Fossil Fuels Fossil fuels are energy sources that

formed over geologic time as a result of compression and decomposition of plant and animal material.

Considered to be a nonrenewable resource, because the formation of fossil fuels requires thousands – millions of years

Peat Forms from dead plant material Low cost fuel because easily cut from

bogs (poorly drained areas), dried in sun, and burned directly in stove or furnace to produce heat

Used today in Ireland, England to heat homes

Coal Coal forms from dead plant material Transitions from peat to lignite, to

bituminous and then anthracite coal As more pressure and time passes, coal

becomes higher grades Anthracite is the highest grade coal,

contains the greatest carbon content, and burns hotter and cleaner than the other types of coal

Most coal deposits in US are bituminous

Petroleum and Natural Gas Refers to natural crude oil found

underground and on Earth’s surface in natural seeps (shallow deposits of crude oil ooze upward onto beaches and in pits and streams)

•Crude oil is refined into gasoline and kerosene•Natural gas forms and isFound in the same pockets as crude oil

Mining

Humans must mine the lithosphere to obtain energy resources, like coal, uranium, and plutonium

Mining is the process of removing metals and minerals from the Earth

There are two ways to obtain this energy:

(1) surface (open pit) mining (2) underground mining

Surface Mining

Only economic when coal is located at the surface

Underground Mining

This accounts for most of the mining done worldwide

Environmental Impacts of Mining (1) Deforestation - mining requires large areas of land to be cleared so that the earth could be dug into by the miners.

(2) Land and Water Pollution – Even though there are lots of safety precautions in place, chemicals still leak out into underground water and soil areas. Plants cannot grow in the poisonous soil, and animals living in the soil cannot survive. Chemicals spread into water and kill the plants and animals that live there.

(4) Loss of Biodiversity - Plants and animals are killed by the leaking of chemicals into soil and water.

(5) Erosion - When material is disturbed in significant quantities, as it is in the mining process, large quantities of sediment are transported by water erosion. The removal of topsoil and nutrients by erosion prevents plants and animals from being able to survive.

Dangers of Mining

Possibility of cave-in

Mine fires Gas Explosions Exposure to

harmful gases- Black Lung disease in coal miners

Suffocation

Reclamation Act

The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) is the primary federal law that regulates the environmental effects of coal mining

SMCRA created two programs: one for regulating active coal mines and a second for reclaiming abandoned mine lands.

SMCRA created an Abandoned Mine Land (AML) fund to pay for the cleanup of mine lands abandoned before the passage of the statute in 1977. The law was amended in 1990 to allow funds to be spent on the reclamation of mines abandoned after 1977. The fund is financed by a tax of 31.5 cents per ton for surface mined coal, 15 cents per ton for coal mined underground, and 10 cents per ton for lignite.

Drilling

Drilling is the process of removing crude oil from the ground

When drill punctures the rock, pressure is released and the oil andgas move upward toward the drill hole. A pumpthen lifts the petroleum out

Drilling Impacts to Environment Susceptible to oil spills

Noise Pollution - Seismic waves sent into the ground tell researchers where oil reserves may lie. This noise pollution can cause whales and other cetaceans, such as dolphins, to strand themselves on the shore.

Roads, airports, housing complexes, pipelines, mines and other structures must be built when drilling for oil. These structures can disturb animal habitats and migration routes.

Oil drilling produces byproducts that pollute the environment. These include "produced water," which contains toxins like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; greenhouse gases; and toxic metals such as mercury and lead.

Drilling Impacts on Environment

Fracking

Fracking is the process of extracting natural gas from shale rock layers deep within the earth

Concerns about fracking include: (1) Groundwater contamination (2) Triggering earthquakes (3) Spills and leakage from drilling (4) Dangerous explosions

Fracking in North Carolina North Carolina is believed to hold 1.7

trillion cubic feet of natural gas trapped in shale gas formations underground and concentrated in Chatham, Lee and Moore counties.

Supporters of fracking in the legislature said natural gas would produce a domestic fuel to help offset oil imported from hostile regimes as well as dirty coal mined by mountain-top removal. They also touted the creation of several hundred jobs over seven years.

Critics talked of short-term jobs, destroyed roadways, marred landscapes, polluted air and contaminated water