Energy Resources

NAME: SIDDHARTH CHAKRABORTY

ID: 20BSCAGH065

ENVS-421
 Energy Resource-
• A natural resource that can be converted by
humans into other forms of energy in order
to do useful work
– Natural resource- any natural substance,
organism, or energy form living things use
• The sun is our most important energy
resource.
 Renewable Resources-
• A natural resource that can be used and
replaced over a relatively short time
 Renewable Resources (cont’d)
• Biomass
– Organic matter that contains stored energy or energy produced by
heat within the Earth’s crust
• Ex: plants, wood, and waste
– Nonindustrialized countries rely heavily on biomass for energy.
– Gasohol- Plant material that is changed into liquid fuel
• Ex: Plants containing sugar or starch can be made into alcohol. The
alcohol is burned as a fuel or mixed with gasoline to form the
gasohol.
• Geothermal energy
– Harness heat from the Earth
– Ground water that seeps into hot spots near the surface of the
Earth can form geysers. (Natural vents in which steam and water
escape)
• Ex: Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park
• The steam is used in power plants to generate electricity.
• Hydroelectric energy
– Electricity produced by falling water
– Recycled through the water cycle
• Ex: dams
 Renewable Resources (cont’d)
• Solar energy
– Energy from the sun
– 2 common ways (indirectly or directly):
1. Sunlight can be changed into electricity by the use of solar cells.
– Ex: solar calculator, solar panels (large panels made up of many solar
cells wired together)
2. Solar collectors- dark-colored boxes with glass or plastic tops used to
directly heat
3. Solar mirrors- mirrors that use sunlight to produce electricity for
large-scale solar power
• Wind energy
– The energy in wind
– Uses wind turbines to convert kinetic energy into electrical energy
by rotating a generator
 Advantages of Alternative Resources
• Reduces the amount of fossil
fuels that must be used • Wind:
• Solar: – Relatively inexpensive to
generate
– Almost limitless source
of energy – Does not produce air
pollution
– Does not produce pollution
• Water:
• Geothermal
– Renewable
– Almost limitless source of
energy
– Does not produce air
pollution
– Power plants require little
land
– Dams produce no hazardous
wastes. • Biomass
– Renewable
 Disadvantages of Alternative Resources
• Solar:
– Expensive to use for large-scale energy production
– Only practical in sunny areas
• Water:
– Dams disrupt a river’s ecosystem.
– Available only in areas that have rivers
• Wind:
– Only practical in windy areas (require strong, steady breezes to
be effective), so there are limited locations for wind farms
• Geothermal
– Only practical in locations near hot spots (Hot spots are
volcanic regions with a hotter mantle than most places.)
– Waste water can damage soil
• Biomass
– Requires large areas of farmland
– Produces smoke
 Conserving Natural Resources
• Whether the natural resources we use are
renewable or nonrenewable, we should be
careful how we use them!
– Only use them when necessary!
– Recycle!- The process by which used or
discarded materials are treated for reuse.
 Nonrenewable Resources-
• Energy resources that cannot be replaced
after they are used or can be replaced only
over thousands or millions of years
– Fossil fuels and nuclear energy
 Obtaining Fossil Fuels
• Coal is obtained either by mining deep
beneath the Earth’s surface or by strip
mining.
– Strip mining- a process in which rock and soil
are stripped from the Earth’s surface to expose
the underlying materials to be mined.
• Petroleum and natural gas are removed from
the Earth by drilling wells into rock that
contain these resources.
– Oil wells exist on land and in the ocean.
 Fossil Fuels-
• Energy resources that formed from the
buried remains of plants and animals that
lived in swamps millions of years ago
– Coal, petroleum, and natural gas
• Originally received their energy from the sun
• The United States’ primary source of
electrical energy is generated by burning
fossil fuels.
 Solid Fossil Fuels- Coal

• A solid fossil fuel formed underground from

buried, decomposed plant material
• Most coal used in the U.S. is burned by
power plants to run electric generators.
• Creates the most fuel emissions
 Liquid Fossil Fuels- Petroleum
• Can be called crude oil
• An oily mixture of flammable organic
compounds from which liquid fossil fuels
and other products, such as asphalt, are
separated
– Gasoline, plastics, and petrochemicals
(which are used to make synthetic fibers,
such as rayon) are some of the products
Gaseous Fossil Fuels- Natural Gas
• Used the most to heat businesses and homes
as well as generating electricity, stoves,
ovens, and in vehicles as an alternative to
gasoline
• Cleanest burning fossil fuel

