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Annotated Bibliography

Sebastian Miki-Silva

University of Texas at El Paso

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COUNTRY COMPARISON :: ELECTRICITY - CONSUMPTION.: The table lists

countries according to their electricity consumption in kWh, sorted from high to low

consumption. The United States, with 3,913,000,000 MWh, is the second country on the list, just

below China, which is at 5,920,000,000 MWh. The U.S. electricity consumption is far greater

than that of other candidates such as Russia, India, Japan, or even the European Union.

Coal Power: Air Pollution: Coal plants are the nations top source of carbon dioxide

(CO2) emissions (Coal Power, n.d.). Although some coal plants have implemented pollution

controls, most U.S. coal plants have not yet implemented these regulations. This generally allows

more contaminants to be released into the air. Other contaminants emitted by coal plants with

these regulations implemented include: sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particle matter, and

mercury. All of these are associated with serious health related problems, such as asthma,

chronic bronchitis, brain damage, and heart problems. Coal plants without regulations emit a

greater number of contaminants such as lead, cadmium, carbon monoxide, and arsenic. (Coal

Power, n.d.).

Environmental Impacts of Solar Power.: The environmental impacts related with using

solar power include: the use of land, which can vary from 3.5 to 16.5 acres per MW, depending

on the type and of solar power used, the use of water as a coolant, and the use of hazardous

materials for the cell manufacturing for photovoltaic solar power. Some examples of hazardous

materials are hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, and acetone. Carbon dioxide emissions related with

other stages of the life-cycle of the solar cell can range from .07 to .18 pounds of carbon dioxide

per kWh. Nevertheless, the environmental impact of solar power is far less than burning coal or

natural gas to produce electricity (Env. Imp. of Solar Power, n.d.).

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Environmental Impacts of Wind Power.: The most important environmental impact

related with wind power is the use of land, although the land used can be shared with other

activities such as livestock grazing, agriculture, and highways. Wildlife, sound, visual impact,

and the carbon dioxide emissions related to the manufacturing of the turbines themselves are

some other environmental impacts. Overall, the environmental impact related with wind power is

less significant than burning coal (Env. Imp. of Wind Power, n.d.).

Table 1.1A. Net Generation from Renewable Sources: Total (All Sectors), 2007-August

2017.: The table provides the net production of electricity from different types of renewable

sources, such as solar photovoltaic, solar thermal, wind, and conventional hydroelectric from

2007 to 2016. Below the annual production table, the years 2015, 2016, and 2017 are divided

monthly. The biggest current renewable energy source is hydroelectric power, generating

265,829 thousand MWh. Wind power falls right below it, generating 226,872 thousand MWh.

Lastly, solar energy is comprised of solar photovoltaic and solar thermal, generating 36,755

thousand MWh. (Table 1.1, n.d.).

Table 2.1.A. Coal: Consumption for Electricity Generation, by Sector, 2007-August 2017

(Thousand Tons).: The table provides information about the amount of coal used in a thousand

tons to produce electricity from 2007 to 2016. It is divided in the different sectors of electricity

production. The amount of coal used to produce electricity has been reduced over the years. In

2016, there was 678,005 thousand tons used for electricity production, which contrasts greatly

with the year 2007, in which 1,046,795 thousand tons were used. (Table 2.1.A., n.d.)

Table 3.1.A. Net Generation by Energy Source: Total (All Sectors), 2005 2015.: The

table provides the net electricity generated annually from 2005 to 2015. It also provides

information about the amount of electricity generated by different sources, such as coal, nuclear
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power, and solar power. The amount of electricity produced by solar power, wind power, and

other renewable sources over the years has increased. The amount of electricity produced by the

U.S. in the year 2015 was 4,077,601 thousand MWh. The biggest source of electricity production

is coal, followed by natural gas. The smallest source is petroleum coke. (Table 3.1, n.d.)

Overview of Greenhouse Gases.: The primary greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide,

contributing with 82 percent of the total volume of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The

main source of carbon dioxide emissions is the burning of coal for producing electricity. The

production of electricity accounts for 35 percent of the total emissions, causing it to be the

largest single source of CO2 emissions in the nation (EPA, 2017, April 14). The second largest

source is transportation (EPA, 2017, April 14). With this article, the reader can observe one of

the environmental impacts caused by the burning of coal as a main source for producing

electricity. It also allows the reader to put into perspective the environmental impact of

producing energy with coal, with the impact of producing energy with other more renewable

sources.
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References

Central Intelligence Agency. (n.d.). COUNTRY COMPARISON :: ELECTRICITY -

CONSUMPTION. Retrieved November 06, 2017, from

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2233rank.html

Coal Power: Air Pollution. (n.d.). Retrieved November 06, 2017, from

http://www.ucsusa.org/clean-energy/coal-and-other-fossil-fuels/coal-air-

pollution#.WgEc2xNSyRu

Environmental Impacts of Solar Power. (n.d.). Retrieved November 06, 2017, from

http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/our-energy-choices/renewable-

energy/environmental-impacts-solar-power.html#.WgEuFRNSyRs

Environmental Impacts of Wind Power. (n.d.) Retrieved November 06, 2017, from

http://www.ucsusa.org/clean-energy/renewable-energy/environmental-impacts-wind-

power#.WgE46RNSyRs

U.S. Energy Information Administration. (n.d.). Table 1.1.A. Net Generation from Renewable

Sources: Total (All Sectors), 2007-August 2017. Retrieved November 06, 2017, from

https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php?t=epmt_1_01_a

U.S. Energy Information Administration. (n.d.). Table 2.1.A. Coal: Consumption for Electricity

Generation, by Sector, 2007-August 2017 (Thousand Tons). Retrieved October 26, 2017,

from https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php?t=epmt_2_01_a

U.S. Energy Information Administration. (n.d.). Table 3.1.A. Net Generation by Energy Source:

Total (All Sectors), 2005 - 2015. Retrieved October 26, 2017, from

https://www.eia.gov/electricity/annual/html/epa_03_01_a.html
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Overview of Greenhouse Gases. (2017, April 14).

Retrieved November 06, 2017, from https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/overview-

greenhouse-gases