Rivera Gonzlez Addy Laura Rivera Gonzlez Research Project

6A-II, #10

Watts Moving Our Lives?

Nowadays in this world, energy is used as a countrys unit of measurement for quality of life. This quality is given with the valor of the Gross National Product (GNP) which is related with the countrys energy consumption per capita. Therefore, first world countries base their development on the use of energy which helps them improve their industries. Third world countries, on the other hand, are looking forward to advances in the production of energy to improve their lives quality. This is causing an increase in the utilization of natural resources to produce electrical energy, commonly known as electricity. What is Energy? Energy is defined as the ability to do work. It is present in every single action being performed, but it comes in different ways such as thermal energy, electrical energy, kinetic energy, nuclear energy, solar energy, wind energy and hydroelectric energy. These different energies are important because from them humanity produces electricity. The production of electricity is done with different sources. These can be divided into two: renewable sources and nonrenewable sources. The renewable ones are the solar energy, wind, hydropower, ethanol from corns and many more. On the other hand the nonrenewable sources are basically fossil fuels such as petroleum, natural gas and coal. The burning of hydrocarbons like fossil fuels or ethanol from corn liberates a great amount of CO2 which contributes the production of the greenhouse effects and the global warming. Consumption of Electricity:

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Every day millions of watts are being used to perform different quotidian activities. To generate this electricity it is needed a big quantity of hydrocarbons to be burnt, because, even after the development of different types of energy, the one that is used the most is the burning of coal, petroleum and natural gas. The different ways to get electricity are used in diverse percentages considering the countrys sources. The table below shows the proportions used of different energies in the world:

The information on the table shows how as time passes by the consumption of sources to produce electricity increases. And as it was mentioned before the sources used the most are hydrocarbons. As the population grows the necessity to obtain energy does as well. Every year the consumption of energy increases in a 2.6 %. Even though this percentage has

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changed through the years, this number is serious. The next table illustrates how world energy consumption has increased:

Energy consumption in Mexico: Todays Mexico electricity is basically produced from natural gas. This was not necessarily the same four years ago, when fuel oil was used as the main source with an approximate amount of 2.78 million bbl/d of oil. Also, Mexico is one of the most important exporters of oil in the world, and one of its main clients are the United States of America. Mexicos electricity generation has changed through the years, but it has grown as well as the worlds energy consumption.

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The raise in energy consumption in Mexico has occurred because human necessities have evolved, but the main problem is that even if the ways of living changed the mentality of people has not. Also, in a developing country like Mexico the production of energy is not the best one because the methods used are antique. Even if the consumption of energy in some sectors has decreased in other it has grown a lot. People use electricity in immoderate ways. Findings: A survey was made in a medium-high social class community to collect data regarding energy consumption in Mexico. The most relevant questions asked were: How many bulbs are there in your home? How many TVs do you have? How many hours are they turned on? How many computers do you have at home? How long are they used? Which source is the most used in energy production?

Rivera Gonzlez The results are the following ones:

80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% hydrocarbons water solar energy wind
WHICH SOURCE IS THE MOST USED IN ENERGY PRODUCTION?

The people interviewed answered that the major source for electricity are the hydrocarbons. People are aware of how Mexican energy is produced, but even if they know their houses have a large number of bulbs: 30 bulbs and more is the 60% of the graph below.

60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

HOW MANY BULBS ARE THERE IN YOUR HOME?

0-10

20-30

30+

The electronic devices that consume the most are TVs and computers, excluding the fridges which every person interviewed have. In one house there are not only one computer and one TV but the mode is to have between 3 and 5 of each one.

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50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 0

50%
HOW MANY TVS DO YOU HAVE? HOW MANY HOURS A DAY DO YOU

40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

USE YOUR TV?

1 --2

0--2 3--4 5+

3--5

5--7

8+

HOW MANY COMPUTERS DO YOU

60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 0

HAVE AT HOME?

40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0%

HOW MANY HOURS A DAY DO YOU USE YOUR COMPUTER?

