EM-Energy and the environment, page no 27-28
An energy resource is something that can produce heat, power life, move objects, or produce electricity.
Types of energy resources:
Non-renewable: These resources when used can not be used again. Examples: coal, oil and natural gas.
The advantages:
• Plentiful supply in some locations.
• Extracting provides jobs.
• Existing technology: the fuel is available for most countries to use.
The disadvantages:
• Carbon dioxide and toxic gases when burnt[impacting on climate change].
• Extraction causes damage to local area.
• Limited supply: prices will rise as the supplies get smaller.
Renewable: These resources when used can be used again and again. Examples: biofuels, bioethanol and wood.
The advantages:
• A renewable source: bioethanol and wood are both obtained from the recycling of waste products.
• Growing more plants uses carbon dioxide.
• Potentially a plentiful supply.
The disadvantages:
• Carbon dioxide and other toxic gases produced when burnt.
• A lot of land is needed to grow crops for fuel.
• Potential removal of natural ecosystems to grow fuel crops.
How energy sources are used: Heating and cooling our homes, lighting office buildings, driving cars and moving freight, and manufacturing the products we rely on in our daily lives. They are used in electromagnetic induction,[A process used for generating electricity that uses the movement of a metal coil and a magnet] generator and turbine. The other energy sources used in wind turbine are solar, tidal and wave power.
THE END