Tag Archives: Energy

Kudos are in order

I read an article just recently that really impressed me. Many articles about renewable energy sources tend to gloss over the downsides of a particular technology and present a very simplified view of the overall environmental merit of the ‘renewable’ energy source. Perhaps simplifying the science behind new technology is the point of science review [...]

Posted in Energy, NYTimes | Also tagged , , | Comments closed

What’s the trouble with oil? (5/5)

In this final post on crude oil I’ll discuss why there’s so much controversy over oil. In short, using fossil fuels like crude has negative effects on the environment, economy, and therefore everyone.
The organic material that is found in crude oil sometimes contain sulfur atoms which if combusted turns into SO2 and then into H2SO4, [...]

Posted in Climate Change, Energy, Human Behavior, Oil & Crude | Also tagged , , , | Comments closed

How much oil do we use? (4/5)

Now that we’ve covered where oil comes from, what oil is chemically, and how we refine crude, it’s time to get to the heart of the oil hype – consumption.
The cool flow diagram below shows where the USA gets oil from and where we use it.

From this diagram we can learn quite a bit about [...]

Posted in Oil & Crude | Also tagged | Comments closed

Where Does Oil Come From? (2/5)

We just learned what hydrocarbons are, we want to know where they come from. This article continues the series on Crude Oil.
Organic material, like algae and zooplankton, that have died millions of year ago and sank to the bottom of the ocean were slowly buried by silt and other organic material to form layers. [...]

Posted in Energy | Also tagged | Comments closed

What are Hydrocarbons? (1/5)

As part of the series on Crude Oil, this article answers the question “What are Hydrocarbons?”
Hydrocarbons are combustible chains of carbon and hydrogen atoms. The backbone of these molecules are carbon atoms bonded together to form chains. Hydrogen atoms also bond to the carbon atoms but are never attached to anything else so they don’t [...]

Posted in Energy | Also tagged | Comments closed