Chapter 3 Environment, energy and resource use, development and industrialization

Environment

External conditions or surroundings, especially those in which people live or work

The physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism (biophysical, water, land, forests, etc.)

The culture that an individual lives in, and the people and institutions with whom they interact (social)

Constructed surroundings that provide the setting for human activity (built environment)

Pollution, the generation of wastes and the depletion of natural resources leads to local as well as global environmental problems including:

• Health & safety issues • Global warming (the “greenhouse effect”)• Ozone depletion• Acid rain• Deforestation

Why Does The Environment Need Protecting?

Ecosystem services

Energy

• A source of power, e.g., gasoline, fuel-wood• Nonrenewable energy, e.g., coal, oil• Renewable energy, e. g, wind, solar, biomass, hydropower• Energy is at the heart of most critical economic,

environmental and developmental issues• Clean, efficient, affordable and reliable energy services are

indispensable• It is central to the issues of development, global security,

environmental protection

What is energy?

• The capacity to do work and transfer heat. • an object or substance is moved over some distance.

• Needed to carry out processes.

• The heat that flows from a hot object or substance to a cold one, when they come in contact.

• Energy forms - light, heat, electricity, chemical energy (stored in chemical bonds) and mechanical energy (moving matter, such as flowing water).

Energy Transformations

Oil +

Chemical Energy

Kinetic Energy

Chemical to Electrical Energy

Chemical to Electricity

Sound andLight

Chemical energy to Work

• Total energy consumption, world-wide, from all sources, will grow by 60% between 1997 and 2020.

• Consumption is expected to increase fro 111,000 TWh/year to 178,000 TWh/year.

1 terawatt = 1000 gigawatt1 terawatt = 1000000 megawatt1 megawatt = 1000 kilowatt

Energy Sources

Fossil Fuels

• Coal, Oil and Gas are called "fossil fuels" because they have been formed from the fossilized remains of prehistoric plants and animals.

• They provide around 66% of the world's electrical power, and 95% of the world's total energy demands.

How Fossil Fuels Work

• Coal is crushed to a fine dust and burnt.• Oil and gas can be burnt directly.

Burn fuel> heat water to make steam> steam turns turbine>turbine turns generator>electrical power sent around the country

• Coal provides around 28% of our energy, and oil provides 40%.

• Crude oil (called "petroleum") is easier to get out of the ground than coal, as it can flow along pipes.

• Makes it cheaper to transport.

Energy Source-FuelsClassification

Non renewable (limited in quantity or depleting)

Fossil FuelsCoal

Natural Gas PetroleumOil Shale Tar Sands

Nuclear Fission

Renewable (unlimited by rate of use or non-depleting)

SolarHydroWindTidalBiomassNuclear Fusion

Energy Problems

The Environmental Dimension Transport- oil spills Use -Greenhouse gas effects, from carbon dioxide produced

in the burning of fuels has effect on climate changeDisposal- fuel rods used in nuclear plants disposed of as

radioactive wastes [high exposure to humans can cause birth defects, cancer, death]

Sources of Energy

CoalUses: electricity, heating, cooking, industryAdvantages: abundant, cheapEnvironmental impacts: Air pollution

SO2, NOx,CO2 emissions

Most carbon intensive fuelHigh percentage of global CO2

emissionsMining impacts

SafetyHealth – water around the minesDisposal of by products

Coal Reserves i n the Worl d

USA24%

Russi a22%

Pol and4% Others

7%

I ndi a6%

SouthAf r i ca

5%

Canada2%

Germany7%

Aust ral i a8%

Chi na15%

Natural Gas

Cleanest burning of all fossil fuelsMost efficientEnvironmental Impacts of Natural Gas- Pipeline construction and leaks- Emissions of greenhouse gas

- Flares

Gas reserves in the World

Iran14%

Ni geri a2%

Al geri a3%

Indonesi a2%

Iraq2%

Qatar4%

Canada2%

Venezuel a3%

Saudi Arabi a4%

USA4%

UAE4%

Former USSR38%

Austral i a2%

Others16%

Nuclear PowerAbout 5% global energy consumptionProblems in its development

- Decline in public acceptance- High cost

Environmental impacts of Nuclear EnergyDoes not emit NOx, SO2, CO2

Accidents:-Three Mile Island plant, PA (1979)- Chernobyl (1989)

Nuclear Waste

Oil

Environmental Impacts of oil• Gas flaring• Pipeline leaks• CO2 emissions• Air pollution: SO2, NOx, O3

Oi l Reserves i n the Worl d

I raq12%UAE

11%Kuwai t

11%

Venezuel a7%

Mexi co6%

Li bya2%

I ran10%

Former USSR7%

Chi na2%USA

3% SaudiArabi a

29%

Renewable Energy

Wind- Fastest growing world’s renewable energy resource- A wind turbine - can use the wind's energy to generate

electricity.

Issues and Impacts in Wind power- No air emissions- Impact on birds: mountain ridges- Cost competitive

Biofuels: Ethanol and Biodiesel

• Small-scale power and heat production from agricultural waste is common, for example from rice or coconut husks.

