FOSSIL FUELS
85% of the world’s
commercial energy
COAL
NATURAL GAS
OIL
20 richest countries consume:
• 50% of coal
• 80% of natural gas
• 65% of oil
U.S. energy consumption
9%
Mining/metals
Other industry
Transportation
Other
COAL
Fossilized, condensed
carbon-rich fuel
10 X reserves of oil/gas,
last 200 years at present rate
Coal mines
Surface (strip) mine,
Western U.S.
Underground (shaft) mine,
Eastern U.S.
Coal cheaper,
but polluting
Much Eastern U.S. coal has
high-sulfur content,
more expensive to mine
Much Western U.S. coal has
low-sulfur content,
cheaper to mine
But mining in semi-arid West
more damaging to land.
Heat value of coal types
Anthracite
Bituminous
Subbituminous
Lignite
51% of U.S.
use in coal
Energy lost from coal
65% lost in
power plants
10% lost on
transmission lines
(stray voltage)
Effects on health
• Black Lung Disease
(miners)
• Respiratory
illnesses
(public)
Effects on land
• Coal sludge releases
• Hardpan at strip mines
• Mountaintop removal
• Huge water use
– Slurry pipelines
Effects on air
• Greenhouse gases
– 3/4 sulfur dioxide
– 1/3 nitrogen oxides
– 1/2 carbon dioxide
• Toxics
– Mercury
– Uranium
Acid rain
Acidity of rain
• pH of 6.0
– Kills insects, crabs
• pH < 5.0
– Kills fish, trees
Sources of Nitrogen Oxides
Transport
ation
Electrical
plants
Other
• Nitrogen oxides and
sulfur dioxide create
acid rain
• Tall stacks deposit
farther
Coal scrubbers
The future? Hydrogen fuel cells
NATURAL GAS
Methane, other
Gases in bedrock
Advantages of natural gas
• Cleaner to burn
– Half as much CO2 as coal
• More efficient
– 10% energy lost
• 60-year supply at current rates
Disadvantages of natural gas
• Difficult to transport
– Pipelines
– Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) tankers
• Can be polluting, dangerous when extracted
• Methane bed drilling pollutes
OIL (PETROLEUM)
Buried organic matter
rich in hydrocarbons
Oil Consumption by Sector (1998)
1.16
Electric Utilities
2.13
Residential
Commercial
9.2
Industry
24.6
Transportation
0
5
10
15
QUADS of Oil
20
25
30
Proven oil reserves
• 465 billion barrels consumed
• 1 trillion barrels left
• 22 billion consumed a year
• 45 years to go! Party now!
Global Oil Production for Resources of 1800,
2200, and 2600 Billion Barrels
35
Billions of Barrels per Year
2600
30
25
20
2200
15
1800
10
5
0
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
2020
2030
Distribution of Estimates of Ultimately
Recoverable World Crude Oil (1975-1993)
Percentage of Estimates
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
1400
1600
1800
2000
2200
Billion Barrels
2400
2600
2800
World Crude Oil Production
30
Billions of Barrels per Year
25
20
15
10
5
0
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
World Crude Oil Prices
(economic crises in oil states)
60
$1992 per barrel
50
40
30
20
10
0
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
Global trends in oil
• Growing use in China (+10%/year)
• Japan, Europe depend on Mideast
• New reserves around Caspian Sea
– Nearly size of Saudi Arabia
• Increasing source of major wars,
human rights abuses
Kuwait oil well fires, 1991
Persian Gulf
and Caspian Sea
Oil & natural gas pipelines
U.S. trends in oil
• Diverse sources (not Mideast)
– Venezuela, Nigeria, etc.
• Opening domestic sources
– Alaska controversy
• Polluting technologies?
– Oil shale extraction
– Synthetic fuels (coal-to-oil)
Exxon Valdez, Alaska 1989
Attempts to
contain spill
Clean-up efforts
Prince William Sound fishing
industry damaged
Oil in Ecuador
• Ecuador 2nd largest S.
America producer
– 70% of exports
• Drilling in Amazon
rainforest
Opposition to oil
companies
• Construction of roads,
pipelines on Indian lands
• Displacement of Indians,
•
deforestation
• Oil leaks into rivers larger
than Valdez spill
Ecuador Indian occupations
Texaco withdrew 1992,
Arco met demands
Lawsuit against
Texaco in
U.S. courts, 1999
Oil in Nigeria
Largest producer
in Africa, mainly
In Niger Delta
Nigeria had military
governments in 1990s
Environmental problems
in Niger Delta region
Homeland of Ogoni,
Ijaw groups
Gas flaring hazards
Oil spills in mangrove swamp
Ogoni environmental protests
Oil companies collude with military
Shell Oil pays,
transports soldiers
Many Ogoni
killed by military
Ogoni leader
Dr. Ken Saro-Wiwa
executed in 1995
Nigerian women protest, 2002
Ijaw women
occupy Chevron
oil docks
Protest against pollution,
lack of local jobs
Websites on oil industry
and global opposition
Rainforest Action Network
http://www.ran.org
Project Underground
http://www.moles.org