Fossil Fuel and Energy

September 17, 2013 The purpose of this paper is to assess personal energy use and speak about the forms of energy that I currently rely on and the sources they originate from. It also talks about renewable energy sources that would be most and least appropriate to use in a certain location. Then it refers to the advantages and disadvantages of the energy source that I currently use, also about renewable ones that have been identified. The last part of the paper addresses energy conservation and its impacts on the environment.
Energy is embodied in everything and it comes from various sources and forms. Many sources of energy exist all around us, the two main forms of energy are kinetic and potential. Kinetic energy can be motion, light, heat and sounds, while potential energy can be nuclear, chemical, gravitational, mechanical and electrical (Energy4me, 2013). While potential energy is less obvious, kinetic energy can be easier to identify. Energy comes from different sources, some that are renewable and others that have a limited supply. The world that we live in has a high demand for energy, and it is important to find alternative sources that are renewable and cost effective. It is beneficial to reflect on the energy that is used daily, try to find ways of using renewable resources, and making it a personal duty to conserve energy by reducing daily usage. From the moment we wake up in the morning until the time we go to bed each night, we all use different forms of energy to perform our daily activities. On a daily basis I use energy for transportation to commute to and from work and run errands; for cooking meals using either my gas range, microwave or charcoal grill; for heating my home in the winter and cooling my home in the summer; for daily showering, and for lighting my home in order to be comfortable and productive. Most of the resources we rely on for energy are nonrenewable and will soon be depleted. Let’s take a closer look at how energy affects the following daily activities. Transportation is when I use my vehicle to commute to and from work and to run any errands during the week or on weekends. In order for my vehicle to operate properly it needs fuel. Gasoline is refined from crude oil, which is a fossil fuel. Cooking is a Natural gas, electricity or propane can be used when cooking food. These energy sources are created from fossil fuel. Heating or air conditioning is for heating one can use natural gas or heating oil and for air conditional, electricity is used. Natural gas and heating oil are fossil fuels and electricity is created from fossil fuel. Computers is an electricity is created from coal which is a fossil fuel. Homes and offices use electricity as their source of energy which is created from coal and is a fossil fuel. Energy is used in many different ways, anything that is able to do “work” exhibits energy (Trefil, James, & Hazen, 2013). Humans rely on food for energy, as our bodies convert food into work (Trefil, James, & Hazen, 2013). With so many technical advances, energy has a significant role in our everyday lives. The alarm that is used to wake up, the lights that we use when its dark, the hot water that we use in the morning, the electricity that is used for a blow dryer or straightener, to make coffee and toast, the gas that is used to drive to work. It seems as energy sources are in constant use, half the time it happens effortlessly. Electricity is a source of energy that is used for many different appliances that serve our daily needs. It is however a secondary source of energy because it originates from coal, natural gas, oil and nuclear (Energy4me, 2013). Electricity can be made from renewable sources such as solar energy and wind (Trefil, James, & Hazen, 2013). As electricity makes many of the tools we need functional, gas is also an energy sources that is used at homes, during travel and at work. Living in Florida, the weather is not a subject to complain about. Nonetheless, we use the air conditioner in the summer time and the heater in the winter. Some homes use electric stoves while others use gas. All of these energy sources come from petroleum; the energy source that provides fuel for our vehicles, heat for our homes, produces electricity, and is used in many everyday products (Energy4me, 2013). In our book it states that Fuels like oil (petroleum), coal, and natural gas are called fossil fuels because they are the result of processes that happened long ago (Trefil, James, & Hazen, 2013). Consequently, petroleum a very high in demand source of energy, is not renewable. Renewable energy has become a very important topic, as the need to conserve fossil fuels has increased significantly. When considering renewable resources, different factors exist such as reliability and cost. As mentioned earlier, the two forms of renewable energy come from wind and solar energy because these sources are reliable and there are no global warming risks involved (Trefil, James, & Hazen, 2013). Wind energy is a renewable source of energy; with the use of wind turbines, it generates electricity with each turn of blade (Energy4me, 2013). Since electricity is produced with each turn, the amount of energy obtained depends on the amount of wind available to that region. Florida has one of the highest rates of home electricity consumption in the country, due in no small part to the need for air conditioning. But the source of Florida heat is also its most promising source of renewable energy is the sunshine. Florida generating energy from wind, biomass, solar power and biogas. The company that I use for my power and heat is FPL. FPL uses a diverse mix of fuels at our power plants to generate reliable electricity (FPL, 2013). Because of our fuel mix, FPL is recognized as a clean energy company, with one of the lowest emissions profiles among U.S. utilities (FPL, 2013). FPL’s carbon dioxide emissions rate, for example, is 35 percent better than the industry average (FPL, 2013). FPL currently obtains most of our electricity from clean-burning natural gas. Nuclear power, which produces no greenhouse gas emissions, is responsible for another significant portion of power production (FPL, 2013). In addition, FPL has begun operation of three commercial-scale, emissions-free solar energy facilities in