Energy 101

"Our country's leaders have three main choices: Taking over someone else's oil fields; carrying on until the lights go out and Americans are freezing in the dark; or changing our life style by deep conservation while heavily investing in alternative energy sources at higher costs."
~ Charles T. Maxwell,consultant to various oil companies and the US Government

Essential Learning:
To evaluate what factors contribute to how a society chooses to use energy resources, keeping in mind the availability and culture as well as the social, economic, political and environmental implications.
CH 12
Turbine
Generator
Turbogenerator
Secondary energy source
Primary energy source
Renewable resources
Nonrenewable resources
Fossil fuels
OPEC
Natural gas
Coal
Crude oil
Oil shales

Oil sands
Synthetic fuels
Cogeneration
CH 13
Fusion
Fission
Chain reaction
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Chernobyl April 1986
Three Mile Island, Penns. 1979
Yucca Mountain, Nevada
Half-life
Fuel rods

Control rods
Meltdown
Breeder reactor
Fusion reactor
CH 14
Solar energy
Flat-plate collectors
Photovoltaic cell (PV cell)
Hydropower
Wind power
Biomass energy
Geothermal energy
Tidal power

Know specific details about…
Energy consumption in the US (Figure 12-5)
The oil crisis of 1973
Energy flow through fossil fuels (Figure 12-10)
Alaska pipeline and ANWR
How much crude oil do we get from foreign sources?
Sources of radiation. (Table 13-1)
Who generates the most nuclear power? (Figure 13-4)
Solar building siting (Figure 14-9)
Renewable energy use in the US (Figure 14-4)

Practice Questions
Provide a description of the various types of fossil fuels including their sources and methods used for their extraction.
We are currently facing power shortages. How do you propose to solve the problem? Defend your proposal on both economic and environmental grounds.
Draw a diagram showing the working parts of a nuclear power plant. Describe and explain the