The Dark Face of Our Bright Lights
A Public Service Announcement from the Capitol
Do not be fooled by the Districts; let the Challengers expose the negative impacts of each source of energy
Oil, Coal, and Natural Gas
Introduction - Oil, Coal, and Natural Gas
Oil, coal, and natural gas are fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are dead bodies of million year old plants and animal buried deep beneath the earth. Over the millions of years, the pressure from the sedimentary rocks and the heat from the Earth have transformed these bodies into extremely usable energy sources. Currently, fossil fuels provide 90% of all technological energy used in the world.
Cleaning oil from surface of water
Oil spill from leaking pipes
Duck having oil removed from its feathers
Environmental Impacts of Oil, Coal, and Natural Gas
There are many harmful environmental effects of using fossil fuels as a major energy source. The burning of fossil fuels release compounds that cause air pollution and smog, and the extraction and refinement of the fuels themselves also cause damage to the environment. Furthermore, this source of energy is not renewable.
If 900 million tons of coal was burned in Panem each year, here’s what would be released:
- 18 million tons of harmful sulphur dioxide
- 5 million tons of nitrogen oxides (main component of acid rain)
- 4 million tons of carbon monoxide (lethal to breathe)
- Almost a trillion tons of carbon dioxide (biggest greenhouse gas)
- A significant amount of toxic metals such as mercury, cadmium, thallium & zinc into the air
Abandoned mines can also form acid drainage and toxic seepage that can leak into streams and other bodies of water in Panem. Coal mining can also cause:
- Deep holes
- Destroyed mountain tops
- Toxic spoil piles
- Destruction of habitats and ecosystems
Oil well exploration, drilling, construction, and transport of oil to markets is also very disruptive to wild landscapes and wildlife. Furthermore, oil spills such as the BP oil spill show how risky shipping a large amount of oil is.
Social Impacts of Oil, Coal, and Natural Gas
The social impacts of oils, coals, natural gas include negative health effects and health hazards. The negative impact on health is that is causes the emission of greenhouse gases, which cause the ozone layer to thin. Therefore, more UV rays enter the earth’s atmosphere and UV rays cause skin cancer. Furthermore, radioactivity released from coal and coal plants release thorium and uranium, which can cause radioactive poisoning.
In addition to individual health effects, coal mines have a ton of health hazards for the miners. It might cause pneumoconiosis (CWP), also known as black lung disease. It is caused by long-term exposure to coal dust, which builds up in lungs and causes inflammation, fibrosis, and necrosis. There is also the risk of roofs collapsing and trapping or killing miners, since safety devices used to monitor the mines are not foolproof. There may also be coal dust explosions, which occur by rapid combustion of dust particles in the air in a closed space by friction, hot surfaces, electrostatic discharge, or fire. These explosions are big enough to be harmful and can cause collapses.
Financial Impacts of Oil, Coal, and Natural Gas
Political Impacts of Oil, Coal, Natural Gas
Nuclear Energy
Introduction - Nuclear Energy
Nuclear energy is energy released from two kinds of reactions: nuclear fission and nuclear fusion. Nuclear fission is when the nuclei of atoms split into two smaller nuclei. When that is happening, a small amount of mass from the reaction is converted to a large amount of energy. Nuclear fission is done in nuclear power plants, where many fission reactions are occurring in chains, which release energy in consistent amounts. The energy released from fission is used to boil water and release steam. The steam is used to spin electricity-generating turbines. Most nuclear reactors use uranium isotope called uranium-235 as fuel.
Environmental Impact - Radioactive Waste
Nuclear power plants produce radioactive waste, which is either low-level or high-level. Low level nuclear waste has low radioactivity and a short half-life, and can be buried without many ill effects. High level waste on the other hand is dangerous and highly radioactive, making it extremely difficult to store. It is hot and must be cooled before disposal. A large nuclear reactor can produce 25 tons of high level waste in a year.
Environmental Impact - Processing Waste
The two methods of disposing of highly radioactive waste are reprocessing and permanent storage. Reprocessing is when waste is treated chemically so it is less radioactive. This is extremely expensive and presents financial and political problems, and usually not feasible. Permanent storage is when nuclear waste is buried deep within the earth in protective containers. The problem with permanent storage is that one would have to find areas with no seismic activity and with some distance from aquifers. The nuclear waste may leach as time passes, which will eventually pose a huge threat to human health and the environment.
Environmental Impact - Thermal Pollution
Thermal pollution is another big issue cause by nuclear energy. It occurs when nuclear plants use water as a coolant, resulting in warm water entering the environment. Warmer water changes oxygen levels, which harms aquatic life through processes like eutrophication. Fish can also die from thermal shock, which is a sudden change in temperature that they cannot adapt to.