• Coal:
Fossil Formation
Fuel • Petroleum and natural
– When swamp plants die, gas:
they sink to the bottom – Formed from the
of swamps. This begins remains of organisms
the formation process. that were in shallow
(4 Stages) prehistoric lakes and
• The higher the stage, the seas
more carbon is contained.
• The higher the carbon
content, the cleaner it
burns.
 Problems With Fossil Fuels
• Nonrenewable
– We use them for energy • Obtaining Coal:
because they provide a
large amount of thermal – Strip mining causes
energy per unit of mass. environmental damage.
• Acid precipitation from – Coal mines can be
the burning of coal hazardous for men and
women working in them,
• Burning petroleum pollute water supplies, and
produces smog. cause the overlying Earth to
– Smog- a photochemical fog collapse.
produced by the reaction of
sunlight and air pollutants • Obtaining petroleum:
– High numbers of – Oil spills can kill hundreds
automobiles, lots of of thousands of animals and
sunlight, and mountains wildlife as well as damage
surrounding urban areas the fishing industry.
contribute to smog
problems.
Dealing With Fossil Fuel Problems
• Drive in automobiles only when absolutely
necessary
• Carpooling
• Riding a bike
• Walking
• Using mass-transit systems
• Conserve energy and use alternative
resources
 Nuclear Energy-
• An alternative source of
energy that comes from the
nuclei of
atoms.
• Nuclear fission- a process
• A nuclear power plant generates when the nucleus of a
thermal energy that boils water uranium atom is split into two
to produce steam.
– Fossil fuel and nuclear power
smaller nuclei, releasing
plants use steam to turn a nuclear energy
turbine, which rotates a • Nuclear fusion- the joining of
generator that converts kinetic nuclei of small atoms to form
energy into electrical energy.
larger atoms
– Nuclear power plants provide
alternative sources of energy – Produces few dangerous
without the problems that come wastes, but very high
with fossil fuels, but produce temperatures are required for
dangerous, radioactive wastes. the reaction to take place
 Land Resources
Land Resources refer to a delineable area of the earth's terrestrial surface, encompassing all
attributes of the biosphere immediately above or below this surface, including those of the near-
surface climate, the soil and terrain forms, the surface hydrology (including shallow lakes, rivers,
marshes and swamps), the near-surface sedimentary layers and associated groundwater and
geohydrological reserve, the plant and animal populations, the human settlement pattern and
physical results of past and present human activity (terracing, water storage or drainage
structures, roads, buildings, etc.) (FAO/UNEP, 1997).

Land Degradation : Land is a vital resource to humankind, like air and water. Land degradation
—the deterioration or loss of the productive capacity of the soils for present and future—is a
global challenge that affects everyone through food insecurity, higher food prices, climate
change, environmental hazards, and the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Land
degradation is happening at an alarming pace, contributing to a dramatic decline in the
productivity of croplands and rangelands worldwide.
Land degradation is one of the world’s most pressing environmental problems and it will worsen
without rapid remedial action. Globally, about 25 percent of the total land area has been
degraded. When land is degraded, soil carbon and nitrous oxide is released into the atmosphere,
making land degradation one of the most important contributors to climate change. Scientists
recently warned that 24 billion tons of fertile soil was being lost per year, largely due to
unsustainable agriculture practices. If this trend continues, 95 percent of the Earth’s land areas
could become degraded by 2050.
Globally, 3.2 billion people are affected by land degradation, especially rural communities,
smallholder farmers, and the very poor. The world population is projected to increase by about
35 percent to 9.7 billion in 2050, with rising demands for agricultural products including food,
feed, fiber, and fuel. However, pressure on the global land resource is increasing due to other
factors as well, such as agricultural production systems made less resilient by the loss of
biodiversity, and natural factors such as climate variability and extreme weather events. Climate
change exacerbates variations in yields and income from agriculture, threatening the resilience of
agro-ecosystems and stability of food production systems.
The problems are particularly severe in the driest parts the planet. Dryland landscapes cover
approximately 40 percent of the world’s land area and support two billion people. The vast
majority of people who depend on drylands live in developing countries, where women and
children are most vulnerable to the impacts of land degradation and drought.

Management of Land Resources : It is the process of managing the use and development (in

both urban and rural settings, but it is mostly managed in Urban places.) of land resources. Land
resources are used for a variety of purposes which may include organic
agriculture, reforestation, water resource management and eco-tourism projects. Land
management can have positive or negative effects on the terrestrial ecosystems. Land
being over- or misused can degrade and reduce productivity and disrupt natural equilibriums