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Energy and Sustainability

 

For my civic issues-related posts, this semester I will be exploring the issue of energy and our environment.  Obama stated in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday that “no challenge poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change,” and the discussion of our planet’s sustainability has been a hot button issue for decades.  My purpose in exploring the topic of energy is to provide readers with factual knowledge about the advantages and disadvantages of various types of energy, including oil and natural gas, hydroelectricity, wind energy, and the like. 

Why should we care about where our energy comes from?  Currently, we will not be able to sustain our population with our energy consumption into the next century.  It is estimated that by 2040, we will produce only 15 million barrels of oil per day, a number that is 20% of what we consume in the present.  We use far too many nonrenewable resources to support ourselves, and the green movement has propelled the popularity of alternative sources of energy available for our use.  As a member of the Green Party of the United States, I encourage everyone to consider the short- and long-term effects of each method of energy production.

The United States of America is especially dependent on nonrenewable resources, and I hope that future politicians and their endeavors work to stress the importance of investigating the benefits of alternative sources of energy.  The United States actually consumes more oil than any other country, measuring at about 1.85 billion barrels per day.  We are also the world’s top oil producer, passing Saudi Arabia around two years ago.  We have been the world’s top natural gas producer for more than twenty years.  We are the world leader in shale gas production (such as by hydraulic fracturing, or fracking).  As an American citizen, I am disappointed that we have let our energy dependence come this far.

Countries rated as the most sustainable countries in the world are also those with the highest rated environmental management categories.  These countries include Switzerland, Sweden, Iceland, and Costa Rica.  These countries have incredibly low amounts of air and water pollution, low environmental burden of disease, and highly effective climate change policies.

For a first world country, the United States scored embarrassingly low on National Geographic’s Greendex survey in 2014, a study that monitors progress concerning environmentally sustainable consumption across the nations — we were ranked 18th.  In fact, rankings in several areas actually declined since 2012 for the most recent study.

Information about America’s Greendex can be found on this infographic .pdf: http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/file/Greendex-Americans_FINAL-cb1409253792.pdf

More information about National Geographic’s Greendex reports can be found on this site: http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/greendex/

We may be a prosperous nation, but we are nowhere near a responsible nation.  Hopefully the information I present in my civic issue posts will impact your ideas on sustainability and the future of our world.

 

 

Fracking

 

During the summer of 2014, I spent my first semester at Penn State University.  I took a class named Social Problems, and for the final assignment, I was assigned to write a persuasive essay concerning why hydraulic fracturing, otherwise known as fracking, is beneficial for the state of Pennsylvania.  My entire being rejected the idea of writing in support of this, but I was thankful to learn so much about this topic (and to reinforce why I am so opposed to this idea).  Because Pennsylvania has some of the largest fracking operations, I believe it is beneficial to focus much of this post state-wide.

To begin, the Marcellus shale commonly found in our region is organic black shale that was deposited about 390 million years ago. It can be found in varying depth and thickness throughout much of the Appalachian basin as well as most of Pennsylvania, and it sits atop other gas-rich geological formations. It ranges in depth from less than 10 feet to over 9,000 feet in southwestern and northeastern parts of our state. The Marcellus shale has been studied since the late 1970s as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Eastern Gas Shales Project. The Marcellus Formation was known to be a reservoir rock for over 75 years, but previous methods for extracting were ineffective.

 

 

The emergence of hydraulic fracturing coupled with current oil prices has fueled more exploration of the Marcellus shale. The hydraulic fracturing approach of creating horizontal wells allows for access of more footage of reservoir than the initial vertical drilling method. Across the state, approximately 450 Marcellus shale wells have already been completed, and the extraction process occurs in 14 counties. Moreover, the current petroleum prices stand at oil in excess of $130 per barrel compared to natural gas at $10 per thousand cubic feet, and it is estimated by academic and industrial assessments that the amount of recoverable gas reserves from the Marcellus shale range from 50 to 500 trillion cubic feet.

Proponents of hydraulic fracturing cite numerous benefits of this process, such as the economic opportunity with each well’s benefits at around $4 million.  It also leads to more jobs being generated.  America has the second largest shale deposit in the world, and some believe that it would be absurd not to capitalize on its assets.

Opponents of hydraulic fracturing include such reasons as its contamination of water supplies, its causation of a high number of earthquakes, its responsibility for record droughts, its displacement of wildlife as well as communities.