Social Impact - Nuclear Energy
The social impact of using nuclear power is that it poses high risk to people living in the area in case of a nuclear meltdown. A nuclear power plant failure can result in a large amount of radiation being released into the atmosphere, resulting in the surrounding population dying from radiation poisoning. As seen from nuclear disasters in the past like Chernobyl, long-term health risks include cancer, cataracts, cardiovascular disease, and reproductive dysfunction. Even traumatic still is the displacement that follows, resulting in elevated stress for the displaced persons and possible stigma as having been “infected” by radiation.
Financial Impact - Nuclear Energy
The financial impact of using nuclear power is that it is financially unreasonable. It is extremely expensive to build a nuclear power plant compared to a fossil fuel plant, which means that it is not always possible for poorer countries. It takes anywhere from five years to a decade to build the plant, stemming from legal formalities and objections made by people living in the immediate area. Furthermore, the lifespan of a nuclear power plant is relatively short. After thirty years of use, a plant is shut down for good. Nuclear energy is also non-renewable, depending on a supply of uranium.
Political Impact - Nuclear Energy
The political impact of using nuclear power is that its byproduct, plutonium, may be used to create nuclear weapons. In the reprocessing of nuclear waste, one product is plutonium. Plutonium is currently banned in Panem for the protection of the people.
Wind Energy
introduction - Wind Energy
Wind Energy - Social Impacts
Wind Energy - Environmental Impacts
Wind Energy - Financial Impacts
In addition, while wind power might be a renewable energy source and harness something free to produce power, nothing is truly free. It will take at least thirty years to start gaining the money back and this is for one wind turbine. Assuming Panem invests in 20 turbines, that would mean about approximately 52 million initially just for the wind turbines.
Other Impacts - Wind Energy
Solar Energy
Introduction - Solar Energy
Social Impacts - Solar Energy
Various risks to the individual and society become apparent in the manufacturing, disposal, and usage of solar technologies.
In the manufacturing of the solar cell, crystalline silica dust may be unearthed. Crystalline silica dust is a known carcinogen. When inhaled, it causes silicosis, where scar tissue forms in the lung and reduces respiratory ability. It may also cause chronic pulmonary obstruction disease (COPD), rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, Sjogern’s syndrome, lupus, and renal disease.
In the disposal of the solar cell, improper disposal could lead from the solar panels leaching into landfills. Lead is toxic to humans and causes negative health effects like reproductive problems, headaches, memory loss, and joint and muscle pains.
There may also be health risks associated with the use of solar energy. People who have electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) may be affected by the presence of solar panels everywhere. Symptoms of EHS include headaches and restlessness. EHS can be so severe that people may not be able to be in or around the buildings using solar systems.
Environmental Impacts - Solar Energy
There may be environmental impacts associated with the use of solar energy. Solar panels require a lot of land area to collect useful amounts of energy. In addition, they make the landscape look ugly and unusable for other purposes. Furthermore, extraction of raw materials can pose risks to the environment. Crystalline silica, for example, can alter the landscape when it is dug up for refinement. The leeching of toxic chemicals may render the land toxic for animals and plants, and make it unusable for agricultural purposes.
Solar panel production also produces toxic byproducts like silicon tetrachloride, dusts, and greenhouse gases like sulphur hexafluoride. For each ton of polysilicon produced alone, four tons of silicon tetrachloride is produced. Solar cells are also difficult to recycle and reuse, since manufactures are hesitant to take back the panels after their lifespans. Improper disposal can lead to possible lead leeching, resulting in a poisoned environment. When solar panels are processed, they create water lace with carcinogenic or toxic compounds like cadmium, lead, etc. Leaks would be disastrous to the environment.
Financial Impacts - Solar Energy
The financial impact of solar energy focuses on difficulties with production and implementation. Solar panels are difficult to produce and implement, with cost payoff needing up to a decade. The initial cost of mass-purchasing solar panels makes it difficult for Panem to invest in the technology. In case of toxic leeching during manufacturing or disposal, it would require even more money to clean up the environment. Furthermore, there would be difficulties in negotiating price for those who contribute to the electric grid. In term of disposal, it costs more for companies and manufacturers to transport the used solar cells to a remote location for disposal, made worse by the fact that almost all vehicles operate on fossil fuels.
Functional Drawbacks of Solar Energy
There are various problems with the use of solar energy. First and foremost, solar energy cannot be used at all if there is no sun. Solar energy is unreliable when the weather is not sunny, and is not as effective in areas of the world that receive a disproportionately small amount of daytime due to their position on the globe. Furthermore, solar energy can only be used immediately. In order to save up energy, there needs to be a storage device, like a battery, and it is impossible to use solar energy after sunset unless one possesses a battery. Even at its most efficient, solar energy is only 11 to 15% efficient at converting solar energy into electrical energy.
