BP Energy Calculator

BP energy calculator has estimated my household energy consumption to be 49,182 kWh per year. Considering that one U.S. gallon of gasoline contains 35 kWh of energy, the energy consumption can be calculated into approximately 1,405 US gallons of gasoline energy per year. For a 3 person household that doesn’t seem to be incredibly high. Our carbon footprint is approximately 30.8 tonnes; this is higher than the U.S. average. I do not know, but I think this would be a low average compared to other Alaskan households. It seems that we are negatively affecting our environment because we choose to live in Alaska where energy is used more frequently to heat our homes, and getting from one place to another is more difficult and arduous task. Cities are not close by and visiting families in cities and villages accounts for a negative impact on energy consumption and carbon emissions. My home is not very close to central Anchorage, visiting family in Seward, and flying nationally and internationally uses a large amount of energy.

Links: http://www.bp.com/

Nuclear Energy

Over 80% of human consumption of energy derived from oil is provided by the burning of fossil fuels, which results in carbon dioxide admissions into the atmosphere, creating greenhouse gases. As energy consumption increases at an alarming rate, so does the need to find a renewable energy source that will not increase greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, adding to the global warming crises. Nuclear energy is an interesting resource that potentially could benefit the impact of greenhouse gases to the environment and provide a sustainable energy source for society. Currently 16% of the world’s electricity is derived from nuclear power without emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The usage of nuclear energy will benefit society’s electricity consumption without carbon dioxide emissions, and potential growth in other various chemical industries to benefit humanity.

References:

Saito, S. (2010). Role of nuclear energy to a future society of shortage of energy resources and global warming. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 398(1-3), 1.