Here is a fun, graphic-based website detailing the dangers of fracking: http://www.dangersoffracking.com/
This link is a FAQ on Pennsylvania’s website for the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources: http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/topogeo/econresource/oilandgas/marcellus/marcellus_faq/marcellus_shale/index.htm

This website provides nine of the most common arguments as to why hydraulic fracturing should be banned, with additional sources cited: http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/26367-9-good-reasons-to-ban-fracking-immediately

This .pdf provides a report sponsored by an agency of the U.S. Government, detailing the importance of shale gas, its development in the United States, regulatory framework, and environmental considerations: http://fracfocus.org/sites/default/files/publications/shale_gas_primer_2009.pdf

 

 

Nonrenewable Energy: Fossil Fuels

 

A quick update about my last topic, fracking: Pennsylvania’s newly-elected governor, Tom Wolf, reinstated the moratorium on natural gas drilling in state parklands, meaning that fracking is banned in these areas once again!

The types of energy available for our use can be separated into two categories: renewable and nonrenewable.  These each have their own sub-categories, as well.  Nonrenewable energy includes fossil fuels, the topic of today’s post, and nuclear fuels.

 

The term “fossil fuels” refers to a natural fuel formed in the geological past from the remains of living organisms.  They are a finite resource and can come in three main forms: crude oil/petroleum, natural gas, and coal.

Fossil fuels have actually been in known use for well over 6000 years.  Those living along the Euphrates River, such as the ancient Egyptians, were able to collect oil from the ground.  They used it as a medicine and to light their lamps.  Between 6000 and 2000 years ago, the Persians discovered natural gas because of lightning strikes igniting gas seeps.  And over 3000 years ago, the Chinese discovered coal; they used it to smelt their copper.

Historically used as a topical treatment and to waterproof canoes, the demand for oil has increased greatly.  Today, petroleum products heat homes and businesses, fuel land, air, and sea transportation, generate electrical power, and are used to make such products as fabrics, almost all plastics, and many other items.  New refining methods have been developed to extract oil in previously unrecoverable areas.

Coal was once the main source of fuel for heating and powering important aspects in our society like our factories and railroads.  Presently, it is the most used fuel for powering electricity; electric utilities use about 87% of all coal produced. It consists mostly of carbon.  It is recovered from our earth by surface (strip) or deep mining.

Natural gas is described as a vital fuel source.  It is the most popular source for heating and air conditioning such establishments as schools, restaurants, churches, government buildings, and office buildings.  It is also used for glass manufacturing and food processing as well as waste treatment.  Natural gas can be found either mixed in oil or released from coal.

The United States uses over a quarter of the world’s supply of fossil fuels, even as we hold only less than 5% of the world’s population.  90% of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States come from fossil fuel combustion.  Fossil fuels are known to produce air pollutants, including heavy metals, volatile organic compounds and radioactive materials.

Some advantages of fossil fuels include that they are relatively cheap and easily found, technology already exists for their use, they boost a country’s economy, and new methods have allowed for safer extraction.

Some disadvantages of fossil fuels include their becoming more and more expensive to use, their becoming more dangerous to extract, and the pollution already generated.

Some helpful links concerning nonrenewable resources and fossil fuels:

http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-non-renewable-resources.html

http://www.api.org/oil-and-natural-gas-overview/classroom-tools/teaching-tools/facts-fossil-fuels

http://www.globalization101.org/fossil-fuels/

 

How often do you use fossil fuels in your daily life (transportation, heating, products, etc.)?  Can you imagine the time when these finite resources run out?

 

 

Reflections

 

With the course coming to a close, it’s important to take time to reflect upon what has been learned throughout this experience.  My civic issue topic of sustainability and renewable energy possibilities is one which desires urgent attention on our ever-expanding reaches of Earth.  In my perspective, our depleting environment is the most essential concern facing us today, even if its effects are not forthright.  Of course there are other dire problems presented to us today, including social justice issues, violence and war, poverty, etc.  However, in the grand scheme of things, we would have none of that without a sustainable climate.  Without a functioning Earth, there would be no human species, and no other species either, for that matter.  The air we breathe and the water we drink is our foundation for growing cultures and societies.  If the human population chooses to ignore the protection of this Earth, then we shall surely perish far sooner than predicted.

The Earth is 4.6 billion years old.  Life forms are 3.5 billion years old.  Homo sapiens originated 200,000 years ago.  Now think of all of the damage we have caused in the past 200 years to our air, oceans, and other ecosystems.  It’s estimated that the last remaining rainforests will be consumed in less than 40 years; 1.5 acres are lost every second.  Because of humans, so many species go extinct every year — around 10,000 —  that it has been termed the “6th extinction crisis” by scientists.  And billions of pounds of plastic can be found in our oceans — the largest ocean garbage site, the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” lies off the coast of California and is twice the size of Texas.

These facts should alarm any human being, whether you consider yourself eco-friendly or not.

You don’t have to support renewable energy.  You don’t even have to believe in global warming.  I just ask of everyone who reads this to at least have the courtesy to be kind to our Earth.  It is the least you can do in repayment for being able to be alive and to read this post.