CHAPTER 1 who controls OUR ENERGY Energy rules our daily lives We use it when we get out of bed in the morning when we travel to school and when we play a video game Energy is defined as the capacity or ability to do work ENERGY TYPES Energy takes many forms Electrical energy lights our homes and powers our devices Heat energy cooks our food Kinetic energy is present in moving objects We need a source to make energy Coal gas the Sun and wind are all energy sources Both renewable and nonrenewable energy sources are used to make electrical energy Nonrenewable energy sources are those that will one day run out Fossil fuels oil coal and natural gas are nonrenewable energy sources They are burned in power plants to make electrical energy Burning fossil fuels pollutes the environment and releases 4 greenhouse gases which warm Earth’s temperature Renewable energy sources are those that will not run out They include the wind the Sun and moving water These energy sources do not release harmful gases Globally demand for renewable energy grew more than 6 percent in 2017 but fossil fuel energy accounts for more than 80 percent of the total energy used
Fossil fuels are burned to create energy in power plants such as this one Harmful gases are released through the thin chimneys BURNING UP The burning of fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases The gases build up in the atmosphere trapping heat and causing global warming which is a rise in Earth’s temperature In 2017 carbon emissions reached their highest-ever amount at 32 5 gigatons So why do renewable energy sources not take up more of our energy needs DARK SCIENCE SECRETS Government representatives help decide what energy should be used and how But outside forces often try to sway their decisions in favor of a certain side These outside forces are lobbyists people who are paid by companies or organizations to try to lobby or influence government decisions Both the oil and gas industry and environmental groups use lobbyists Environmental groups lobby government representatives to reduce carbon emissions and increase the use of renewable energy sources Oil and gas lobbyists try to gather support for such things as approval to build more pipelines However studies show that the oil gas and transportation organizations that rely on fossil fuels outspend environmental groups energy sector by ten to one in lobbying budgets and the renewable Organized protests about global warming also hope to change political opinion and actions 5
