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Is nuclear energy a suitable alternative to fossil fuels

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Is nuclear energy a suitable alternative to fossil fuels

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For some, the risks associated with the technology are too high and renewable energy is far safer, and has high potential. For others, nuclear is seen as either an unfortunate reality that will be essential part of the future mix or an area that has further potential. Japan’s nuclear reactors that suffered from the incredibly huge earthquake were the older models. Nuclear experts point out that the newer designs are much more robust.

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Why does global energy issues affect me part 2

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Why does global energy issues affect me part 2

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The World Energy Council projects primary energy demand will triple by 2050, as population grows to 8-9 billion and developing nations elevate living standards. Fossil fuels are nonrenewable and are destined to run out so eventually we will have to change whether we want to or not. The emissions from the burning of fossil and nuclear fuels creates atmospheric, water, and land pollution and toxic waste. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changesays this combustion is causing a discernible change of the global weather and climate patterns that will affect all humanity in decades to come.

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Why does global energy problems effect me?

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Why does global energy problems effect me?

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The use and cost of energy affects each of us every day of our lives. Many issues arise from the use of energy, greenhouse gas emissions, acid rain, climate change, dependency on depleting supplies of fossil fuels, especially from politically unstable regions of the world. Today, 80% of the world's electrical production comes from fossil and nuclear fuels, and virtually all transportation is fueled by liquid petroleum.

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Countries like China and India are major causes of problems, and the latter implies that economic policies, perhaps even fundamental economic ideas may be major problems. Many have calculated that depending on how resources are consumed, the number of peopl;e the planet can sustain varies significantly.

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As China and India also grow rapidly there is a fear that these countries’ demands for energy and resources will very quickly see the world’s natural resources stripped away even more quickly because of their large population sizes. Some are afraid that already we are close to, or are already exceeding, the planet’s ability to replenish itself at a quick enough rate.

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Places like Nigeria, Iraq, Iran, etc. all produce oil but present problems of varying degree for oil consuming nations, as concerns range from stable supply, to stable government. Others, such as Venezuela, threaten to use oil and its related profits to develop their own country and region even more. The more of these fossil fuels we use the more tempted countries might start to do this.

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There are a number of fears about oil and fossil depletion, reliance on foreign sources of energy, geopolitics relating to the stability of a country, needs for poorer countries to more advanced ones, energy efficiency, and renewable energy sources. Energy insecurity combined with other global issues risks fueling conflict, repeating past mistakes in history.

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All the energy the earth has stored and almost all of the energy it receives every day comes from the Sun. About 89,000 terawatts (1 Terawatt is equal to a  quadrillion watts) falls on the Earth, while total usage (in 2004) was only 15 terawatts, of which 87% was provided by fossil fuels.  If we were to get most of our useable energy from the Sun, we would solve many of the most important problems Coming with energy

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What would be the easiest way of fixing the problem

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What would be the easiest way of fixing the problem

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We would have to find a substitute for petroleum fuel that could be used with the same things we use today. It also needs to take no energy to produce, have no toxic residue and have no unexpected consequences that will force us to rebuild our way of living.

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Global warming has become important to the melting of ice, climate change, and rising sea levels.This is now recognized by nearly everyone as caused by greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide, produced by burning fossil fuels such as petroleum, coal, and natural gas. While nuclear power plants are being advocated by some, dealing with spent nuclear fuel is as problematic as greenhouse gases, and energy must be used to produce nuclear fuel.

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Reduce growing energy demand through improved energy efficiency and conservation. The first step to reducing global emissions is to downgrade the growth in energy demand with a goal to eventually setting it on a downward trend. The key for continued economic progress is to learn how to create more wealth with less energy. This has additional benefits in improving energy security, preserving precious natural resources and saving money for businesses and the ordinary consumer..

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How does climate change effect the energy we use?

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How does climate change effect the energy we use?

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For the first time we face an energy crisis not because we might run out of energy, but because we are using it in the wrong way. Up to now the energy industry was judged by two things, its contribution to energy security and the cost of energy delivered to the consumer. To this we must now add a third: its success in reducing the emission of greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere.

