A fuel derived from biological material that became fossilized millions of years ago

An energy source with a finite supply, primarily the fossil fuels and nuclear fuels

Fuel derived from radioactive materials that give off energy such as Uranium-235

An energy source that is bought and sold (mainly coal oil and natural gas)

An energy source gathered by individuals for their own immediate needs(straw, sticks and animal dung)

A device with blades that can be turned by water, wind, steam, or exhaust gas from combustion that turns a generator in an electricity-producing plant

A network of interconnected transmission lines that joins power plants together and links them with end users of electricity

in reference to an electricity-generating plant, the maximum electrical output

The use of a single fuel to generate electricity and to produce heat

Solid fuel formed primarily from the remains of trees, ferns, and other plant materials preserved 280 million to 360 million years ago

A fossil fuel that occurs in underground deposits, composed of a liquid mixture of hydrocarbons, water, and sulfur

Liquid petroleum removed from the ground can be recovered from tar sands, which are a combination of clay, sand, water and bitumen

Slow-flowing, viscous deposits of bitumen mixed with sand, water, and clay

A degraded petroleum that forms when petroleum migrates to the surface of Earth and is modified by bacteria.

lignite, bituminous, and anthracite

partially decomposed organic material (plant matter) that can be burned for fuel

is commonly used as fuel in the forms of firewood and charcoal. It is often used in developing countries because it is easily accessible.

A bell-shaped curve representing oil use and projecting both when world oil production will reach a maximum and when we will run out of oil

The point at which half the total known oil supply is used up

is a chemical reaction between the fuel and oxygen that yields carbon dioxide and water and releases energy

burning the fuels generates heat, which then turns a water into steam. That steam turns a turbine, which generates electricity.

The process of extracting methane gas from deep wells by using water and other chemicals to fracture the rocks.

can cause groundwater contamination and the release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs)

fission, where atoms of Uranium-235, which are stored in fuel rods, are split into smaller parts after being struck by a neutron

nonrenewable; but is considered a cleaner energy source because it does not produce air pollutants

thermal pollution and hazardous solid waste

A nuclear reaction in which a massive nucleus splits into smaller nuclei with the simultaneous release of energy, typically by a collision with a neutron

A cylindrical tube that encloses nuclear fuel within a nuclear reactor

A cylindrical device inserted between the fuel rods in a nuclear reactor to absorb excess neutrons and slow or stop the fission reaction

Nuclear fuel that can no longer produce enough heat to be useful in a power plant but continues to emit radioactivity

Uranium-235 remains radioactive for a long time

A unit of measure for radiation; 1 curie = 37 billion decays per second.

a nuclear reaction in which atomic nuclei of low atomic number fuse to form a heavier nucleus with the release of energy. The type of energy that the sun goes through.

on March 29, 1979, the emergency cooling system of a nuclear reactor was shut down erroneously by an operator. This led to a partial core meltdown. The containment structure worked well to retain all radioactive materials, but eventually some radioactive gas was purposely released to reduce pressure in the containment structure and avoid a more serious accident.

On April 26, 1986, an unauthorized safety test led to a fire and explosion at a nuclear power plant-as a result, millions of people in Europe are exposed to unsafe levels of radiation.

Site of a nuclear meltdown as a result of a tsunami that came onshore and flooded a nuclear powerplant

The time required for one half of the atoms of a radioisotope to emit radiation an decay products

the rate of radioactive decay and the radioactivity level at specific points in time

the nucleus of a radioactive isotope loses energy by emitting radiation

the practice of finding ways to use less energy or to use energy more efficiently

The greatest quantity of energy used at any one time

Construction designed to take advantage of solar radiation without active technology

A property of a building material that allows it to maintain heat or cold

an energy source that can be regenerated indefinitely as long as it is not overharvested

An energy source that cannot be used up (solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, and tidal energy)

In energy management, an energy source that is either potentially renewable or nondepletable

total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level

heat for energy at a relatively low cost, but also introduces carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate and volatile organic compounds

deforestation

Liquid fuel created from processed or refined biomass

Carbon in biomass that was recently in the atmosphere

Carbon in fossil fuels

an activity that does not change atmospheric CO2 concentrations

Alcohol made by converting starches and sugars from plant material into alcohol and CO2. can be used as a substitute for gasoline and does NOT introduce additional carbon into the atmosphere via combustion, but the energy return is low

A diesel substitute produced by extracting and chemically altering oil from plants

A vehicle that runs on either gasoline or a gasoline/ethanol mixture

electricity generated by the kinetic energy of moving water

dams built across rivers, moving water used to spin a turbine, places turbines in tidal areas

the storage of water in a reservoir behind a dam

Energy that comes from the movement of water driven by the gravitational pull of the Moon.

The accumulation of sediments, primarily silt, on the bottom of a reservoir.

- no harmful chemical by-products

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- construction of power plants can be expensive

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energy captured from sunlight with advanced technologies (mechanical and electrical equipment); can be stored

A system of capturing energy from sunlight and converting it directly into electricity

uses the solar energy that naturally falls on a building to heat it directly; cannot be stored or collected

have a low environmental impact and produce clean energy, but can be expensive. large solar energy farms may negatively impact desert ecosystems

Energy generated from the kinetic energy of moving air

Energy from steam or hot water produced from hot or molten underground rocks. the steam is used to drive an electric generator

- cost of accessing geothermal energy can be extremely expensive

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- high efficiency

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A turbine that converts wind energy (kinetic, mechanical energy) into electricity

-a renewable, clean source of energy

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- turbine noise

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a cell that generates electricity from a controlled reaction between hydrogen and oxygen; water and electricity are the products (emissions) of a fuel cell

- have a low environmental impact

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- technology is expensive

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- adjusting the thermostat to reduce the use of heat and air conditioning

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- improving fuel economy for vehicles

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