FOSSIL FUELS 85% of the worlds 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)

Electric Utilities 1.16

Residential Commercial

2.13

Industry

9.2

Transportation 0 5 10 15 QUADS of Oil 20

24.6

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 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 1950
2200 1800

Billions of Barrels per Year

2600

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 2400 2600 2800

Billion Barrels

30 25 20 15 10 5

Billions of Barrels per Year

World Crude Oil Production

0 1950

1960

1970

1980

1990

2000

2010

World Crude Oil Prices (economic crises in oil states)

60 50 40 30 20 10 0
1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 $1992 per barrel

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