“Digging Up the Dead”

Utilization of Ancient Resources

“Digging Up the Dead”

Utilization of Ancient Resources

Kerry CostlowKerry Costlow

Coming up…Coming up…

•Who Cares?•What are these resources?

•What do they form?•How efficiently are we using

them?•What does that mean for us?

•What can we do?

•Who Cares?•What are these resources?

•What do they form?•How efficiently are we using

them?•What does that mean for us?

•What can we do?

Who Cares?Who Cares?

• Fossil fuels used today are composed of ancient resources

– Coal, oil, gas• Resources are millions of years old

• We use TONS of the materials everyday

• Release CO2 into the atmosphere

• Fossil fuels used today are composed of ancient resources

– Coal, oil, gas• Resources are millions of years old

• We use TONS of the materials everyday

• Release CO2 into the atmosphere

What are Ancient Resources?

What are Ancient Resources?

• The remains of organisms that fixed carbon from the atmosphere millions of years ago.– Have built up over the last ~500 million years

• Usually refers to plant life– Trees, leaves, dead vegetation, small organisms:

plankton, phytoplankton

• Important because of the carbon and hydrogen contained within the organisms

• Form many important fossil fuels– Coal and Oil

• The remains of organisms that fixed carbon from the atmosphere millions of years ago.– Have built up over the last ~500 million years

• Usually refers to plant life– Trees, leaves, dead vegetation, small organisms:

plankton, phytoplankton

• Important because of the carbon and hydrogen contained within the organisms

• Form many important fossil fuels– Coal and Oil

Ancient Resources to Coal and Oil

Ancient Resources to Coal and Oil

• Coal– Most abundant and widely

distributed fossil fuel– Called “buried sunshine”

• Formation– Trees and other vegetation build

up on the swamp floor, lack of oxygen

– Rivers wash sand and silt into swamp and compress vegetation driving out moisture and impuritiespeat

– Buried deeper and deeper, heat and time alter chemistry

– Peat becomes brown coal– After millions of years brown

coalbituminuos coal– Finally, more pressure, heat,

time, and removal of impurities anthracite

• Coal– Most abundant and widely

distributed fossil fuel– Called “buried sunshine”

• Formation– Trees and other vegetation build

up on the swamp floor, lack of oxygen

– Rivers wash sand and silt into swamp and compress vegetation driving out moisture and impuritiespeat

– Buried deeper and deeper, heat and time alter chemistry

– Peat becomes brown coal– After millions of years brown

coalbituminuos coal– Finally, more pressure, heat,

time, and removal of impurities anthracitewww.stovesonline.co.uk/ how-coal-

formed.html

Ancient Resources to Coal and Oil

Ancient Resources to Coal and Oil

• Oil– Product of life in ancient oceans and

estuaries

• Formation– Nutrients are brought from bottom-

waters causing phytoplankton to bloom

– Then dead remains carried to oxygen-free depths, organic matter accumulates

– Theses sediments buried and compressed

– Perfect conditions needed to squeeze organic matter out of source rocks, transfer to suitable storage stratum

– Storage must be porous, but lie under strong impervious rock to withstand pressure and prevent escape

– Must “cook” at 212-275˚F for millions of years

• Oil– Product of life in ancient oceans and

estuaries

• Formation– Nutrients are brought from bottom-

waters causing phytoplankton to bloom

– Then dead remains carried to oxygen-free depths, organic matter accumulates

– Theses sediments buried and compressed

– Perfect conditions needed to squeeze organic matter out of source rocks, transfer to suitable storage stratum

– Storage must be porous, but lie under strong impervious rock to withstand pressure and prevent escape

– Must “cook” at 212-275˚F for millions of years

•Ocean crust rotation allows oil to escape

http://www.think-energy.com/ThinkEnergy/11-14/activities/Gas.aspx

Uses of ResourcesUses of Resources

• Coal and Oil– Used as energy

resources– Thirty years ago

• Coal supplied 31% of the world’s fossil fuels

• Oil supplied nearly half

(Flannery 77)

• Coal and Oil– Used as energy

resources– Thirty years ago

• Coal supplied 31% of the world’s fossil fuels

• Oil supplied nearly half

(Flannery 77)

• In 1995 humans were using 24 million barrels of oil per year

• Every one of the 6 million people is using 4 times as much energy as those 100 years ago

• Meaning burning of fossil fuels has increased 16-fold over that time

(Flannery 77)

• In 1995 humans were using 24 million barrels of oil per year

• Every one of the 6 million people is using 4 times as much energy as those 100 years ago

• Meaning burning of fossil fuels has increased 16-fold over that time

(Flannery 77)

EfficiencyEfficiency

• Transformation from plants to usable products– 10% efficiency for

coal– 0.001% efficiency

for oil

• Coal deposits– 62% removed

from underground– 82% removed

from surface

• Transformation from plants to usable products– 10% efficiency for

coal– 0.001% efficiency

for oil

• Coal deposits– 62% removed

from underground– 82% removed

from surface(Dukes 34-35)

EfficiencyEfficiency

• In 1997 ~ 44 Eg (44*1018 g) of photosynthetic product-carbon was necessary to generate the fossil fuels burned.

