Title: Reading
Course: GFM 102 Technical Aspects of Energy, Resources & Conservation > Section: GFM 102 Technical Aspects of Energy, Resources & Conservation

Reading

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Consumption and Total Energy

Browse terms related to these Consumption and Total Energy sectors at U.S. Energy Information Administration (Glossary website). In the next section we will explore energy sectors: alternative fuels, coal, electricity, natural gas, nuclear, petroleum, and renewable.

Energy Is the Ability to Do Work

Energy Has Different Forms:

- Heat (thermal)
- Light (radiant)
- Motion (kinetic)
- Electrical
- Chemical
- Nuclear energy
- Gravitational

Energy is in everything. We use energy for everything we do; from making a jump shot to baking cookies to sending astronauts into space.

There are two types of energy:

- Stored (potential) energy
- Working (kinetic) energy

For example, the food you eat contains chemical energy, and your body stores this energy until you use it when you work or play.

Energy Sources Can be Categorized as Renewable or Nonrenewable

When we use electricity in our home, the electrical power was probably generated by burning coal, by a nuclear reaction, or by a hydroelectric plant at a dam. Therefore, coal, nuclear and hydro is called energy sources. When we fill up a gas tank, the source might be petroleum or ethanol made by growing and processing corn.

Energy sources are divided into two groups — renewable (an energy source that can be easily replenished) and nonrenewable (an energy source that we are using up and cannot recreate). Renewable and nonrenewable energy sources can be used to produce secondary energy sources including electricity and hydrogen.

Renewable Energy

Renewable energy sources include:

- Solar energy from the sun, which can be turned into electricity and heat
- Wind
- Geothermal energy from heat inside the Earth
- Biomass from plants, which includes firewood from trees, ethanol from corn, and biodiesel from vegetable oil
- Hydropower from hydroturbines at a dam

Do these terms sound familiar? Some are… Some aren’t! Become familiar by looking them up in Glossary sites.