GROUP 3 PROJECT II
Fossil Fuels and
Alternatives
Why are fossil fuels used so prevalently, what
effects could radioactive waste have on future
generations, and what factors have impeded
advances in alternative energy technologies?
Sorrell, Andrew
Mehrabi, Leila
Smathers, Susan
10/4/2015
Fossil Fuels and Alternatives 1
Abstract Fossil fuels have driven society to what it has become today. One can ask the question though, why fossil fuels are used so prevalently today and not alternative sources of energy. You can answer this question by looking at the industrial revolution and considering the output versus input of fossil fuels for sources of energy during the revolution and also in today’s society. With the ever growing demand on energy we look for new forms of alternative energy sources and one is nuclear power. However, nuclear power does not come without its risk and the major one being the handling of the waste. Some waste from nuclear power can decay in short amounts of time or span over several decades. With the potential that nuclear power offers us for energy some scientists argue that it is a tradeoff and what might happen to future generations is still unknown. Given the nature of our current energy situation, with an emphasis on fossil fuels, we are facing the necessity for change. Although there have been several alternative energy sources to be researched and implemented on a minor scale in recent years, we still have somewhat of an energy crisis on our hands. Many might wonder why these alternatives haven't become the solution to our problem already. Because there are so many differences between each of these energy sources we must examine each one individually before we can see the impediments that alternative energy sources must overcome as a whole, to create a viable solution for our problem.
Fossil Fuels and Alternatives 2
Fossil Fuels and Alternatives It would be hard to imagine an economically developed society today that was not highly reliant on fossil fuels to support its growth, industry, and citizens. This is no different for the United States, which has become very reliant on fossil fuels for the everyday lives of its people. One could not imagine what our world would be like without those precious resources today. If you are wondering what a fossil fuel is according to Merriam­Webster it is “a fuel (such as coal, oil, or natural gas) that is formed in the earth from dead plants or animals,” (Merriam­Webster, 2015). The true question that can be brought to our attention though, is why fossil fuels are used so prevalently. To answer this question one must consider the information presented by the EESI or Environmental and Energy Study Institute which says “fossil fuels, including coal, oil and natural gas, are currently the world's primary energy source,” (Institute, 2015). In knowing this the question goes back to why are they the most used energy source. To answer this one must look at the beginning of the industrial revolution to understand why there is such a reliance on fossil fuels today. In the beginning of the industrial revolution fossils fuels were the logical choice to help supply the industry needs. They were relatively easy to produce and provided much needed energy at highly efficient levels, which is pretty much the same that you could say about fossil fuels today and thus why we are so reliant on them. Coal helped power our transportation and energy in trains, which during the revolution was the main source of movement of goods and Fossil Fuels and Alternatives 3
people. Also petroleum products provided much needed heat and light for homes and business during the revolution. I have to agree with the statement in the article Close Ties to the Earth which says, “The usage of fossil fuels has been increasing in step with economic growth. Fossil fuels were prerequisites for the birth of a new industrial civilization that transformed our world,” (Global, 2010). In terms with this statement fossil fuels led to the industrial revolution and have helped create the society we know today. Humans are creatures of habit and when it comes to fossil fuels we are no different, which makes us very reluctant to switch to alternative forms of energy and rely heavily upon fossil fuels. If we go back to answer the question that was first presented about fossil fuels being so prevalently used one can answer this question very simply. We use fossil fuels heavily because of the industrial revolution and how they have advanced society to what it is today. Fossil fuels provide a reliable form of energy that is highly effective and with low cost to produce. Humans are creatures of habit and we know that fossil fuels work and are reluctant to commit to alternative energy sources, which sometimes are more expensive or have not been proven to work as fossil fuels have. Radioactive Waste and Our Future Radioactive waste management is one of the most important challenges in nuclear power ​
industry. In fact, there are still many technological problems and moral concerns related to the effect of these wastes on environment and human life especially in long term future, which need to be remedied. Some scientists believe that as long as these concerns are not addressed Fossil Fuels and Alternatives 4
