The assignment will go as follows.You are to use the below link to create a power point presentation which would present your energy plan for the next 5 years.The energy plan can address a country, a state or even a local municipality.Please just make sure it is clear what the energy plan is for, i.e. state, country or local municipality.This is the link you can start with: http://www.aps.org/policy/reports/popa-reports/energy/situation.cfmThis is just the starting point to give you an idea about the discussion of energy. You can utilize any online articles, newspapers, scientific journals, etc. as research tools.I would like the “presentation” to be in power point. The attachment is sample of the assignment which should be the look like the same. Grading for the presentation will be divided into the following categories with a total of 10 points available for each category: Clarity and organization of the presentation Research/supporting documentation/basis for positionOverall potential effectiveness of the plan for energy use/efficiency
5_year_energy_plan___midterm_sample.pptx
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By John McDonough
Source:eandselectric
Energy is crucial in sustaining life on Earth
We started off using animal and man power, then
wind to power sails, next steam power, fossil
fuels, then finally solar power
The use of energy changed the pace at which we
were able to grow economically as a society
Our constant curiosity to find new energy sources
enables our society to continue to advance
I am proposing a 5 year plan to combat the
problems associated with our current energy
usage and production
First I feel the need for a strong background
in what the status of our current energy in
the United States is
The plan is to develop and improve our
current forms of energy to prepare us for a
30 year plan
Current forms of energy
There are problems with our energy
production and usage
Why we need a go forward plan
Five year energy plan
Fossil Fuels
Solar Energy
Wind Energy
Biofuels
Nuclear Energy
Coal, petroleum, and natural gas are
concentrated organic compounds found
within the Earth’s crust
They currently account for 82% of United
States energy demand
They make modern life possible; used in
manufacturing, transportation, electricity
generation
Source:
http://instituteforenergyresearch.org/t
opics/encyclopedia/fossil-fuels/
45%
29.5%
20.9%
9.5%
2%
Gasoline for automobiles
Heating oil and diesel fuels
Products derived from petroleum
Jet fuel
Asphalt
Source: kingdomecon
The biggest problem with the use of fossil fuels
is that they are non-renewable
Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide,
nitrogen monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur
dioxide, and carbon monoxide, which are
hazardous to the environment and human health
◦ Causes global warming, oil spills, acid rain, depletion of
the ozone layer
Studies show that half of the world’s supply of
fossil fuels will be used up by 2030
The radiant energy from
the sun is what makes life on
Earth possible
Currently solar energy only accounts for 0.75% of the
total energy consumed in the United States
Solar energy generates electricity through the use of
photovoltaic cells that use radiation to generate
electric current
Solar energy is very popular because it is a renewable
source of energy and has no harmful emissions
http://instituteforenergyresearch.org/t
opics/encyclopedia/solar/
The biggest problem with solar energy is that
you are reliant on a constantly changing
source of energy
It would require 10,000 square miles to meet
current United States electricity needs
They are expensive to create and to maintain
and can only achieve a maximum efficiency of
22% realistically
http://instituteforenergyresearch.org/t
opics/encyclopedia/solar/
Wind energy was one of
the first sources of
energy that man was able
to harness
Wind energy accounts for 1.6% of the United
States total energy consumption
Wind power is turned into electricity by
converting the rotation of turbine blades into
electric current
http://instituteforenergyresearch.org/t
opics/encyclopedia/wind/
Like solar energy, wind energy is also reliant
on a constantly changing source of energy
The rotating blades injure and kill birds and
bats, and are expensive to maintain
It would require a wind farm the size of West
Virginia to meet the United States energy
needs
http://instituteforenergyresearch.org/t
opics/encyclopedia/wind/
Biomass is the use of living
or recently dead biological
matter that can be used for
fuel or industrial production
The most popular use of biomass is the use
of ethanol from corn fields to produce biofuel
Biofuels make up half of total energy usage
production
http://instituteforenergyresearch.org/t
opics/encyclopedia/biomass/
The biggest problem with biofuels is that they
need extensive amounts of land in order to
provide the corn necessary for its production
◦ Some fear this will create a food shortage
The use, including the manufacturing of
corn-based ethanol actually doubles
greenhouse emissions over 30 years
http://instituteforenergyresearch.org/t
opics/encyclopedia/biomass/
Nuclear power comes from
fission or the splitting of
atoms
The United States has 100 nuclear power plants that
generate 20% of our electricity
Nuclear capacity factors average about 90%
Nuclear energy has grown in reliability greatly and is
emission free
The power plants require the least amount of space
for their energy production
http://instituteforenergyresearch.org/t
opics/encyclopedia/nuclear/#
The biggest problem with nuclear energy is
what to do with the radioactive spent fuel
The earthquake at the Fukushima plant in
Japan has caused people to question the
safety of nuclear power plants
The fear of catastrophic events such as
Chernobyl has kept Americans from fully
accepting nuclear energy
Source:instituteforenergyresearch
