ENVIRONMENTAL

GEOLOGY
ENERGY & THE ENVIRONEMENT
The concept of energy has been given great importance
to help us describe how and why things behave the way
they do. is a quantity that is often understood
as the ability a physical system has to do work on other
physical systems.

• Since work is defined as a force acting through a

distance (a length of space), energy is always
equivalent to the ability to exert pulls or pushes
against the basic forces of nature, along a path of a
certain length.

• Energy has a number of different forms, all of which

measure the ability of an object or system to do work
on another object or system. In other words, there
are different ways that an object or a system can
possess energy.
Here are the different basic forms:
Consider a baseball flying
through the air. The ball is said to have "kinetic
energy" by virtue of the fact that it is in motion
relative to the ground.

Consider a book sitting on a

table. The book is said to have "potential
energy" because if it is nudged off, gravity will
accelerate the book, giving the book kinetic
energy.

Consider a hot cup

of coffee. The coffee is said to possess "thermal
energy", or "heat energy" which is really the
collective, microscopic, kinetic and potential
energy of the molecules in the coffee (the
molecules have kinetic energy because they are
moving and vibrating, and they have potential
energy due their mutual attraction for one
another - much the same way that the book
and the Earth have potential energy because
they
 Consider the ability of your body to do
work. The glucose (blood sugar) in your body is said to have
"chemical energy" because the glucose releases energy when
chemically reacted (combusted) with oxygen.

All matter is made up of atoms, and atoms

are made up of smaller particles, called protons (which have
positive charge), neutrons (which have neutral charge), and
electrons (which are negatively charged).

Sound waves are

associated with compression
the potentialwaves
and
molecules. kinetic energy of air A nice
"shimmering air". way to think of
sound waves is
Theas
Sun, nuclear reactors, and the interior of
the Earth, all have "nuclear reactions" as the source of their
energy, that is, reactions that involve changes in the structure
of the nuclei of atoms.

The energy of electromagnetic waves.

Radiant energy may be visible or invisible to the human eye.
Radio waves, television waves, and microwaves are all types of
electromagnetic waves. They differ from each other in
wavelength. Wavelength is the distance between one wave
crest to the next.
Mechanical Energy Elastic Energy
The sum of kinetic energy and potential The energy stored as a result of applied
energy force to deform an object. It is a form
of Potential Energy.
Renewable
Energy Sources
• Renewable Energy is a different types of
energy that are obtained naturally from
the environment. Renewable sources of
energy are the ones which can be
generated continuously in nature and
are inexhaustible.

• Renewable energy resources offer

cleaner alternatives to fossil fuels. They
are not completely problem-free, but
they produce much less pollution and
fewer greenhouse gases, and by
definition, will not run out. These are
the top 10 energy sources:
Solar Energy
• Solar energy is the most abundant energy
resource on Earth. It comes from the sun
and can be captured with various
technologies, primarily solar panels. The
sun offers an ideal energy source, unlimited
in supply, expensive, which does not add to
the earth’s total heat burden and does not
produce air and water pollutants.

• This type of energy source is an important

part of our clean energy in the future. It
can be captured and used in several ways,
and as a renewable energy source, is an
important part of our clean energy future.
Solar installations in recent years have also
largely begun to expand into residential
areas with government offering incentive
programs to make “green” energy a more
economically viable option.
Wind Energy

• Wind energy is a conversion of wind

energy by wind turbines into a useful
form, such as electricity or mechanical
energy. Historically, the energy of the
wind has been used for centuries to sail
ships and drive windmills that grind
grains.

• Today, wind energy is captured by wind

turbines which is used to generate
electricity.
Hydro Electricity
• Water is a renewable resource, constantly
recharged through evaporation and precipitation.
Hydroelectricity is one of the most widely form of
renewable energy.

• The powerful force of water downstream is the

key point in hydroelectricity generation.

• Flowing water can be used to power water wheels

that drive mechanical processes. And captured by
turbines and generators, like those housed at
many dams around the world, the energy of
flowing water can be used to generate electricity.

• Tiny turbines can even be used to power single

homes.

• The rise of hydro power sites causes loss of

biodiversity of fish and aquatic animals as well as
displaces local people which creates problems of
rehabilitation.
Geothermal Energy
• Geothermal energy is the heat inside the
Earth which produces steam and hot water
that can be used to power generators and
produce electricity.

• The heat produced is clean and sustainable.

Geothermal energy resource came from the
shallow ground to hot water and hot rock
found a few miles beneath the Earth’s
surface and down even deeper to the
extremely high temperatures of molten rock
called magma.

• The steam or hot water comes out of the

cracks in the Earth and when it doesn’t find
any way to come out, holes are drilled with
pipes in it to gush the hot water out due to
high pressure which turn the turbines of a
generator to produce electricity.
Tidal Energy
• Tidal energy is not a very popular energy source, but
has immense potential of becoming one in the
near future. This type of energy has been
described as the energy from ocean waves and tides.

• Tidal energy can be generated in two ways, tidal

stream generators or by barrage generation.

