Railway Science (Environment – Environmental Resources)

Non-conventional sources are also known as renewable sources of energy. Renewable energy is energy produced from sources like the sun and wind that are naturally replenished and do not run out.
Renewable energy can be used for electricity generation, space and water heating and cooling, and transportation. Examples of non-conventional sources of energy include, bioenergy, tidal energy, solar energy, wind energy, Hydropower, Geothermal Energy etc There are four major types of non renewable resources: oil, natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy.

As a renewable source of power, solar energy has an important role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating climate change, which is critical to protecting humans, wildlife, and ecosystems. Solar energy can also improve air quality and reduce water use from energy production. Solar power is one of the most environmentally friendly energy sources.

Exhaustible (Non -renewable) are the resources that once used cannot be replenished again or it takes millions of years . Examples - Fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, oil, natural gas.

Geothermal energy (Renewable) is heat energy from the earth—Geo (earth) + thermal (heat). Geothermal resources are reservoirs of hot water (Geysers, Hot springs, Steam vents, Hydrothermal vents and mud pots) that exist or are human made at varying temperatures and depths below the Earth's surface. Uses - heating and cooling buildings through geothermal heat pumps, generating electricity through geothermal power plants. Fumaroles are openings in the earth's surface that emit steam and volcanic gases, such as sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide. A geyser is a spring characterized by an intermittent discharge of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by steam.

Natural Resources are materials from the Earth that are used to support life and meet people's needs. Examples - Water, Renewable energy, Coal, Fuel, Uranium, Wind power, Sunlight, Metals, Wood, etc.
Sustainable Development aims at decreasing the absolute poverty of the poor by providing lasting and secure livelihoods that minimise resource depletion, environmental degradation, cultural disruption and social instability.

Coal (solid fossil fuels) - Black hard rock, flammable in nature. Types of coal - Anthracite (highest quality), Bituminous, Lignite and Peat. Petroleum (Black Gold): Yellow to brown liquid beneath the Earth’s surface, Non renewable energy.

Fossil fuels - Made from decomposing plants and animals. Types of natural resources - Inexhaustible natural resources (sources are present in unlimited quantity in nature and are not likely to be exhausted by human activities). Example - Sunlight, air etc. Exhaustible natural resources - Resources in nature are limited, they can be exhausted by human activities. Example - Forests, minerals, wild life.

Sustainable forest management has to keep the balance between three main pillars: ecological, economic and socio-cultural. The aim of SFM is to ensure that forests supply goods and services to meet both present -day and future needs and contribute to the sustainable development of communities.

Renewable energy - Includes all energy that is not polluting and whose sources do not deplete, or whose sources are replenished. Example - Nuclear Fission, biomass, geothermal resources, sunlight, water, and wind.

Syngas (synthesis gas): It is a fuel gas mixture consisting primarily of hydrogen and carbon monoxide (CO). It is derived from wood, waste wood, cellulose or lignin.