Fossil fuels make up 82% of the United States
energy consumption
This means we are basing our economy off of
a non-renewable resource that is rapidly
depleting
It is also incredibly harmful to the
environment and human health making our
energy usage completely unsustainable
The biggest users of fossil fuels are electricity
generation and powering of automobiles
Coal is burned to produce electricity which is a
very dirty process that produces many harmful
emissions (besides the fact that coal must be
mined)
Gasoline for automobiles must be refined which
uses fossil fuels for the refinery process
Automobiles are the largest contributors to
greenhouse gas emissions
http://instituteforenergyresearch.org/t
opics/encyclopedia/fossil-fuels/
Renewable energy only makes up about 9.5% of our
energy consumption
We have far too many types of renewable energy
which makes it impossible to focus on the best one
We do not have the infrastructure in place to switch
to a renewable energy economy
While our reliance on fossil fuels still exists, energy
companies will have too much economic and political
power for us to switch to renewable energy
completely
http://instituteforenergyresearch.org/t
opics/encyclopedia/fossil-fuels/
Without a plan for the future we will continue to
exhaust our natural resources with no viable
alternative for the inevitable day when fossil fuels
run out
We need to be prepared way before we run out of
fossil fuels so that we can wean off of them and
switch to a sustainable energy economy
We can prevent the increasing detriments of
climate change by converting to sustainable
sources of energy that do not harm the
environment
Electricity generation is what plagues the
energy crisis
Automobiles produce the most greenhouse
gases, and are some of the biggest users of
fossil fuels, severely contributing to climate
change
Developing alternative, renewable sources of
fuel and electricity is what this plan is about
Source:ela.gov
As you can see coal is the largest single provider
of electricity generation
However it is the biggest cause of climate
change, and there is no such clean version of
coal
Nuclear power plants are able to generate the
same amount of electricity without any emissions
◦ They are also the largest provider of non-emitting
electricity generation right now
blog/2013/10/01/biofuelssustainability-fertilizers/
Biofuels are the best alternative to fossil
fuels like petroleum gasoline and liquid
coal
Petroleum and coal are the biggest
contributors to climate change and need to
be replaced
Biofuels do not cause immediate climate
change and are renewable
Further research is needed to determine the
best biofuel alternative to petroleum
Due to the non-emitting state of nuclear power plants, the
first step I propose is to have all the power plants in the
United States be renovated and used to their highest
capacity
This will make them as efficient as they can possibly be
By using nuclear energy, we will be able to reduce the
amount of dependence we have on coal
Not only is it better for the environment, but it is also
cheaper than alternative sources of electricity generation
It also requires far less infrastructure to be put in place
than renewable energy sources like solar or wind energy,
as it already exists
While nuclear energy is being increased as a
source of electric generation I propose that we
have a global focus on further research and
development on renewable/sustainable energy
Global reliance on fossil fuels must be
discouraged through government initiatives and
mandates
Nuclear energy is not sustainable and is therefore
a temporary and environmentally friendly fix to
our energy woes
The third and final step is to determine which source
of alternative energy is the most efficient and has the
most promise to replace fossil fuels
Once the best option has been determined it is time
to put some serious thought into how the
infrastructure is to be developed and how it is going
to be paid for
Government funding should be eliminated for coal
and fossil fuels, with larger grants and subsidies
increased for renewable energy sources, such as solar
for electricity generation and biofuels
For the proposed plan to be viable, current
government subsidies would need to be
redistributed
Wind energy is being overly subsidized with
minimal electrical output
Nuclear energy generates ten times as much
electricity as does wind energy, needing less
space, and should therefore be further
funded by the government
http://mercatus.org/publication/renewable
-energy-subsidies-and-electricitygeneration
It is not enough just to propose these ideas,
but to truly enforce them
We need to diminish the power that fossil
fuels have over our economy and politics
There need to be viable alternative sources of
transportation, electricity generation, and
heating for personal use that are not only
efficient, but cost-effective
The current use of fossil fuels for our energy
needs is detrimental to our society
It does not make sense to base our entire
global economy on a non-renewable energy
source that is also harmful to the
environment and human health
Therefore I have proposed a temporary 5 year
plan to prepare us to the inevitable end of
fossil fuels
First we maximize the efficiency and usage of
nuclear power plants
While this is occurring we must research and
develop the other sustainable sources of energy
Finally we select the best alternative and
determine how the infrastructure is to be put in
place
This plan will ensure that the necessary
precautions are taken to prolong the sanctity of
our planet
http://www.aps.org/policy/reports/popareports/energy/situation.cfm
http://mercatus.org/publication/renewableenergy-subsidies-and-electricity-generation
http://bioenergycrops.com/blog/2013/10/0
1/biofuels-sustainability-fertilizers/
…
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