• The use of bagasse (sugar cane after juice extraction) in countries with large sugar industry

• Corn

Solar Energy• Some technologies: – Photovoltaic Systems • Producing electricity directly from sunlight.

– Solar Hot Water • Heating water with solar energy.

– Solar Electricity • Using the sun's heat to produce electricity.

– Passive Solar Heating and Day lighting • Using solar energy to heat and light buildings.

– Solar Process Space Heating and Cooling • Industrial and commercial uses of the sun's

heat.

Geothermal Energy

• Heat from the Earth. • Shallow ground to hot water and hot rock found a few miles

beneath the Earth's surface.• Deeper to the extremely high temperatures of molten rock -

magma.

Ocean Energy

• Two types of energy: thermal energy from the sun's heat, and mechanical energy from the tides and waves.

• The sun's heat warms the surface water a lot more than the deep ocean water, and this temperature difference creates thermal energy.

Electricity from tides and waves

• High as well as low tides, water flows in and out of coasts and estuaries.

• Water can spin turbines, in order to produce electricity.

• Can only make a tiny contribution to the world's energy supply, because of the few suitable sites, the high construction costs and the risk of equipment destruction by saltwater corrosion.

• France and Canada own the largest tidal energy facilities right now.

Hydrogen & Fuel Cells

• An atom of hydrogen consists of only one proton and one electron. Combined with other elements, e.g. water, combination of hydrogen and oxygen (H2O).

• A fuel cell combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, heat, and water.

Hydropower

• Flowing water creates energy, captured and turned into electricity - hydroelectric power or hydropower.

• The most common type of hydroelectric power plant uses a dam on a river to store water in a reservoir.

• Water released from the reservoir flows through a turbine, spinning it, which in turn activates a generator to produce electricity.

The energy challenge

• Increase in energy consumption, with the risk of a major environmental impact, and climate change, as a result of the combustion of fossil fuels.

• The right for development is a basic human right, and there is no possible development without energy supply.

• For environmental reasons, the first priority should be the development of all the technically, economically and environmentally feasible potential from clean, renewable energy sources, such as hydropower.

Source: UNSG Advisory Group ECC, 2010

Challenges to Expanding Energy Access and Protecting the Environment

Sector Challenge Descriptions

Energy Access Poverty and subsistence needs

Fuel-wood collection and charcoal production for cooking and heating place stress on forests and mangrove habitats

Policy fragmentation More than a dozen government agencies

Environmental conservation

Poverty and subsistence needs

Logging and growth in demand in forest products have stressed forest management schemes

Policy fragmentation A number of government agencies and non-state actors

Environmental Issues

• Energy and Environment– Greenhouse effect and global warming– Ozone Layer Destruction– Acid Rain Formation– Radiation and Health

Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution

The problem of energy:• The search for a solution to the energy problem was a

major cause of industrialization.• From prehistoric to medieval times the major energy

sources were plants and animals, and human beings and animals did most of the work.

• Energy from the land was limited.– By the eighteenth century, Britain's major source of

fuel, wood, was nearly gone.– Wood was crucial as a source of heat and as a source of

charcoal for the production of iron.– A new source of power and energy was needed, so

people turned to coal.

Positive Effects of Industrialization and Urbanization

• New Technologies• Subways, elevated trains, streetcars provided mass transportation• Steel girders and elevators made possible high rise skyscrapers• Gas and electric lights brightened city streets and made them

safer• Growing health problems forced officials to design and build new

water and sewage systems• Healthcare overall improved

Impacts of Industrialization on the Quality of the Environment

1. Industrialization greatly alter the natural environment, i.e. lithosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere, of urban area.

2. Impacts on the lithosphere:• Modification of relief and geomorphology:

• Coastal water - reclamation work straightens the coastline and increases lowland.

• Landforms - mining pits and waste heaps; increase slope instability and failure.

• Ground subsidence.

• Soil:Soil erosion and depletion of soil fertility.Soil contamination.

Earth

.

Atmosphere (Air)

Hydrosphere(water)

Biosphere (living things)

Source of natural resources (input for consumption and

production processes)

Receiver and absorber for the waste produced by production

and consumption activities

Lithosphere(land)

2. Impacts on the biosphere: a. Vegetation cover:

- Destruction of natural vegetation cover, replacing it with exotic species. b. Disturbances to the local wildlife and endanger their survival. c. Disturbance to the ecosystem.3. Impacts on the hydrosphere: a. Modifying the hydrographs:

i. Increase flood discharge and peak ii. Shorten lag time for rising limb and falling limb

b. Increase flooding in low lying areas. c. Deteriorate water quality.4. Impacts on the atmosphere: a. Alter the composition of the atmosphere: more pollutants, less oxygen. b. Produce urban climate.

Activities of concern

Land/area development - agriculture - housing - road / highway construction Urbanization (the process by which large numbers of people become

permanently concentrated in relatively small areas forming city)

Activities of concern

• Industrialization

• Oil & gas exploration • Logging

• Transportation