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Today, oil and gas reserves are in the hands of a small group of nations, several of which are considered political unstable or have testy relationships with large consuming countries. Eighty per cent of the world’s proven oil reserves are located in just three regions: Africa; Russia and the Caspian Basin; and the Persian Gulf. And more than half of the world’s remaining proven gas reserves exist in just three countries: Russia, Iran, and Qatar.

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We rely on coal, oil and gas (the fossil fuels) for over 80% of our current energy needs – a situation which shows little sign of changing over the medium-term without drastic policy changes. The potential for crisis if we run out of energy is very real but there is still time before that occurs. In the past two decades proven gas reserves have increased by 70% and proven oil reserves by 40%. At expected rates of demand growth we have enough for thirty years supply.

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The petrol refining industry is continually changing federal mandates on fuel composition. Instead of building new facilities, the industry elects to limit its investment to the modification of existing facilities in order to satisfy these mandates, namely, reduction of benzene and aromatics in gasoline, reduction of sulfur in all liquid fuels, and purchase or synthesis of oxygenates.

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Methanol produced from natural gas has been considered either a gasoline substitute or a blending component of gasoline to reduce air pollution. In recent years, oxygenates have been produced as gasoline additives to reduce air pollution in the United States. Methyl ether (MTBE), made by reacting methanol with isobutene, is an example, but now a few states have outlawed the addition of MTBE to gasoline because it causes unpleasant side effects such as headaches, it has found its way into groundwater, and it is a suspected carcinogEn.

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The efficiency of converting the thermal energy in fossil fuelsto  work energy is low for almost all power. To combust the fuel it requires a high temperature, but things like mechanical losses like friction makes it hard to be efficient. New technology using coal in power generation could increase effIciency from 30 to 40%, and advanced combined generation using natural gas could raise it to about 60%.Advanced technologies will be able to moderate the rate off C02 emissions.

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Before 1850, wood was the primary source of energy, followed by coal, oil, natural gas, and nuclear energy. Right now oil provides more than 40% of the total energy consumed in the United States; natural gas and coal provide about 30% and 20% with nuclear and other energy provide the remaining 10%.

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By continuing this trend, however, we might beshortof oil and gas before the 23rd century. Furthermore, industrialization has brought the recognition that the environment is fragile. Concerns about global warming due to excessive carbon dioxide emissions and about the other unhealthy pollutants in air, water, and soil are now subjects of discussion by the World Environmental Organization ( www.world.org), which holds conferences to talk about issues such as global warming.

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The term 'energy crisis' is used quite loosely so it pays to be clear about what's under discussion. Broadly speaking the term poses three distinct questions:

Will we run out of energy?

We rely on coal, oil and gas (the fossil fuels) for over 80% of our current energy needs - a situation which shows little sign of changing over the medium-term without drastic policy changes. On top of this energy demand is expected to grow by almost half over the next two decades. Understandably this is causing some fear that our energy resources are starting to run out, with devastating consequences for the global economy and global quality of life.

The potential for crisis if we run out of energy is very real but there is still time before that occurs. In the past two decades proven gas reserves have increased by 70% and proven oil reserves by 40%. At expected rates of demand growth we have enough for thirty years supply. Moreover, better technology means that new oil and gas fields are being discovered all the time while enhanced recovery techniques are opening up a potentially huge array of unconventional sources, including tar sands, shale gas and ultra-deepwater. Ultimately, the near-unlimited supply potential of renewable energy sources should ensure that the world does not fall short of its energy needs.

How secure is our access to energy?

The security of global energy supplies continues to be problematic. Today, oil and gas reserves are in the hands of a small group of nations, several of which are considered political unstable or have testy relationships with large consuming countries. Eighty per cent of the world's proven oil reserves are located in just three regions: Africa; Russia and the Caspian Basin; and the Persian Gulf. And more than half of the world's remaining proven gas reserves exist in just three countries: Russia, Iran, and Qatar.

Concerns over energy security prompt policymakers to seek independence from foreign sources of energy. In Europe, new coal-fired power stations are back on the political agenda, partly because Russia is no longer seen as a reliable supplier of gas. In the US, home-grown biofuels have been promoted by successive administrations as an alternative to Middle Eastern oil imports, despite being more expensive. These reactions are a natural consequence. The more governments can extract themselves from the dependence on foreign energy resources, the more secure they feel.