Hydro Energy
Introduction - Hydro Energy
Social Impact - Hydro Energy
Environmental Impact - Emission of methane and carbon dioxide
Environmental Impact - Disturbance of Habitat
Damming rivers may destroy or disrupt wildlife and other natural resources. Some fish, like salmon, may be prevented from swimming upstream to spawn. Technologies like fish ladders help salmon go up over dams and enter upstream spawning areas, but the presence of hydroelectric dams changes their migration patterns and hurts fish populations. Hydropower plants can also cause low dissolved oxygen levels in the water, which is harmful to river habitats.
Environmental Impact - Breaking of Dams
Financial Impact - Hydro Energy
Other Impacts - Hydro Energy
Often times, a large body of water is located between two major cities or territories. Disputes may arise concerning the ownership of electricity produced. In addition, hydro energy is limited by geography. As hydroelectric power depends on geography, only those areas that have sufficient amounts of water can use this method.
Geothermal Energy
Introduction - Geothermal Energy
Social Impact - Geothermal Energy
There are many social impacts associated with geothermal energy. Firstly, earthquakes caused by digging for geothermal energy may affect people living in the area, causing inconvenience, stress, displacement, injury, or even death. Next, since it is difficult to find good reservoir spots, landscapes may be marred in order to harness geothermal energy.
Environmental Impact - Geothermal Energy
There are also environmental issues associated with geothermal energy. For example, a geothermal hotspot may leak sulphur dioxide and silica into the atmosphere. Other harmful elements that could be exposed to the environment are mercury, arsenic, and boron. The recovery of geothermal sources may also cause earthquakes, as hydraulic fracturing may be used to open up space for a geothermal plant. Furthermore, the pumps used to operate geothermal energy sources need another source of electrical energy to power the pump, and the most widely used form of energy is coal. In this way, non-renewable energy sources are still being used in order to obtain geothermal energy.
Financial Impact - Geothermal Energy
The most pressing issue in finance for geothermal energy is its cost. It has high initial costs for drilling and the construction of new facilities. For an average home, it could cost anywhere between $10 000 and $20 000 to install a geothermal energy plant. Furthermore, it takes up to a decade to pay off the cost of installing the plant. For geothermal power plants yielding 1 MW of energy, it could cost p to 7 million dollars to construct.
Other Impacts of Geothermal Energy
There are functional cons associated with geothermal energy. First and foremost is the sparseness of the availability of thermal hotspots. The thermal hotspot must be close to hot water or a stream that is not too impure to use, there must be surface water nearby to cool generating equipment. As well, it would be beneficial to have a geothermal hotspot with proximity to power lines.
In Panem alone, it is estimated that there is maximum 150 000 MW of energy to be harnessed. So far, only 25 000 MW of geothermal energy comes from known resources. This is only approximately a quarter of Panem’s energy needs, not including if cars were to go electric. Since energy resources are concentrated in the west in Panem, it would be convenient for the western territories to access geothermal energy, but not for the rest of the continent or the rest of the world. Furthermore, geothermal energy is unreliable because while the actual heat from the centre of the earth may not run out, the reservoir could lose energy or the energy may be released elsewhere due to shifts in the earth. Overall, it would be difficult to manage reservoirs of geothermal energy.
Biomass Energy
Introduction - Biomass Energy
Environmental Impact - Biomass Energy
There are several environmental risks associated with biomass energy. For example, large areas are needed to create enough fields to make biofuels efficient. However, converting acres of lands to farm fields can lead to deforestation and destruction of habitats. In addidion, a lot of biomass plants are invasive species. Companies grow these invasive species in non-native countries, which can lead to a large imbalance of native ecosystems. Furthermore, although they are supposed to be carbon neutral, biomass is not entirely clean when burned, and will create soot, ash, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide.
Social Impact - Biomass Energy
A social issue associated with biomass energy is that biomass production can negatively interfere with crop production. Instead of growing crops for consumption, energy crops are being grown.
Furthermore, these crops are all monocrops and may leech the soil of nutrients it needs, due to lack of crop rotation, leaving the farmland lacking in nourishment for future crops.
Financial Impact - Biomass Energy
A financial issue associated with biomass energy is that biomass has smaller energy content for its bulk than fossil fuels, which means that the labour, transportation, and storage costs for it are higher.
Land is also needed to produce biomass crops, and this may be in high demand for other things like conservation, housing, or agriculture. Research to improve biomass energy itself is also expensive.
Political Impact - Biomass Energy
A political problem associated with biomass energy is that due to higher food prices caused by biofuel manufacturers competing directly with good buyers, high demand for biofuel crops causes farmers and other growers to switch to biofuel production from food production. The result is higher food prices, which would be disastrous for the districts of Panem. This could cause a revolution from the citizens.