and environment. Nuclear energy is the first type of energy that I am going to talk about. While it is considered a type of non-renewable energy source, the mater that is used in nuclear power plants is not. The energy is made through a process called nuclear fission, which is where the nucleus of and atom splits. One negative aspect about nuclear energy is that uranium, which is the element that powers the plants, has to be dug up from the Earth which causes a disruption. On the positive side nuclear energy is a very efficient way to get power through cities and it doesn't pollute the air of emit greenhouse gasses. Coal is the second type of non-renewable energy I am going to be talking about. There are a few ways that coal can be mined: underground and surface mining. Underground mining is really bad for the environment because explosives are used to blow up rocks in order to reach the coal. Mining has provided people with many jobs over the years, but the impact it has on the earth doesn't make up for it. Coal mining is also a dangerous job. Miners are exposed to toxic dust which can give them a common disease called black lung. Here's a fun fact about coal: more than half of the United States electricity comes from coal! Crude oil, the third type of non-renewable energy is a liquid fossil fuel and also called Petroleum. One of the major disadvantage's of using crude oil is that the oil lays deep under the Earth's surface. In order to get to it people have to drill holes under land and some under the ocean floor. The positive to using crude oil is that we are able to use cars. Most cars require gasoline which is created from crude oil. The last type of non-renewable energy source is natural gas which is found underground in reservoirs and is made mostly of methane. In order to get the gas people have to drill underground which is disruptive to the environment and habitats. On the positive side, compared to fossil fuels it is much cleaner. Below I have attached links to my clean coal technology infographic and a padlet on fracking. Enjoy! padlet.com/edonaville18/f4pn2inogaf8 create.piktochart.com/output/28047103-new-piktochart
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