Examining Your Community S Source Of Energy
Examining Your Community’s Source of Energy
Ecology and Environmental Sustainability
October 27, 2014
My home itself uses oil for the primary heating source. We have two wood burning fireplaces as an alternate to help conserve oil and if there is any power outages. The third source of energy used is electricity. Most commonly used house heating fuel in Slatington is fuel oil and Electricity (See Figure 1) (city-Data.com, 2014). According to EPODUNK website there are 1,867 homes within the borough of Slatington, PA. My homes daily electricity consumption is 37.53 KWH. That is a monthly average of 1,125.9KWH, and an annual consumption of 13510.8KWH (PP&L, 2014). If all the homes within Slatington used the same amount of electricity as my home the monthly average use of electricity would be 2102055.3KWH and the annual usage would be a whopping 25224663.6KWH of electricity use. The effects of the production of electricity on the environment are extensive. The production of electricity typically comes from the use of fossil fuels. The effects on the environment extend from the extraction of these fossil fuels to eliminating the byproducts of the production of electricity. Mining of uranium and coal to produce electricity have been more controlled through the years and the pollution produced has been minimized, but do require substantial rehabilitation of the areas mined. Then the burning of these fossil fuels have staggering effects on the environment. There is the release of carbon dioxide, and radioactivity into the environment. The radioactivity comes from both coal-fired and nuclear powered stations. When coal combustion is the source of electricity production the uranium, radium and thorium present cases the ash from the coal to become radioactive. Then there are the gases released from the nuclear plants that have not even fully been investigated as far as the effects on the environment as of yet. The waste produced from
Ecology and Environmental Sustainability
October 27, 2014
My home itself uses oil for the primary heating source. We have two wood burning fireplaces as an alternate to help conserve oil and if there is any power outages. The third source of energy used is electricity. Most commonly used house heating fuel in Slatington is fuel oil and Electricity (See Figure 1) (city-Data.com, 2014). According to EPODUNK website there are 1,867 homes within the borough of Slatington, PA. My homes daily electricity consumption is 37.53 KWH. That is a monthly average of 1,125.9KWH, and an annual consumption of 13510.8KWH (PP&L, 2014). If all the homes within Slatington used the same amount of electricity as my home the monthly average use of electricity would be 2102055.3KWH and the annual usage would be a whopping 25224663.6KWH of electricity use. The effects of the production of electricity on the environment are extensive. The production of electricity typically comes from the use of fossil fuels. The effects on the environment extend from the extraction of these fossil fuels to eliminating the byproducts of the production of electricity. Mining of uranium and coal to produce electricity have been more controlled through the years and the pollution produced has been minimized, but do require substantial rehabilitation of the areas mined. Then the burning of these fossil fuels have staggering effects on the environment. There is the release of carbon dioxide, and radioactivity into the environment. The radioactivity comes from both coal-fired and nuclear powered stations. When coal combustion is the source of electricity production the uranium, radium and thorium present cases the ash from the coal to become radioactive. Then there are the gases released from the nuclear plants that have not even fully been investigated as far as the effects on the environment as of yet. The waste produced from
References: City-Data.com. (2014). Slatington, Pennsylvaniz. Retrieved from City-Data.com: http://www.city-data.com/city/Slatington-Pennsylvania.html epodunk. (2007). housing. Retrieved from PODUNK the power of places: http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/housOverview.php?locIndex=14863 Podunk, t. (2014). Slatington Community Profile . Retrieved from http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=14863 Powerefficiency101.com. (2014). Pennsylvania Solar Power-Renewable Energy Slatington, PA. Retrieved from Powerefficiency101.com: http://powerefficiency101.com/pennsylvania/pennsylvania-solar-power-renewable-energy-slatington-pa/ PP&L. (2014). Analyze My Bill. Retrieved from Pennsylvania Power and Light: https://www.pplelectric.com/my-account/start-tracking-start-saving/analyze-bill.aspx Scorecard. (2011). Criteria Air Pollutant Report Description. Retrieved from Scorecard The Pollution Information Site: http://scorecard.goodguide.com/env-releases/cap/report-descriptions.tcl#ej Tawa, S. (2014, 8 6). Pa. Ranks Out of Top States for Solar Energy, N.J Ranks 3rd. Retrieved from CBSPhilly: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2014/08/06/pa-ranks-out-of-top-10-states-for-solar-energy-n-j-ranks-3rd/ World Nuclear Association. (2013, 11). Environment and Health in Electricity Generation. Retrieved from World Nuclear Association: http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Energy-and-Environment/Environment-and-Health-in-Electricity-Generation/