Nuclear Power Data

Fossil Fuel Data

ENERGY

94% of the world's energy comes from oil, gas and coal. But these fossil fuels'" won't last for ever. There's only enough oil and gas for the next 50 years. Coal will last longer — perhaps another 300 years. Then what? Well — there are two possible answers: nuclear power and natural energy.

□ The Problem

v The energy in fossil fuels came from the sun thousands of years ago. First, plants stored it. Then the plants died. After that their cells (and all the energy stored inside them) slowly turned into coal, gas and oil.

v Man can't make new fossil fuels. When we've used all the coal, gas and oil on Earth we'll need to get our energy from somewhere else.

v Each person in the First World uses the energy from six tonnes of coal (or the same in gas or oil) every year. 94% of that energy comes from fossil fuels.

v The average American uses twice as much energy as a European (and 1,000 times as much as someone from Nepal).

v In the 21st century there will be less and less oil and gas. As this hap­pens, both fuels will become more expensive.

v Coal will last longer - perhaps for another 300 years.

v Man uses 30% of all fossil fuels to heat buildings.

v It's possible to save 50% of all energy in houses and 30% in industry. Energy conservation like this will become more and more important in the future.

v 60% of all the world's oil becomes petrol for cars, buses and lorries.

v In 1950 there were 4 million cars in Britain. Today there are 25 million.

v Modern cars use much less fuel than 20 years ago. But experts think there will be 50% more cars in the year 2000.

v The world's top four coal producers are... America, Russia, China, Germany.

v The world's top five oil exporters are... Saudi Arabia, Russia, The United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Nigeria.

v The most important fuel for 2 billion people in the Third World isn't coal, gas or oil. In parts of Africa and Asia, 80% of all energy comes from wood.

v Russia built the first nuclear power station in 1954.

v The fuel which nuclear power stations use is a rare metal - uranium. One tonne of uranium can produce as much energy as 20,000 tonnes of coal.

v Electricity from nuclear power is far more expensive than energy from oil.

v These countries all produce uranium... Russia, Canada, America, South Africa, Australia, China.

v Nuclear power doesn't pollute the atmosphere like fossil fuels. But it does produce waste. This stays radioactive for thousands of years and is very dangerous. At the moment most stations bury their waste deep underground, at sea or send it to other countries. (Britain, for example, accepts and buries nuclear waste from several countries.)

v Another problem for the nuclear industry is leukaemia (pronounced 'loo-kee-mee-ah). This is a cancer of the blood. Usually it's very rare -but not near several British nuclear power stations. There, the number of people with the disease is much higher than normal. Many of them are children.

v Nuclear power stations are never in cities. That's because of the possi­bility of accidents. There have already been several serious ones. For example... Sellafield (UK-1957), Three Mile Island (USA - 1979), Chornobyl (USSR-1986).

v The accident at Chornobyl sent a cloud of radioactive pollution over Scandinavia and Western Europe. This pollution travelled for more than 1,000 kilometres. As a result, farmers had to kill millions of pigs, sheep and cows. But the accident didn't just affect animals - it affected people, too. Doctors expect to see 25,000 extra cancers before the year 2000 because of Chornobyl.

v Since Chornobyl, many countries have stopped building new nuclear power stations. Many, but not all. France, for example, still believes in the future of nuclear energy. But other countries, like Sweden and America, are less sure now than in the '60s or '70s.

Дата добавления: 2015-05-24