Alaska’s North Slope

1. Alaska’s North Slope Proposed drilling

2. Central Case: oil or wilderness on Alaska’s North Slope? • Alaska’s remote North Slope represents a pristine wilderness to some and untapped oil riches to others • The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is the focus of intense debate over whether the “1002 Area” should be opened to drilling • Opponents fear that drilling will sacrifice the nation’s national heritage for little gain

3. Alaska’s North Slope consists of three regions • The National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska (NPR-A) • Intended to remain untapped unless the nation faced an emergency • It has been opened for drilling • Prudhoe Bay consists of state lands that are drilled for oil that is transported via the trans-Alaska pipeline to the port of Valdez • The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is federal land set aside for wildlife and to preserve pristine ecosystems • It has been called the “Serengeti of North America”

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5. Alaska Oil Wells

6. Environmentabout.com

8. Fossil Fuels– 3 Kings: Oil, Coal, Natural Gas

11. OECD The mission of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world

13. Energy returned on investment (EROI) = energy returned/energy invested • Higher ratios = more energy received than invested • Ratios decline after easiest reserves extracted

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15. formed from the tissues of organisms that lived 100-500 million years ago Organic material is broken down in an anaerobic environment Bottoms of deep lakes, swamps, and shallow seas eventually converted into crude oil, natural gas, or coal

16. Coal • The world’s most abundant fossil fuel • Coal = organic matter (woody plant material) that was compressed under very high pressure to form dense, solid carbon structures • Very little decomposition occurred

17. Coal Mining 69% 31% • Deforestation • Coal runoff into streams • Acid leaching • Massey Energy - 4500 violations of Clean Water Act Coal Firm to Pay Record Penalty NY Times 3/14

18. Mountaintop Removal Eia.gov Appvoices.org

20. What are the top coal producing states?

24. Coal Uky.edu

25. Burning of Coal • Sulfur (acid depositon), mercury (bioaccumulates) • Coal powered electrical plant release: CO2, SO2, fly ash • Clean Coal Technology: Integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC):

26. Natural Gas • Electricity, heating, cooking, transportation • Found in association with oil • Largely methane • Burns cleaner than coal or oil • Still emits greenhouse gases: CO2 and Nox • EPA Study of Fracking

29. Hydraulic Fracturing or “Fracking”

32. Oil

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35. Oil is under pressure and often rises to the surface • Primary extraction = the initial drilling and pumping of available oil • Secondary extraction = solvents, water, or stream is used to remove additional oil; expensive Adamrlee.org

36. Primary and secondary oil extraction

38. Petroleum products have many uses Extracted oil is refined to create many products

39. U.S. oil production has already peaked

40. Global oil production is peaking

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42. Oil Reserves by state

43. Oil Shale and Tar Sand • Sedimentary mixtures that when heated release waxy or tarlike hydrocarbon mixtures similar to crude oil • 1/2 ton oil shale yields ½ barrel oil • Extraction expensive/destructive ostseis.anl.gov Dis.anl.gov

45. Proposed XL Keystone Pipeline

46. CAFE • Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) First enacted by Congress in 1975, the purpose of CAFE is to reduce energy consumption by increasing the fuel economy of cars and light trucks. • Summary of Standards: CAFE standards.docx

47. Consequences of Fossil Fuel Use World Reserve Estimates