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Why is changing our current energy consumption practices important?

In the United States–and most other countries–we are overly reliant on fossil fuel combustion to power our daily lives. This reliance results in the emission of air pollutants such as carbon dioxide, methane, sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxides, carbon monoxide, mercury, particulate matter, and volatile organic compounds. 

These air pollutants have major human health implications, including but not limited to respiratory illness, cancers, cognitive and developmental issues, and the formation of photochemical smog and acid rain. 

Methane and carbon dioxide emissions are also primarily responsible for the “greenhouse effect” and global climate change, which is already resulting in mass biodiversity loss, extreme changes in weather patterns including drought and therefore famine, sea level rise and ocean acidification, and more. 

Two solutions for decreasing reliance on fossil fuels are decreasing our overall electricity usage and consumption, and changing how/where we generate this electricity. This page lays out, in simple terms, the current options we have for energy sources.

Energy Options

Coal is a natural resource that is mined from the ground, and then burned. The burning coal is used to heat water, which creates vapor, which turns a turbine, which turns a generator, which creates electricity. 

In New England, coal accounts for 0.6% of fuel sources used to generate electricity.

Coal 

PROS

  • Easy to convert to electricity as it needs little refinement and there’s a lot of it

  • Easy transportation 

  • High EROI

  • The mining process is incredibly invasive, destroying landscapes and natural habitats

  • The burning of coal releases a lot of CO2 (a greenhouse gas), SO2 and particulates (air pollutants which can cause bronchitis and emphysema), and causes smog and acid rain

  • The dirtiest of fossil fuels in terms of air pollutants

cons

Natural gas is obtained by drilling or fracking, both of which are invasive. Fracking can contaminate groundwater because the process creates radioactive wastewater. To generate electricity, gas is burned, and the combustion reaction heats water, which creates vapor, which powers a generator.

In New England, gas accounts for 54.3% of fuel sources used to generate electricity. Additionally, many of us rely on gas to power our stoves and heating systems–this gas is separate from that used to generate electricity. 


GAS 

PROS

  • Cleanest burning of fossil fuels - no sulfur, mercury, or particulate emissions

  • Releases little CO2

  • Can be collected from fermenting animal wastes and landfills 

  • Not infinite, but most renewable fossil fuels

  • Convenient delivery via pipeline 

  • High EROI 

  • Releases methane, a greenhouse gas 80x more potent than CO2

  • Burning also produces nitrous oxide which is toxic to humans and animals

  • Fracking can cause earthquakes and releases Volatile Organic Compounds

  • Fracking also produces radioactive wastewater

cons

Nuclear energy relies on fission, wherein neutrons split large atoms, like Uranium, causing a chain reaction which releases radiation. Nuclear reactors then harness the energy created from this reaction. 

One big misconception about nuclear reactors is that they produce pollution, but the “smoke” that you see exiting the towers of nuclear power plants is actually vapor, and comes from the water they use to regulate the temperature of the reaction happening inside. 

In New England, nuclear energy accounts for 26.3% of fuel sources used to generate electricity.

Nuclear

PROS

  • No Co2 emissions 

  • Large scale production

  • Consistent energy flow 

  • Clean, and generally safe

  • Energy Return on Investment (EROI) is intermediate due to the large upfront cost: plants are expensive and take a while to build

  • Warm water released back into local ecosystems causes thermal pollution (an increase in temperature) which reduces the level of dissolved oxygen in the water, impacting local wildlife and plant life

  • Reactors can have meltdowns (only three major meltdowns in history)

cons

Wind energy is generated by wind turbines. When the turbines spin they turn a generator which produces electricity. Since wind is not a finite source of energy wind is a viable renewable energy source.

In New England, wind accounts for 3.7% of fuel sources used to generate electricity.

WInd

  • No carbon output or any other particulate emissions 

  • Costs less than FF (higher EROI) 

  • Creates jobs 

  • Renewable 

  • New tech is more efficient and quiet 

  • Can be used small scale 

  • Can share land

PROS

  • Can kill migratory birds and bats (negligible amount compared to windows and feral cats) 

  • Noisy and unsightly 

  • Not good in all areas (slightly weather dependent) 

  • Storage of extra energy is hard

cons

Hydro power is a renewable energy source where in rivers are dammed and the force of the river pushes a turbine which turns a generator to produce electricity. While hydropower yields a very high EROI, the finite amount of rivers makes it more limited than other renewable energy sources.

In New England, hydro accounts for 5.7% of fuel sources used to generate electricity. 

Hydro 

  • No air pollution or waste

  • Reservoirs for drinking water 

  • Highest EROI of all energy sources 

PROS

  • Construction is expensive

  • Mixing cement produces CO2 

  • Dams can displace human communities 

cons

Solar energy is the most well known renewable energy source. The term solar energy encompasses multiple types of electricity and heat production methods, but the solar panels that you imagine when you think of solar power are photovoltaic panels. These panels convert sunlight to electrical energy. When the sunlight hits the panel it excites electrons inside the photovoltaic cells which flow through the semiconductive material as an electrical current. This electricity can be stored or connected to an electrical grid. Since solar panels are made up of many PV cells the size of a solar energy system is dependent on the demand of the consumer, small or large.

In New England, solar accounts for 2.4% of fuel sources used to generate electricity. On a local level setting up a solar energy farm is viable especially with the Solarize Greenwich program.

Solar

  • No emissions during operations 

  • Can produce electricity during peak demand (summer) 

  • Economically feasible 

PROS

  • Photovolatic solar cells are expensive to manufacturer and install 

  • Use is limited by availability of sunlight 

  • Large solar farms can damage/fragment desert ecosystems

cons

Geothermal energy is heat energy from the earth. Reservoirs of hot water exist at varying temperatures and depths below Earth’s surface. Wells can be drilled to capture the heat energy and steam and use it to turn a turbine which turns a generator to produce electricity. 

In New England, geothermal energy does not account for any percent of fuel sources used to generate electricity, since there are no geothermal hot spots. 

Geothermal

  • No combustion so no greenhouse gas emissions 

  • Renewable 

PROS

  • Limited specific areas of geothermal activity 

  • Earth’s patterns of geothermal activity will shift over time

  • High initial infrastructure cost 

  • May release hydrogen two sulphide

cons