Energy Alternatives

Energy is important at a biological level to sustain life, and at a societal level to sustain lifestyle. From
the discovery of fire to the Nuclear Age, energy consumption has changed over the years, and has also
changed the planet. Use of fossil fuels is largely to blame for an increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide
and accompanying changes in climate. The search for reliable, alternative energy sources leads down
many paths, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. Over the next few weeks, we will examine
several energy sources in an attempt to determine which the “greenest” is.

Before examining the benefits and drawbacks of alternative energies, a look at what they are an
alternative to, fossil fuels- petroleum, coal, and natural gas- is in order. Fossil fuels are still in use
because they are relatively cheap, easily refined, and provide many jobs.

Oil drilling (Bureau of Land Management)

The drawbacks of fossil fuels, in addition to the carbon dioxide output, is other environmental
degradation associated with extraction and transport. Finally, because it is a finite source, eventually
the supply will run out. As supply drops, more invasive techniques will be used to extract ever scarcer
supplies and price will go up.

Environmental impacts of drilling for oil and gas include habitat loss at the well site and access roads; noise pollution; air pollution from generators, vehicles, gas flaring, and particle matter; soil disturbance; increased erosion from vegetation loss; increased solid and industrial wastes; degraded water quality from runoff of soil and residues; and oil spills. There are also problems from end-use: air pollution, increased carbon emissions, contamination such as may be found at gas stations, and plastic litter (most plastics are petroleum-based).

Mountaintop removal coal mine (Center for Biological Diversity)

After all the environmental and health issues related to fossil fuels, it seems clear that we need an alternative energy source. There are plenty of green alternatives, which we will explore, starting with hydroelectric next week.

The Good Old Days

This week’s adventure takes a peek at the past. Earth was a vastly different place in the good old days. Dinosaurs ruled and everything was just a bigger, sabre-toothed version of the critters we have today. OK, maybe not the bigger, pointier critters. But scientists can tell us a lot about the way things used to be by looking at the fossil record.

Fossils are like prehistoric pictures. They form when dead organic material is slowly replaced by mineral material. Not everything that ever died was destined to become a fossil; only in certain conditions could the transition take place. Being in a situation without oxygen would’ve helped your cause if you were hoping to fossilize. Oxygen is a requirement for decomposition. If you’re decomposing, you won’t leave behind anything to fossilize. 

Little worm fossils imprinted on a rock

Usually when you think of fossils you think of huge dinosaur bones. There are other types of fossils too. Footprints in dried mud that later turned to stone can be found in Alaska and Africa.

Dinosaur footprint found at Denali National Park (NPS)

Imprints of shells in rock are mountains that used to be sea floor. One wound up in my back yard in Pennsylvania. One day a dead plant was buried in between layers of sediment that hardened into rock. Years later, I squeezed that rock and found black images of that plant inside the rock. Whole trees can be fossilized into petrified wood. Ancient insects trapped in tree sap that hardened into amber are also fossils.

A rock full of shells from my back yard

Plant fossils inside a piece of sedimentary rock

If you want to find some fossils, you don’t need to be a paleontologist or geologist. All it takes is a little luck and some sedimentary rock. Igneous rock is volcanic in nature, so that won’t be likely to preserve any critters. Metamorphic rock is rock that has changed from heat and pressure, so no luck there either. But sedimentary rock is just dirt that compacted into rocks. If you go on a fossil hunt, respect private property and remember not to take anything from or do any damage to national parks.

Petrified wood- looking at the rough bark

Petrified wood- look closely and you can see the grains

Ant trapped in amber (Smithsonian)