How does climate change affect the energy we use?

Emissions of carbon dioxide into the Earth's atmosphere - primarily as a result of burning fossil fuels for energy - are thought to be the cause of rising global temperatures. The scientific evidence to support this assertion has become increasingly compelling in recent years, suggesting a need for urgent and concerted action by all nations to prevent ecological degradation on a massive scale.

For the first time in history we face an energy crisis not because we might run out of energy, but because we are using it in the wrong way. Up to now the energy industry was judged by two metrics: its contribution to energy security and the cost of energy delivered to the consumer. To this we must now add a third: its success in reducing the emission of greenhouse gases, chiefly carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere.

Fortunately, finding solutions to these differing energy crises demands a broadly similar response:

Solution 1

Reduce growing energy demand through improved energy efficiency and conservation.

The first step to reducing global emissions is to arrest the growth in energy demand with an aim to eventually setting it on a downward trend. The key for continued economic progress is to learn how to create more wealth with less energy. This has additional benefits in improving energy security, preserving precious natural resources and saving money for businesses and the ordinary consumer.

However, unlocking the potential savings from improved energy efficiency will be very difficult without government coordination to change consumer behaviour. This will involve stricter product regulations as well as public education programmes to encourage people to think differently about energy. Governments should also address the issue of financing, providing cheap loans to households and small businesses with which they can carry out the necessary improvement works.

Solution 2

Research, develop and deploy a broad range of energy sources, both domestic and international, to work with properly functioning global markets to help meet future energy demands.

We need to look at both the short-term and long-term. In the short-term we can push existing technologies to help reduce carbon emissions. Fortunately we already have many technologies at our disposal: from wind, wave, solar and biomass for heat and power, to liquid biofuels, biogas and electric motors for transport. In the long-term, evolutionary technologies need to be further developed and research into revolutionary ones pursued.

A crucially important technology will be carbon capture and storage (CCS) which allows for the continued use of fossil fuels in the future energy mix. Coal is widely used to generate electricity in many of the world's largest economies (especially the USA, China and India) and without CCS technology there is little chance that their energy demands can be met whilst at the same time reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Solution 3

The so-called 'developed countries' along with large developing countries such as China, India, Russia and Brazil, should agree and adopt a common position on climate change, focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions through an effective cross-border market and technology transfer mechanism.

Put simply, we cannot hope to avoid the dangerous consequences of climate change unless global emissions are halved from current levels by 2050. At current rates of population growth and with current technologies this will be impossible without a global agreement to limit and disperse the negative consequences. Developed countries must shoulder the initial burden with an agreement for immediate emissions cuts. In return, the largest developing countries must agree to cut their own emissions in the future, but only after having achieved some recognisable level of economic development.

All countries must agree to, and participate in, a carbon market framework with the aim of reducing emissions where it is most efficient and least costly. Whatever its design, the carbon market must create and defend a long-term price for carbon which is stable enough for businesses to factor it in to their forward planning. Where the flow of finance through the carbon market is insufficient to make the necessary reductions in emissions, additional funds should be made available. These should be used to allow non-OECD countries to develop alternative energy sources and help their citizens adapt to global warming. The OECD nations should seek to create a $100bn fund for this purpose.

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The Energy Crisis and Climate Change - Global Economic Symposium

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The term 'energy crisis' is used quite loosely so it pays to be clear about what's under discussion. Broadly speaking the term poses three distinct questions: Will we run out of energy? We rely on coal, oil and gas (the fossil fuels) for over 80% of our current energy needs - a situation which shows little sign of changing over the medium-term without drastic policy changes.

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This piece also has a very good list of additional references. It is well written and apparently accurate. However it uses the words "energy" and "power" as synonyms in many instances, much to the discomfort of technically trained persons, such as myself. In this paper, I have used these two terms only in their technical sense.

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Energy security issues cut across a number of global issues, such as environmental issues, geopolitics, development, economics and more.

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general - why do i need to be concerned about global energy problems - faq - frequently asked questions - geni - global energy network institute

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General - Why do I need to be concerned about global energy problems - FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions - GENI - Global Energy Network Institute

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General - Why do I need to be concerned about global energy problems - FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions - GENI - Global Energy Network Institute