What a learner can do afterwards
- Lists at least four renewable and three non-renewable energy resources
- Explains what makes a resource renewable or non-renewable
- Compares the environmental impact of at least two different energy sources (e.g. wind vs coal)
- Discusses trade-offs between cost, reliability, and environmental impact in choosing energy resources
The lesson
You already know that energy moves from one store to another, and that burning fuels releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Power stations use that same idea on a huge scale. Energy resources split into two groups. A renewable resource is topped up by nature in a short time: sunlight (solar), wind, moving water (hydroelectric), ocean tides (tidal), heat from deep underground (geothermal), and plant or waste material (biomass) are all renewable. A non-renewable resource formed over millions of years and cannot be replaced once it is gone: coal, oil, natural gas, and nuclear fuel are all non-renewable.
A coastal town needs a new power source. Option A is a gas power station: it can run any hour of the day or night, but burning gas adds carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Option B is a wind farm: it adds no CO2 while spinning, but stops making power when the air is still. The town picks a mix of both, so lights stay on during calm days and pollution drops on windy ones.
When people choose an energy resource, they weigh three things: how much it costs to build and run, how reliably it makes power, and how much damage it does to the environment. Non-renewables are usually reliable but pollute and will eventually run out. Renewables pollute far less but depend on weather, so many countries mix several types together.
Renewable resources are refilled by nature and pollute less, but non-renewable resources are reliable and finite, so most places use a mix to balance cost, reliability, and environmental impact.
Watch it
Where it sits
This opens up
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.