completely and all nuclear power provision and disposal methods are not discussed from a moral perspective, nuclear industry shouldn’t continue its operation. According to Taebi (2011), discussions on nuclear power usually end up in a yes/no dichotomy. Meanwhile the production of nuclear power is rapidly growing. Before we can reflect on the desirability of nuclear power, we should first distinguish between its production methods and their divergent ethical issues. We must then clearly state, if we want to continue on the nuclear path, which technology we deem desirable from a moral perspective. Then we can compare nuclear with other energy systems. The state of the art in nuclear technology provides us with many more complicated moral dilemmas than people sometimes think. (para.4) On the other hand, some scientists argue that using nuclear industry should be considered as a trade­off risk management approach and although some long­term effects of high­level radioactive wastes to the environment and future generation is not still known, we shouldn’t stop using nuclear industry if we can make sure that it is an economically valuable activity. According to Peterson and Kastenberg and Corradini (2006), although it is difficult to argue against any effort to protect public safety, risk management will be most effective when each risk is evaluated in the context of other risks and balanced against the benefits produced by the regulated activity. Applying extremely stringent standards to one type of risk while other risks are regulated at a lower standard does not improve overall public safety. Similarly, foregoing a socially and economically valuable activity in order to limit Fossil Fuels and Alternatives 5
relatively small future risk is not a sensible tradeoff. Therefore, developing an effective risk policy for nuclear power and radioactive waste requires looking at how the government regulates all hazardous waste and at the relative health and environmental effects of nuclear power as compared with those of other energy sources. (para.1) Although some people argue that there is not an effective waste management system in nuclear industry but the industry has developed the required technology to dispose most of nuclear wastes. Most of the radioactive wastes provided by nuclear industry decay over a period of time from minutes to several decades. But a small portion of them remain radioactive for longer periods. Some effective disposal methods have been used in many countries for low level and intermediate level radioactive wastes. A high­level radioactive waste which covers almost 5% of all radioactive wastes is still managed in temporary facilities. These facilities also make the heat and radioactivity of the wastes decay prior to long­term geological disposal. (World Nuclear Association, 2012) Another important point to be considered is that using traditional energy resources like fossil fuels cause many long­term effects like global warming to future generation but these harmful effects never prevented us from using these resources. Compared to nuclear industry, fossil fuels reserves are very limited around the world and they are not renewable. So if we continue to use them without thinking to alternative energy resources, we are actually putting the burden of responsibility of finding alternative energy resources to the future generation shoulders. Fossil Fuels and Alternatives 6
In conclusion, it is vital to consider all the possible benefits and damages of nuclear industry when discussing about the long­term risks of radioactive wastes on future generations. World Nuclear Association (2012) argues that using nuclear energy is much more effective and harmless in comparison to fossil fuels, With the availability of technologies and the continued progress being made to develop publicly acceptable sites, it is logical that construction of new nuclear facilities can continue. Nuclear energy has distinct environmental advantages over fossil fuels. As well as containing and managing virtually all its wastes, nuclear power stations do not cause any pollution. The fuel for nuclear power is virtually unlimited, considering both geological and technological aspects. There is plenty of uranium in the Earth's crust and furthermore, well­proven (but not yet fully economic) technology means that we can extract about 60 times as much energy from it as we do today. The safety record of nuclear energy is better than for any major industrial technology. All these benefits should be taken into account when considering the construction of new facilities. (Section 1, para.6) What Factors Have Impeded the Advances in Alternative Energy Technologies? In recent years we have had to deal with gas prices and other energy prices thus making it more evident that something must be done. What most people don't realize is that we have been projected to have enough fossil fuels to last us for at least another century. This in itself may be part of the resistance of putting more time and effort into finding an alternative fuel. One of the most researched and implemented alternative forms of energy would be solar energy. The biggest impediment with this type of energy is the initial cost of installing solar Fossil Fuels and Alternatives 7
