Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Energy crisis
Alternative source of energy
Energy crises in world essay
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Energy crisis
Humans use more and more energy each year and currently Australia depends heavily on coal, a finite resource. The energy crisis is a big concern for the world as countries begin to research alternative and new energy sources. Development of an energy source that is abundant and environmentalists friendly is essential for economic development and sustainability. The recent research into the use of methane from methane clathrates highlights this as a potential future energy source around the world. However, our group strongly suggests that Australia does not investigate methane clathrate as a source of energy in Australia due to its extensive disadvantages. Methane clathrates are expected to be vital in filling the ever-growing energy needs
For instance The Gorgon Project in Australia shows how energy development and the environment coexist. The project involves development of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) and domestic gas. Barrow Island is a class “A” nature reserve and Chevron has been operating there for more than 45 years while reducing their footprint. Natural gas is the cleanest burning fossil fuel and the plant is equipped wit...
Our energy needs have significantly changed since the first Industrial Revolution that took place in the period from about 1760 to sometime between 1820 and 1840. Before this time period, our energy needs were modest. For heat, people relied on the energy of the sun, but when it failed them, they burned wood, straw and dried dung. For transportation horses and the power of the wind was used in sails. For agricultural work animals were used to do the jobs that could not be done with man labor. By harnessing the power of steam and wind simple machines could be run to grind our grain and pump our water. The Second Industrial Revolution, also called the Technological Revolution is considered to have begun around the time of the introduction of the Bessemer steel in the 1860s. This technological Revolution is considered as the second phase of the Industrial Revolution that resulted in factory electrification, mass production, the creation of production lines and the development of machine tools. With the appearance of the low cost automobile and the wide spread of electricity our society's energy needs have changed forever. Since the modest beginning of the oil industry in the mid 19th century, petroleum has risen to global dominance leading to mass consumption as the primary fuel to generate electricity, heat, to power our homes, cars and to support economic growth. Unfortunately, as a consequence of industrialization, atmospheric CO2 levels started to rise in proportion to the usage of fossil fuels. This trend raises some concerns about the well being of our environment, and researchers around the world started to look for alternative, cle...
producer of methane gas is the world), as well as the huge amount of land used to
When the problems with gasoline use are considered, the catastrophic environmental effects are the primary concern. Automobile use consumes 70 percent of the United States oil supply and is responsible for one-third of the nation’s carbon emissions (Lovins 173). This results in pollution, global warming, and health problems for the people, plants, and animals. The search for alternative fuel is powered by the increasingly evident environmental problems and long-term health of the planet (Povey 17). Fortunately, reducing emissions globally is predicted to have a positive effect and offset previous harms (Backer).
in two ways. Firstly, it absorbs infrared radiation well, making it twenty times more effective at
Renewable energy is an energy obtained from the natural resources such as from sunlight, wind, rain, tides and geothermal heat. Australia has extensive energy resources which include both renewable and non-renewable sources. (Pam Pham, 2015) Additionally, there are varieties of renewable energy technologies use in Australia which provided substantial benefits for climate and health to the environment they are bioenergy, geothermal energy, solar energy, wind energy and so on. Whereas, fossil fuel resources such as black and brown coal which has a huge impact on global warming and environmental pollution. Generally, the energy produces in Australia are usually for own use and to export for consumption in overseas. The primary energy production
Gasoline has gone through many changes in the last couple of decades, both for efficiency and for environmental considerations. During the early 20th Century, the oil companies were producing gasoline as a simple distillate from petroleum, but the automotive engine was rapidly being improved and required a suitable fuel. Engines were modified to run on kerosene, however kerosene-fueled engines would "knock" and crack the cylinder head and pistons. This then led to the long search for antiknock agents, culminating in tetra ethyl lead. Typical mid-1920's gasoline was 40-60 octane. The 1950s saw the start of the increase of the compression ratio, requiring higher octane fuels. Octane ratings, lead levels, and vapor pressure increased, whereas sulfur content decreased. Minor improvements were made to gasoline formulations to improve yields and octane until the 1970s -- when unleaded fuels were introduced to protect the exhaust catalysts that were also being introduced for environmental reasons. From 1970 until 1990, gasoline was slowly changed as lead was phased out, lead levels plummeted, and octane initially decreased. With the passage of the US Clean Air Act of 1990, significant compositional changes in gasoline began to be forced on the industry to minimize this major pollution source, and these comprehensive changes are expected to continue well into the 21st Century.
