Natural Resources - Renewable & Nonrenewable

Natural Resources
Nonrenewable vs. Renewable

​

Watch the videos, record notes in your graphic organizer and in your notebook, and complete the activities as you move through the slides.

​

Renewable & Nonrenewable Resources

Complete the graphic organizer as you move through the lesson. Work with your group to generate questions.

Oil & Natural Gas - Advantages

• Oil and natural gas are found in lots of places in the world.

• We can transport oil and gas in pipes and by using tankers or ships.

Disadvantages

• Environmental damage can be caused when building the rig and by accidental oil spillages.

• Oil and gas are not renewable, so once the supplies are used, they will run out.

• Burning these fuels releases greenhouse gases into the air. This may add to global warming.

• The price will increase as supply decreases

• Working on an oil or gas rig can be dangerous due to the risk of explosions and bad weather.

Natural Gas Mine

Open Ended

Denise’s father just changed the oil in his car. He starts to throw it in the trash but Denise asks him not to.

•Write two questions that explore what Denise may be thinking.

Coal - Advantages

• Coal can be found in many places in the world

• Coal can be easily transported to the power stations.

• Coal is a relatively cheap energy source.

Coal - Disadvantages

• To dig up coal, we have to create mines which can be dangerous and not very nice to look at.

• Coal mining can increase erosion.

• Transporting coal from the mine to the power station causes pollution.

• Burning coal produces polluting gases like Sulphur dioxide which make acid rain.

• Coal is a non-renewable source and will run out in about 100 years.

• Coal miners can be affected by black lung disease if they breathe in too much of the coal dust.

Nuclear Advantages

• Nuclear fuel does not make harmful greenhouse gases.

• You only need a very small amount of nuclear fuel to make a lot of energy

Nuclear Disadvantages

• The waste that is produced when using nuclear fuel is radioactive and very harmful.

• It needs to be disposed of carefully

• Nuclear power stations are at risk from terrorist attack and sabotage.

• World uranium supplies may run out in about 50 years.

Open Ended

Uranium is used to provide energy for nuclear power plants. This provides electricity to many households around the U.S.

•Write two questions that explore information about uranium.

Nuclear Power Plants in the U.S.

Solar Advantages

• The energy from the Sun is free.

• The sun does not produce greenhouse gases.

• The sun will always be there during our lifetime.

Solar Disadvantages

• It is relatively expensive to build solar power stations.

• When it is cloudy or at night there is not enough light so no electricity can be made.

• Some people don‛t like the look of solar panels.

Open Ended

Solar panels can create electricity for use in homes and businesses. It is free energy that requires sun for energy generation.

•Write two questions that explore information about solar energy.

Wave Advantages

• Waves are free and will not run out so the cost is in building the power station.

• Wave power does not produce greenhouse gases.

• There are very few safety risks with wave power generation.

Wave Disadvantages

• Waves can be big or small so you may not always be able to generate electricity.

• You need to find a way of transporting the electricity from the sea onto the land.

• Not many people have tried to generate electricity this way yet so the equipment is expensive.

Tidal Advantages

• Tides are free once the power station has been built and will not run out.

• No greenhouse gases are produced when we make the electricity.

• We know exactly when the tides happen so we know when electricity will be made.

Tidal Disadvantages

• You may need to build a large wall called a dam to make the water flow through the generators.

• This may not be good for plants and animals that live nearby.

• The tides only happen twice a day, so can only produce electricity for that time.

Hydropower Advantages

• When electricity is generated, no greenhouse gases are made.

• The water used is free.

• It is a renewable energy source.

Hydropower Disadvantages

• The dam is expensive to build.

• By building a dam, the nearby area has to be flooded and this could affect nearby wildlife and plants.

• If it does not rain much we may not have enough water to turn the turbines.

Open Ended

Buford Dam takes water from Lake Lanier and converts it to electricity.

•Write two questions that explore hydroelectricity.

Geothermal Advantages

• Geothermal energy does not produce greenhouse gases

• The energy source is free and will not run out

Geothermal Disadvantages

• There are not many places where we can build geothermal power stations

• Harmful gases and minerals may occasionally come up from the ground below. These can be difficult to control.

Biomass Advantages

• The fuel is cheap and can use things that we might otherwise throw away.

• We can find waste everywhere and should not run out.

Biomass Disadvantages

• When the fuel is burned greenhouse gases are made which pollute the environment.

• Sometimes people grow biomass crops where we could grow food.

• We may not have enough space to grow enough biomass fuel.

Wind Advantages

• Wind is free and will not run out so the cost is in building the wind turbine.

• Wind power generation does not create greenhouse gases

• There are very few safety risks with wind turbines.

Wind Disadvantages

• We can only use windmills in areas where there is a lot of wind.

• Sometimes there may be days where there is little wind.

• We need a lot of turbines to make a lot of electricity.

• Some people don‛t like the way wind turbines look, they think they spoil the countryside.

Open Ended

Observe the data chart. What do you notice based on the data? Give 3 observations and 2 questions about the data observed.