The many sources of energy production in the United States are described in this overview. Included are traditional sources, renewable sources, and new energy production technologies.

In this lesson, students look at profiles of energy production for different regions of the United States. They examine the conversion efficiency and the carbon dioxide emissions of each type of energy, and then the environmental impact...

Overview of the fossil energy industry (oil, gas, coal) with detailed descriptions of the processes and the work of the people employed in the industry.

This lesson addresses the following questions: What is the efficiency with which energy is converted from trophic level to trophic level? What are the differences between assimilation efficiency, net production efficiency, and ecological...

Provides good information about oil made from petroleum. Covers production, offshore drilling, fuel products made from crude oil, the refining process, and environmental issues. Includes helpful charts and maps.

With this resource, users join investigators in the exploration of humans' use of and dependence on the many energy resources. Learn about new technologies such as carbon capture and sequestration as an alternative to reduce our carbon...

This video segment adapted from NOVA/FRONTLINE looks at American energy consumption and the resulting production of greenhouse gases. [4:59]

Students work with ice cubes and different colored paper to develop observations in order to prove energy can be transferred from one object to another. Resources include videos of the lesson in action, examples of student work, and...

Energy production from natural gas is less destructive to the environment than energy produced from coal, but it is still produced from fossil fuels. While advances have been made in reducing its detrimental effects, our resources are...

This simulation can be used as a virtual lab for photosynthesis, cellular respiration, and primary productivity.

Hydroelectric power has been a major source of energy production in the United States. More recently, other alternative energy sources have taken some of its market share. Hydroelectricity has both advantages and disadvantages, briefly...

The advantages and disadvantages of hydrogen fuel cell technology as a source for energy production are outlined. There is still much to be done in research and development before this energy source can be marketed widely.

Easy-to-understand information on mining and transporting coal, producing it, uses of coal, and coal and the environment.

One major advantage with the use of renewable energy is that as it is renewable it is therefore sustainable and so will never run out. Renewable energy facilities generally require less maintenance than traditional generators. Their fuel...

Article discusses importance of Photosynthesis in terms of food, energy, and environment. Relates process to human needs.

Hydropower is a clean, renewable and reliable energy source which converts kinetic energy from falling water into electricity, without consuming more water than is produced by nature. Quite simply the oldest method by which renewable...

Industrial engineers improve processes by eliminating any waste of time, money, energy, or other resources. They need to understand how every part can affect the entire process and figure out how to balance each part to design the most...

An interactive graph that predicts how many years until more than two dozen natural resources (e.g., chromium, oil, tin, coal, etc.) are depleted, based on current production rates or production that grows each year. Use the slider at...

A suite of lessons focusing on the process of upwelling. Inquiry-based exploration of seasonal upwelling includes marine food webs, food production in the ocean, wind-driven ocean currents, and seasonal changes in biotic and abiotic...

The status of wind energy production in the United States is described, with the advantages and disadvantages of this alternative energy source.

This activity aims to explore the production process and its advancing technologies to better extract petroleum for products and energy use. What happens to production as the amount of oil in the ground decreases?

Compared to incandescent lamps, fluorescent lamps last longer, require less energy and produce less heat, advantages resulting from the different way in which they generate light.

An interactive activity for you to find out how much your lifestyle depends on mining. Students select household items and learn facts about their chemical nature, properties and uses, their origins in the Earth, mining, and production.

Coal is still widely used in energy production but is responsible for a third of the carbon dioxide emissions in the United States. New technologies, described here, are being developed to reduce or eliminate these emissions.