1--2

3--5

0--1

2--4

5--7

8+

People have a large number of electronic devices being used every single day, not only for a couple of minutes but for five hours or more. Every single electronic device that is used consumes a great amount of watts. The quantities are as follow: One bulb Computer Television Refrigerator Microwave 1.5-2.3 watts per hour 117 watts per hour 50 watts per hour 55 watts per hour 4000 watts per hour

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These are just some facts of a reduced number of electronic devices. Nevertheless, doing the average of watts used, it is approximately 4500 watts per hour a day in only one house. This leads to an enormous amount considering all the global population. The production of one kWh (kilowatt) emits 400 grams of CO2. This means that the total amount of CO2 liberated every hour is gigantic. Conclusion and Possible Solutions: The human species nowadays tends to think of global warming as a modern concept but in reality this idea is more than 100 years old and it rised critically since the industrial revolution. The notion that the global climate could be affected by human activities was first proposed by Svante Arrhenius in 1896. His proposal was based on his prediction, that states that emissions from carbon dioxide are a consequence of burning fossil fuels (coal, petroleum, and natural gas) and in return would alter the atmospheric composition in ways that would lead to global warming. What would have happened if measures to reduce CO2 emissions had been taken then in 1896 instead of 20 years ago? How is it possible that global warming has been known of for more than a century and countries still drag their feet when they have to cut back on CO2 emissions? There is an urgent need to check our consumption of energy and other resources that are contributing to the climate crisis. How is it possible that with all the information that exists on global warming records on energy consumption they are continually being broken, disrupting the climate and undermining life on the planet? One of the main excuses governments provide, when asked why are they not trying harder to reduce their CO2 emissions, is that according to them by restricting their CO2 emissions they slow down their progress and economic growth; an example of these countries is China. This is not true, progress can still be

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obtained through sustainable development, alternative energy sources such as wind energy and responsible energy consumption.

Energy production and use are sensitive to changes in the climate. For example, increasing temperatures will reduce consumption of energy for heating but increase energy used for cooling buildings. The implications of climate change for energy supply are less clear than for energy demand. Climate change effects on energy supply and demand will depend not only on climatic factors, but also on patterns of economic growth, land use, population growth and distribution, technological change and social and cultural trends that shape individual and institutional actions.

People should begin changing their ideologies, and omit thinking that the more electronic devices one possesses the better quality of life one gets. The governments should stop measuring their achievements by their capacity of production and consumption of energy. Having the best industries is important, but it is more important to have a good place to live without all the climatic problems being faced right now.

Bibliography: 1. The Weather of the Future, Cullen Heidi, HarperCollins publishers, ed. 2010, number of pages 329, pages 18-30. 2. Termodynamics, Wark Kenneth, McGrawHill publishers, ed. 4, 1984, number of pages 890, pages 1-5, 559-605. 3. La Tierra y sus recursos, Marrero Levi, Publicaciones Cultural, ed. 1999, number of pages 377, pages 361-377

Rivera Gonzlez 4. Produccin de CO2 por Watt, 2010, visited February 2010 <http://www.gstriatum.com/energiasolar/blog/2008/05/19/cuanto-co2-se-ahorracon-la-energia-solar/>

5. LiamBean, How to Use Less Electricity, September 2009, visited February 2010 <http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-lower-your-electric-bill-Mines-is-sky-high> 6. Situacin de la energa en el Mundo, Europa y Espaa, February 2006, visited March 2010 <http://www.energiasrenovables.ciemat.es/especiales/energia/index.htm> 7. Energy Information Administrator EIA, June 2010, visited September 2010 <http://www.eia.doe.gov/> 8. Electronic book, Ciencias de la Tierra y del medio ambiente: Eficiencia energtica, University of Navarra, visited october 2010. <http://www.tecnun.es/asignaturas/Ecologia/Hipertexto/07Energ/195EficEner.htm/> 9. Energy Consumption Fueling Catastrophic Climate Change, Report Warns, ScienceDaily, October 2007, visited novemeber 2010 <http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071021114258.htm> 10. Consumption of Energy (kWh per cpita) , World Bank Group, visited March 2010 <http://www.worldbank.org/> Images: 1. Energy Information Administrator EIA, June 2010, visited September 2010 <http://www.eia.doe.gov/> 2. Excels graphs