In this video Paul Andersen discusses the technology, advantages and disadvantages of six sources of renewable energy; biomass, hydroelectric, solar, geothermal wind, and hydrogen. He also explains how changes in the storage and flow of...

The best form of energy available to the world is energy reduction. In this video Paul Andersen explains how energy conservation and energy efficiency and be used to decrease energy during peak demand. Tiered and variable pricing, as...

In this video Paul Andersen explains how energy flows in ecosystems. Energy enters via producers through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis. Producers and consumers release the energy from food through cellular respiration. An...

In this video Paul Andersen explains how nuclear energy is released during fission of radioactive uranium. Light water reactors, nuclear waste, and nuclear accidents are also discussed along with the future of nuclear energy.

In this video Paul Andersen explains the different forms and units for energy. A discussion of the laws of thermodynamics is also included. Sample conversion problems using dimensional analysis is also included.

In this video Paul Andersen explains how matter and energy are conserved within the Earth's system. Matter is a closed system and Energy is open to the surroundings. In natural systems steady state is maintained through feedback loops...

In this video Paul Andersen explains how humans have consumed energy through history and may consume energy in the future. Sources of energy have included food, animals, wood, wind, coal, oil, and natural gas. However non-renewable...

Every year, the world uses 35 billion barrels of oil. This massive scale of fossil fuel dependence pollutes the earth, and it won't last forever. On the other hand, we have abundant sun, water and wind, which are all renewable energy...

Despite the rise of renewable energy, the backbone of the power grid is fossil fuels. Adapting the grid to green energy sources is more complicated than flipping a switch.

Energy is neither created nor destroyed - and yet the global demand for it continues to increase. But where does energy come from, and where does it go? Joshua M. Sneideman examines the many ways in which energy cycles through our...

The way smartphones made many devices nonessential is a model for a new way to think about improving energy efficiency.

Although coal is such an amazing energy source that we've kept using it despite the harm it causes, today we may be better poised to stop using it than at any previous time in history.

On July 26, 1943, Los Angeles was blanketed by a thick gas that stung people’s eyes and blocked out the Sun. Panicked residents believed their city had been attacked using chemical warfare. But the cloud wasn’t an act of war. It was...

Learn how the coronavirus pandemic has changed energy consumption patterns and how these changes might affect renewable energy in this interview with Melissa Petruzzello, Editor of Plant and Environmental Science at Encyclopaedia...

In this video Paul Andersen explains how stimulated emission can be used to create coherent light. When an atom absorbs a photon it moves to a higher energy level through stimulated absorption. It may then release a photon and moves to...

In this video Paul Andersen explains how energy can be harnessed was water moves through a turbine. Three types of systems are discussed in the video; run-of-the-water, impoundment, and tidal. Several advantages and disadvantages of dams...

What is “the environment”? Well, it’s everything, and it’s everywhere, including you and me. Just about every part of human civilization depends on a healthy and stable environment. Yet, human activity is causing pollution, climate...

This video encourages viewers to take action against climate change, from daily habits like biking and recycling to broader efforts like writing to representatives or studying environmental sciences. Discover how small changes can...

Debate about the relationship between environmental limits and economic growth has been taking place for several decades. These arguments have re-emerged with greater intensity following advances in the understanding of the economics of...

Watch the first part of our Carbon Cycle videos, as part of environmental chemistry. Photosynthesis and respiration help carbon to be cycled in nature by using energy from the sun. As living things grow, they have to build up large...

Can we rethink the way buildings use energy? John Ochsendorf, an Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architecture at MIT, is working with his students to change the way buildings are made and how they consume...

This video is a lecture on energy resources, explaining where the energy that humans use in their everyday lives comes from. The video first presents the energy consumption statistics of the world in 2016, detailing the percentage of...

University of Colorado engineer Abby Watrous is on a mission in rural China, converting coal-burning homes and cook stoves into cleaner-burning models, using, among other things, the extremely abundant supply of pig poop. With funding...

The video provides an overview of the different ways in which energy resources can be compared and evaluated, including their renewability, reliability, and environmental impact. The presenter discusses various types of energy resources,...