the Sunshine State (FPL, 2013). A renewable source that can be more accessible is solar energy, especially in Florida since energy is obtained from the sun. The use of solar energy has been around since ancient times, the amount of solar power available is endless. The downfall is that when the sun is not shining, there is no power generated. However, living in Florida, using solar energy is more readily available than in other regions because it is typically sunny. There are several renewable sources for generating energy that can be used as alternative energy sources, such as geothermal energy, wind energy and hydropower. Geothermal energy can be put into for classifications: dry stream, hot water, geo-pressurized and hot, dry rock resources (Trefil, James, & Hazen, 2013). This energy form is found near the earths inner surfaces where temperatures reach much higher degrees than what we feel on the surface. When the water or lava comes up from the inner core from either a volcano or from a geyser, the temperature of the liquid it produces would be able to produce the same result we get from using fossil fuel to supply our energy (GEA, 2013). Geothermal energy could possibly be used to directly heat buildings or used to power turbines and thus generate electricity (GEA, 2013). Some advantages to using geothermal energy are: potentially an unlimited supply; does little damage to the environment; does not produce air pollution; does not require any additional structures (solar panels or windmills) to collect the energy; and it does not need to be transported to the power plant. The major disadvantages to using geothermal energy is the need to dig deep below the surface causing damage to the soil when drilling test wells, availability is limited; and there is not much power per vent. Wind energy is another renewable source of energy that could be a potential alternative energy source. Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy such as using: wind turbines to make electrical power, windmills for mechanical power, wind pumps for water pumping and drainage or sail to propel ships. This type of energy would greatly benefit people living in rural areas, such as farmers. Even though space is needed for the equipment there is plenty of space between them for farmers to use the land for agriculture. Wind energy can be used to pump water or generate electricity, but it requires extensive land coverage to produce significant amounts of energy. As with geothermal energy, wind power also has advantages and disadvantages. Several advantages to wind power would be: inexhaustible fuel source; does not cause pollution; and can supplement other renewable energy sources. On the other hand, it is a low energy producer that requires large numbers of wind generators and large land areas to produce useful amounts of heat or electricity; only areas with lots of wind are suitable for this type of energy source; bird fatalities are up; and it is relatively expensive to maintain. Flowing water creates energy that can be captured and turned into electricity. This is called hydroelectric power or hydropower. Hydropower only requires moving water, is available almost everywhere, and is sustainable. The United States has been using hydropower for over 100 years, proving it is an alternative energy source. This is one of the most cost effective sources of energy since it taps into our waterways to produce electricity, keeping it from being exposed to the unpredictable price swings for other sources of electricity. There are many advantages to using hydropower. Once a dam has been created, electricity can produced constantly. If there are time when less electricity is being used, the dam gates can be closed saving the water for another time when the demand for electricity is higher. Dams are designed to last for decades and when they are used to generate electricity, there are no greenhouse gases being emitted. The lakes that form behind the dam can store the water unit it is needed to generate electricity. As with anything, there are also disadvantages. Dams are very expensive to build and must meet very high standards; the return on the value of building a dam; there are concerns for large areas of land being flooded and the natural environment being destroyed; and building a large dam. Most of us have always taken for granted that our energy resources would be round. As we are noticing more and more each day, our energy resources are being depleted and we need to do our part in conserving energy where we can. In order to conserve energy I wash my clothes in cold water, set my thermostat at 68 degrees during the day and at 55 degrees at night, change all my light bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs and I recycle as many items as possible. These are just a few thing that can help to conserve energy. Other things that can be done to conserve energy would be buy the most energy-efficient appliances when you need to replace your old ones, only run your dishwasher when it is full, turn off the water when brushing your teeth, take shorter showers, clean or replace air filters as recommended, wrap your hot water heater with an insulated blanket, and replace your shower heads with low-flow shower heads. If everyone were to do these things we would be able to reduce the demand for fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas as well as save some money. Most of the ways we can conserve energy do not cost us anything and the items that might require a cost, it will be a relatively small price to pay in order to preserve our energy sources. People still waste energy by using it from non-renewable sources and by causing harm to the environment. Education and lack of interest are the main causes for such sustainability issues. Research is constantly undergoing in this field and the government has an important word to say with respect to this issue regarding what should be allowed or not. We should start using more renewable energy sources so that their price will be reduced and so that we would be more sustainable and not pollute the environment. This paper referred to electrical energy from the power plant, heat energy, as well as solar energy. It discussed advantages and disadvantages of using them, as well as ways to save energy when using them.