Media Presentation

1. Technology will Destroy
our Planet
Our Reliance on Fossil Fuels
Nathan Ruff

2. Technology will Destroy
our Planet -
 How does society rely on
Fossil Fuels?
 Types of Fossil Fuels
 Extracting Methods
 Environmental Impacts
 Can We Change Our
Needs?

3. Society Needs Fossil Fuels
 Our need to use fossil fuels as a society will
continue to grow at an increasing rate.
 We use fossil fuels to power our cars, to power our
homes and is the major source of energy used world
wide.
 Through the use of fossil fuels we will double the
amount of green house gas emissions by 2040.
 Coal burning and Natural gas burning plants are
expected to rise in both Canada, The United States
and China.

4. Society Needs Continued
 Green Fuels are becoming more and more prevalent but
infrastructure for these green energies is lagging behind.
 Public opinions are heavily favoring greener energies,
but these technologies are costly and not easily
affordable, making polluting fuels more desirable.
 Governments are also are up against hard fighting
lobbyist group are making greener technologies hard to
develop and implement.
 The Documentary “Who Killed the Electric Car” shows
influences from General Motors, the Western States
Petroleum Association, and other interest groups that
ultimately had the technology destroyed.

5. Fossil Fuels
 Fossil Fuels are created by organic deposits such as
decaying plants, or animals, that have been exposed
to extreme heat and pressure under the earths crust
for millions of years.
 Crude Oil, Coal, and Natural Gas are the main fossil
fuels.
 These Fuels are extracted around the globe through
various means and then burned to produce energy
used to power almost anything.

6. Extracting Methods – Oil
 Oil is extracted through drilling.
 Can be done both on land and off-
shore
 Drills penetrate the ground in order
to pump crude oil from cavities in the
earths crust containing oil.
 Drilling can be very dangerous. In
2010, BP’s Deep Water Horizon oil rig
in the Gulf of Mexico exploded
resulting in 11 deaths and over 4.9
million barrels of oil was discharged
into the ocean.

7. Extraction – Oil continued
 The Alberta Oil sands do not drill for oil. It is
extracted out of bitumen sands that are dug out of
the oil fields.
 The production of oil in this manner produces 12%
more green house gases per barrel then
conventional oil drilling practices.

8. Extraction – Fracking
 Fracking is done by sending a mixture of water and
several other chemicals into a drilled hole in the
earths crust.
 This mixture is sent down at an extremely high
pressure to cause the rocks below to fracture and
release natural gas.
 The result is the mixture of chemicals is released
into the surrounding ground contaminating
drinking water and the surrounding earth

9. Extraction – Fracking
Continued
 There is a increase of up to 17% of methane contents
in drinking water around fracking wells.
 Less then 50% of the fracking mixture is recoverable
leaving. That remaining liquid is non-
biodegradable.
 There is an incredible amount of fresh water used in
the process of fracking which after it is used, can not
be filtered and is poisonous.

10. Extraction – Coal
 Coal is mined in above ground mines such as open pits,
or under ground in long wall mining.
 Coal was originally used in steam engines and now is
used in power plants to produce electricity.
 Coal is considered to be one of the worst polluters
among fossil fuels.

11. Environmental Impacts
 Since the discovery of fossil fuels society has become incredibly reliant on
them.
 Through the burning of these fuels considerable damages are being done to
the environment in terms of air pollution, and the production of green
house gases.
 The processes involved in extracting fossil fuels are all incredibly harmful to
the environment.
 Through oil drilling we are running the risk of deadly spills and the
polluting of oceans on off shore drilling enterprises.

12. Environment Impact
Continued
 The extraction of oil from bitumen sands in Alberta Canada
are wasting millions of gallons of water. The Canadian Tar
Sands are referred to as one of the worst polluting industrial
projects in the world.
 Fracking is using millions of gallons of fresh water. This water
is being poisoned with chemicals and then being forced into
the earth at incredibly high pressures to release natural gas.
 The amount of that water that is recovered from this is very
minimal. The water used in the process, regardless if it is
recovered or not is no longer useable and is not biodegradable.
It is either left in the ground to pollute and contaminate the
earth, or left in pools to evaporate and return in the form or
acid rains.

13. Can We Change?
 The way that society currently relies on fossil fuels will not
change in the near future without drastic improvements to
greener technologies.
 The amount of gas powered cars, trucks, vans and other
vehicles on our roads is approaching unsustainability.
 The infrastructure that is in place worldwide is one that
accepts current technologies and does not have room for the
development of others.
 Through social constructivism the argument could be made
that society is slowly moving towards a greener iniative. That
greener technologies with become more desired and that will
push newer eco friendly sources of power and energy into our
homes.

14. Can We Changed
Continued
 The question remains as to whether the initial
discovery of fossil fuels and the ability to harness
the energy they create was something that was
brought on by technological determinism, to which
we, regardless of our views and social standards,
are left to live with the world that energy from fossil
fuels has created.
 Or we have the power through Social Contructivism
to change the path which our current technologies
have us on through the burning of fossil fuels.

15. Conclusion
 The current path that society is on is unsustainable.
 Fossil fuels are a none renewable resource that we can
not reproduce without the patience of millions and
millions of years.
 Technology in its current state, without any green
developments will be a major cause for the destruction of
the environment and ultimately the planet.
 Society will have to start lobbying manufacturers and the
government to ensure that greener energies are being
developed without restrictions.

16. Sources
Andrew Freedman, Climate Central, “Fossil Fuels to Dominate World Energy Use Through 2040”,
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/fossil-fuels-to-dominate-world-energy-use-through-2040-
16284
Union Of Concern Scientists, “Coal vs. Wind”,
http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/coalvswind/c01.
Linda Dong, The Dangerous of Fracking” http://www.dangersoffracking.com
Wikipedia, Oil Sands, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_sands
Craig C. Freudenrich, Energy Capital Group, “How Oil Drilling Works”,
http://www.encapgroup.com/drilling/
Science Daily, Science Reference, “Fossil Fuel”,
http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/f/fossil_fuel.htm
Staff of Green Business, The Guardian, April 23, 2012, “Nine out of Ten People Want Renewable
Energy”, http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/apr/23/people-want-more-renewable-
energy
“Who Killed the Electric Car?” (2006), http://www.whokilledtheelectriccar.com