• This is 422 times the net amount of carbon fixed globally each year

• The amount of solar energy needed to grow this vegetation was 36 times the sum of solar energy that strikes Earth’s surface in one year.

(Dukes 37)

• In 1997 ~ 44 Eg (44*1018 g) of photosynthetic product-carbon was necessary to generate the fossil fuels burned.

• This is 422 times the net amount of carbon fixed globally each year

• The amount of solar energy needed to grow this vegetation was 36 times the sum of solar energy that strikes Earth’s surface in one year.

(Dukes 37)

Dukes, J.S. “Burning Buried Sunshine: Human Consumption of Ancient Solar Energy,” Climate Change 61 (2003):40.

Dukes, J.S. “Burning Buried Sunshine: Human Consumption of Ancient Solar Energy,” Climate Change 61 (2003):40.

What does that mean for Us?

What does that mean for Us?

• Every gallon of gas created we have used 100 tons of ancient plant life

• We are using 20% more than the planet can sustain in order to provide for us.

• Overexploiting fisheries, overgrazing, destroying forests, polluting oceans and atmosphere

• By 2050, population ~ 9 billion, we will be using 2 planets worth of resources– But the waste is in fact limiting factor

(Flannery 78-79)

• Every gallon of gas created we have used 100 tons of ancient plant life

• We are using 20% more than the planet can sustain in order to provide for us.

• Overexploiting fisheries, overgrazing, destroying forests, polluting oceans and atmosphere

• By 2050, population ~ 9 billion, we will be using 2 planets worth of resources– But the waste is in fact limiting factor

(Flannery 78-79)

What can WE do?What can WE do?

• “The true value of energy to society is the net energy, which is that after the energy costs of getting and concentrating that energy is subtracted”

• We need to do more research in which the net energy is evaluated– Lotka’s principle: systems win and dominate

that maximize their useful total power from all sources and flexibly distribute this power toward needs affecting survival.

• “The true value of energy to society is the net energy, which is that after the energy costs of getting and concentrating that energy is subtracted”

• We need to do more research in which the net energy is evaluated– Lotka’s principle: systems win and dominate

that maximize their useful total power from all sources and flexibly distribute this power toward needs affecting survival.

What can WE do?What can WE do?• It has been estimated that there are

6.3*1012 metric tons of coal and 320*109 m3 available on the earth (Hubbert 105-106)

– How much do you use in your car?• The amount of time spent on creating the

ancient resources is so much greater than the time we have to recover that there is no hope of replenishing the supply in any reasonable amount of time (Hawkins 2004)

• We need to invest in sources of energy– Solar, wind, water, nuclear

• Do your part!!– Walk when you can, recycle, turn off your

lights, invest in your own research

• It has been estimated that there are 6.3*1012 metric tons of coal and 320*109 m3 available on the earth (Hubbert 105-106)

– How much do you use in your car?• The amount of time spent on creating the

ancient resources is so much greater than the time we have to recover that there is no hope of replenishing the supply in any reasonable amount of time (Hawkins 2004)

• We need to invest in sources of energy– Solar, wind, water, nuclear

• Do your part!!– Walk when you can, recycle, turn off your

lights, invest in your own research

Works CitedWorks Cited• Dukes, J.S. “Burning Buried Sunshine: Human Consumption of

Ancient Solar Energy,” Climate Change 61 (2003). pp. 31-44• Flannery, T. (2005). The Weather Makers: How We Are

Changing the Climate and What it Means for Life on Earth. Canada: HarperCollins. pg. 69-79.

• Hawkins, D.G. “Global Warming: Dodging the Silver Bullet,” NRDC presentation (February 2004), http://www.iea.org/Textbase/work/2004/zets/conference/presentations/hawkins.pdf

• Hubbert, M. King. ･ Energy from Fossil Fuels. Science, New Series, Vol. 109, No. 2823 (Feb. 4, 1949), ･ Published by: American Association for the Advancement of Science. pp. 103-109.

• Odum, Howard T. Energy, Ecology, and Economics. ･ Ambio, Vol. 2, No. 6, Energy in Society: A Special Issue (1973). Published by: Allen Press on behalf of Royal Swedish Academy of Science. pp. 220-227.

• Dukes, J.S. “Burning Buried Sunshine: Human Consumption of Ancient Solar Energy,” Climate Change 61 (2003). pp. 31-44

• Flannery, T. (2005). The Weather Makers: How We Are Changing the Climate and What it Means for Life on Earth. Canada: HarperCollins. pg. 69-79.

• Hawkins, D.G. “Global Warming: Dodging the Silver Bullet,” NRDC presentation (February 2004), http://www.iea.org/Textbase/work/2004/zets/conference/presentations/hawkins.pdf

• Hubbert, M. King. ･ Energy from Fossil Fuels. Science, New Series, Vol. 109, No. 2823 (Feb. 4, 1949), ･ Published by: American Association for the Advancement of Science. pp. 103-109.

• Odum, Howard T. Energy, Ecology, and Economics. ･ Ambio, Vol. 2, No. 6, Energy in Society: A Special Issue (1973). Published by: Allen Press on behalf of Royal Swedish Academy of Science. pp. 220-227.