• The power created through tidal generators is generally

environmental friendly and causes less impact
established ecosystems. It on is similar
energy. to
the wind
• Tidal energy is the only form of energy that derives
directly from the motions of the Earth-Moon
system. The tidal forces produced by the
Moon-Sun in combination with Earth’s rotation
are responsible for the tides.

• Using current technologies, most ocean energy is not

cost-effective compared to other renewable
energy sources, but the ocean remains an important
potential energy source for the future.
Nuclear Energy

• Proponents of nuclear energy contend

that nuclear power is a sustainable
energy source that reduces carbon
emissions and increases energy
security by decreasing dependence on
foreign oil.

• Nuclear fission is used to extract

energy from atomic nuclei via
controlled nuclear reactions.

• Utility scale reactors are used to

produce steam which is then converted
into mechanical work for the purpose of
generating electricity or propulsion.
Radiant Energy

• Radiant energy is the energy of

electromagnetic waves. It is a form of
energy that can travel through space.
99% of the cost of normal electricity
can be saved by the use of radiant
energy. via radiation.

• The sun's heat is not transmitted

through any solid medium, but through
a vacuum. This is possible by
electromagnetic waves.
 Biomass
• Biomass or bio-energy, the energy from organic matter for
thousands of years, ever since people started burning wood
to cook food.

• Wood is still our largest biomass energy resource even today.

Other sources of biomass can be used including plants,
residues from agriculture or forestry and the organic
components.

• Plants and animal matters are used for production of fibers

chemicals or heat.

• The net emission of carbon dioxide will be zero as long as plants

continue to be replenished for biomass energy purposes.

• Burning of plant or animal matters causes’ air and water

pollution.The burning of dung destroys essential nitrogen
and phosphorus.

• Therefore, it is more useful to convert the biomass into biogas

or bio fuels.
Biogas

• Biogas is a mixture of methane, carbon

dioxide, hydrogen and hydrogen sulphite, the
major constituents being methane.

• Biogas is produced by anaerobic degradation of

animal and plant wastes in the presence of
water. Anaerobic degradation is to break down
the organic matter by bacteria in the absence
of oxygen. It is a non-polluting, clean and low
cost fuel which is very useful for rural areas.

• Biogas plants used in our country are of two

types; fixed dome biogas plant and floating
drum biogas plant.
 Advantages of Renewable Energy
1. Eco-friendly
This type of energy is a clean source of energy which means it has low or zero carbon. Fossil fuel emits
high level of sulfur to the atmosphere leading to the formation of the acid rain. While solar and wind
powered energy emit zero toxic gases to the environment.
2. Renewable
This type of energy can be present over a lifetime. Which means that there is a zero possibility that
they will run out.
3. Reliable source of energy
Renewable energy is a reliable source of energy. Although most argue that solar and wind energy are
unreliable, a solid infrastructures puts this argument to rest.
4. Job creation
Because it is a cheaper alternative to most traditional sources of energy.
5. Has stabilized global energy prices Stability of energy prices across the globe.
This is because the cost of renewable energy depends on the initial cost of installation of renewable
energy technologies as opposed to fossil fuels, which increase and decrease depending on the current
inflation and availability of the resource.
6. Less maintenance facilities
There is a low to zero maintenance required because owners will reap big profits due to cheap
electricity to population.
7. Boosts public health
Greenhouse, carbon and sulfur compounds emitted by fossils fuels are risky to our health if inhaled
over time. This is reason enough to consider renewable energy moving forward.
Disadvantages of Renewable energy
1.
This meansthat there’s a need to build new facilities to answer
the demand for energy consumption.
2.
Due to the changes of atmospheric conditions, some of the renewable
energy source would lack the ability to generate electricity.
3.
Since this technology is still new to the market, they still lack much-
needed efficiency. If installed or built this may pose problems.
4.
This type of energy is relatively expensive.
Hydroelectric plant, wind turbines, and solar panels requires a lot of
investments to build or installed.
Non- Renewable
Energy Sources
A non-renewable energy is one that does not renew itself.
The resources for non-renewable energy are mainly fuels
from fossil deposit. The most commonly non-renewable
resources are:
1. Coal
2. Petroleum
3. Uranium
4. Fossil Fuels

are formed by the remains of animals and

plants. Fossil fuel is divided into three categories and is
stated below:
 Advantages of non- Disadvantages of non-
renewable energy renewable energy
The non-renewable Non-renewable energy
source of energy is cannot be replaced once
affordable. For instance their energy source is used
diesel and oil. up.
It is easily accessible  The by-products of non-
and more compatible. renewable energy cause
The non-renewable environmental damages. It
source of energy is easy to also increases greenhouses
store. gases.

How does energy use impact the environment?

All forms of electricity generation have an environmental impact on our air, water and land, but
it varies. Producing and using electricity more efficiently reduces both the amount of fuel needed
to generate electricity and the amount of greenhouse gases and other air pollution emitted as a
result. Electricity from renewable resources such as solar, geothermal, and wind generally does
not contribute to climate change or local air pollution since no fuels are combusted.