Over the last two centuries, humanity has become increasingly reliant on fossil fuels. Over that time, the consequences of constantly burning fossil fuels have accumulated into a threat to industrialized cities. The burning of fossil fuels causes acid rain to shower on cities and ecosystems around the world, tormenting their inhabitants. The increasingly deadly pollution caused by the burning of fossil fuels has caused the deaths of many people around the world by causing respiratory problems. Not only has the pollution worsened, but the supply of fossil fuels is not limitless – as humanity’s reliance increases the supply decreases, and that is all the more reason to break humanity’s reliance on fossil fuels. Fossil fuels should be replaced with cleaner alternatives because fossil fuels cause environmental hazards, are non-renewable, and are detrimental to human health.
The emission of green house gasses due to human activity contributes the most in increasing global warming. Today, fossil fuels are used as a source of energy for transportation, electricity, industrial process and to increase human comfort in this era. Over the last decade humans have created mass amount of industries. These industries have been burning fossil fuels such as coal, which release carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide; carbon dioxide absorbs heat that raises the temperature of the earth. More than 80% of carbon dioxide comes from tr...
...ch is used to replace natural gas. He also stated that, among the equipment used to burn the biofuel, the suspension burner have the ability to exceed 99% efficiency and whole-tree burner can reduce the cost of harvesting and handling woody fuels by about 35% (Brown, 2003). Moreover, the usage of bio-energy in long term is to provide a degree of ecological balance and climate change, avoid acid rain, reduce soil erosion and minimize water pollution (Gevorkian, 2007). Therefore, biomass is environmental friendly like solar energy. Based on the research that has been carried out regarding the synthesis of gas from biomass, the gas gasifies in the internal combustion engine. The relative energy density of synthesis gas is higher than the fossil fuel under certain conditions. In addition, the relative flame speed of synthesis gas can reduce the time for spark ignition.
Pearce, Fred. “Methane: The Hidden Greenhouse Gas.” New Scientist. 6 May. 1989. Web. 27 March 2010.
Methane is a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide (15), as its four hydrogen bonds absorb more infrared radiation than carbon dioxide, thus having a greater and instantaneous contribution to the enhanced greenhouse effect. However, methane has an atmospheric life of approximately 12 years (15), compared to a much longer duration for carbon dioxide. Methane’s shorter life is defined by its ability to react with hydroxyl radicals (15) in the atmosphere, in turn being converted into water and carbon dioxide (FIGURE 1). Methane gas is also able to react with halogens in the atmosphere, via a process known as free radical halogenation, where ultraviolet light breaks the bonds in diatomic halogens, thus attracting the hydrogen atoms
Hydrocarbons are compounds formed by carbon and hydrogen atoms. They are used as fuels to produce energy in incomplete and complete combustion reactions. Incomplete combustion occurs when hydrocarbons react with a small amount of oxygen (O2), whilst complete combustion occurs when hydrocarbons react with large amounts of oxygen. Incomplete combustions produce water (H2O), carbon monoxide (CO) and/or soot (C). The CO and soot produced from incomplete combustion can have harmful consequences on humans and the environment. They not only damage human health, but also contribute to the current issue of global warming, ozone formation, and black carbon footprint. That being said, CO is vital to the human body in order to properly function.
Carbon Dioxide is a colorless, odorless gas that occurs in small quantities in the earth's atmosphere naturally. The earth's ocean, soil, plants and animals release CO2. The formula of Carbon Dioxide is CO2. The CO2 molecule contains 2 oxygen atoms that each share 2 electrons with a carbon atom to form 2 carbon - oxygen double bonds. The atoms are arranged as so (OHT). This is called a 'linear molecule'.
Over the past decades, geologists and scientists alike have determined that the Earth is running out of non-renewable resources, particularly those resources that provide us with energy that fuels our world’s economies, jobs, and most importantly our daily lives. Without this energy, whole countries can collapse, and the human race would struggle to survive. Therefore, it is safe to assume that we as a nation are entirely dependent on energy, or the ability to do work (Gale Science in Context). Consequently, we are now actively searching for more cost efficient and useful forms of energy to replace those we currently use. By doing this we will be helping the earth by reducing carbon emissions and cutting down on air and water pollutants. This may ultimately prolong the life of our planet, and save money and resources while doing so.