panels. Although subsidy programs, tax initiatives, and rebate incentives are given by the government to promote the use of solar panels we are still way behind in making full and efficient use of solar energy. The cost of your initial investment is so high it would take approximately ten to fifteen years before you could break even. The location and availability of sunlight also poses a problem when considering solar energy. There are also weather factors that come into play when considering the places that could best utilize this energy. Areas that are prone to fog or are consistently cloudy wouldn't be able to produce an acceptable rate of energy and would require more panels, which means even more money. Even in places that would be considered prime for solar energy, it is still an inefficient practice, because the solar panels that are available to us at this point in time don't convert all of the light energy collected into energy. As of right now solar panels have a forty percent efficiency rate, meaning sixty percent is wasted. Wind power could possibly be considered the cleanest source of energy, but has other impediments from making it a more used alternative. The most critical problem associated with wind power is that the wind can never really be predicted. There are also too many areas where the wind strength is just too low to support the installation of a wind turbine. These turbines are best suited for coastal regions where the wind is consistent throughout the year. As far as the general public is concerned noise disturbances associated with wind turbines cause a big problem. One problem that is mostly speculated is the effects of wind power on wildlife. With this being said it still isn't unheard of that a bird or a bat would fly into the path of a moving turbine. Being dug so deep into the earth, wind turbines are also speculated to cause harm to Fossil Fuels and Alternatives 8
underground habitats. The visual impact may also serve as part of the impediment regarding wind energy. Biomass is yet another alternative form of energy that we could potentially utilize. Inefficiency is the biggest impediment in this situation. In recent years we have become more familiar with biodiesel. Although biodiesel is a great step in the right direction it must be mixed with a certain percentage of gasoline to work properly. For that reason it is nowhere near as efficient as fossil fuels. Using trees and tree products are inefficient, because it takes so much more fuel to do the same job than when using conventional fuels. In the use of biomass we do have a lot less concern about the emittance of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Instead of carbon dioxide being the terrible by­product we have to worry about methane being released. It could therefore not be a viable replacement in saving the ozone layer, because methane also does damage. Hydro­power is an energy source that some of us may be more familiar with. Surprisingly, the building of dams to facilitate water power can also cause problems to the environment with the emission of methane and carbon dioxide. When first implemented especially, there will be a release of these chemicals from the reservoir caused by the rotting and decomposing plant matter within, because of the lack of oxygen. The disturbance of life is a important problem to consider when installing a dam. A plant or animal's natural habitat could be destroyed by the flooding to create the dam. When the water goes through the dam nitrogen is added to the water killing fish. The effective cost may be zero but the time and man power required to build the dam is great. (Disadvantages of Hydro­Power) Fossil Fuels and Alternatives 9
As a whole the impediments of alternative energy sources can be categorized into four sectors. These sectors include: 1) Commercialization barriers faced by new technologies competed with mature technologies, 2) Price distortions from existing subsidies and unequal tax burdens between renewables and other energy sources, 3) Failure of the market to value the public benefits of renewables, and 4) Market barriers such as inadequate information, lack of access to capital, and high transaction cost for making small purchases. When we look at all of the aforementioned energy sources we can see how these four factors are apparent.. Fossil Fuels and Alternatives 10
Works Cited
Global, M. (2010, March). ​
Why did fossil fuels become so popular?​
Retrieved from Close Ties to the
Earth: https://www.mhi-global.com/discover/earth/issue/history/history.html
Institute, E. E. (2015). ​
Fossil Fuels​
. Retrieved from EESI:
http://www.eesi.org/topics/fossil-fuels/description
Merriam-Webster. (2015). ​
Merraim-Webster​
. Retrieved from Fossil Fuels:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fossil%20fuel
Taebi, B. (2011). The Morally Desirable Option for Nuclear Power Production. Philosophy & Technology. Springer journal of Epistemology & Philosophy of Science. Derived from http://www.springer.com/philosophy/epistemology+and+philosophy+of+science/journal/13347?
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Peterson, F., Kastenberg, E., Corradini, M. (2006). Energy Conundrums: Nuclear Waste and the Distant Future. Issues in Science and Technology, Volume XXII, Issue 4. Derived from http://issues.org/22­4/peterson/ World Nuclear Association. (2012). Radioactive Wastes ­ Myths and Realities. Derived from http://www.world­nuclear.org/info/Nuclear­Fuel­Cycle/Nuclear­Wastes/Radioactive­Wastes­­­M
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