FOSSIL FUELS 85% of the world’scommercial energy

COAL

OILNATURAL GAS

20 richest countries consume:

• 50% of coal

• 80% of natural gas

• 65% of oil

U.S. energy consumption

Mining/metalsOther industryTransportationOther

9%

COAL

Fossilized, condensedcarbon-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 hashigh-sulfur content,more expensive to mine

Much Western U.S. coal haslow-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

10% lost ontransmission lines(stray voltage)

65% lost in power plants

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

• Nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide create acid rain

• Tall stacks deposit farther

TransportationElectricalplantsOther

Coal scrubbers

The future? Hydrogen fuel cells

NATURAL GAS

Methane, otherGases 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)

24.6

9.2

2.13

1.16

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Transportation

Industry

ResidentialCommercial

Electric Utilities

QUADS of Oil

Proven oil reserves

• 465 billion barrels consumed

• 1 trillion barrels left

• 22 billion consumed a year

• 45 years to go! Party now!

1800

2200

2600

Global Oil Production for Resources of 1800, 2200, and 2600 Billion Barrels

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030

Billions of Barrels per Year

Distribution of Estimates of Ultimately Recoverable World Crude Oil (1975-1993)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

1400 1600 1800 2000 2200 2400 2600 2800

Billion Barrels

Percentage of Estimates

World Crude Oil Production

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Billions of Barrels per Year

World Crude Oil Prices(economic crises in oil states)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

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 Gulfand 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 tocontain 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 againstTexaco inU.S. courts, 1999

Oil in Nigeria

Largest producer in Africa, mainlyIn Niger Delta

Nigeria had militarygovernments in 1990s

Environmental problemsin Niger Delta region

Homeland of Ogoni, Ijaw groups

Gas flaring hazards

Oil spills in mangrove swamp

Ogoni environmental protests

Oil companies collude with military

Many Ogoni killed by military

Ogoni leaderDr. Ken Saro-Wiwa executed in 1995

Shell Oil pays,transports soldiers

Nigerian women protest, 2002

Protest against pollution, lack of local jobs

Ijaw womenoccupy Chevronoil docks

Websites on oil industryand global opposition

Rainforest Action Networkhttp://www.ran.org

Project Undergroundhttp://www.moles.org