How Deadly Is Your Kilowatt? We Rank The Killer Energy Sources
- Abstract
Everyone’s heard of the carbon footprint of different energy sources, the largest footprint belonging to coal because every kWhr of energy produced emits about 900 grams of CO2. Wind and nuclear have the smallest carbon footprint with only 15 g emitted per kWhr, and that mainly from concrete production, construction, and mining of steel and uranium. Biomass is supposedly carbon neutral as it sucks CO2 out of the atmosphere before it liberates it again later, although production losses are significant depending upon the biomass. Carbon emissions and physical footprints are known as externalities and are those vague someone-has-to-pay-eventually kind of thing it’s hard to put a value on.
- Resource Type
- Opinion/editorial
- Author
- James Conca
- Resource URL
- http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2012/06/10/energys-deathprint-a-price-always-paid/#4346ba1e49d2
- Publication
- Forbes
- Date
- June 10, 2012
- Organization Type
- News
- Health and Human Impact
- Overview/general
- Climate and Environmental Impact
- Overview/general
- Emission Sources
- Conventional energy Energy Conventional
- Solution
- Renewable/clean energy