Cobalt Resource Scarcity in the United States Economy

Energy is a hot topic in the United States both in the private sector as well as the political arena. Debates over the most cost-efficient and environmentally-friendly energy happen in many US homes as well as on Capitol Hill. Two energy sources that have been debated recently are solar power and fracking of natural gas wells. Solar power is created by converting the heat from the sun’s rays into electricity, most commonly, by using solar panels. Over the years, since solar power panels have become available for home and business purchase, the cost has decreased, therefore making it more accessible to a larger population. Although fracking is not a new process, it has received

The simplistic process of large off-scale wind turbines functions from a steady airflow, which turns the blades and funnels the generator with electricity. As opposed to the invasive techniques of fracking and other unconventional extraction of fossil fuels, wind and solar power collectively use cleaner and less environmentally sound methods. With current models of risk analysis, the installation of wind turbines can provide 25% of projected future needs of energy (Wang and Prinn 2011). With the competitive introduction of both solar and wind power, fracking and its finite resources can slowly decline in its methane emissions. The influx of jobs and decrease in water consumption by renewable energy sources are two prevailing benefits that can overcome big fossil fuel companies. Overall, private and public research on the development of solar and wind power can further reduce their respective costs, thus reducing the emission of greenhouse gases, water depletion, and contamination with primary and secondary air

3. Liss, William. "Demand Outlook: A Golden Age of Natural Gas." Chemical Engineering Progress 108.8 (2012): 35-40. ProQuest.Web. Available at: <http://search.proquest.com/docview/1034899165?pq-origsite=summon>. Date accessed: 1 Nov. 2014.

The United States is currently the second-highest energy consumer in the world (Duke 2015.) As the need for energy grows, the need for a clean energy source becomes more urgent. Natural gas, which makes up 24% of the world’s energy source, is promoted as a cleaner energy alternative. Of course, there are pros and cons to this source.

The coal industry in the United States has been a substantial job industry in states such as Wyoming, Kentucky, and Ohio providing up to over 76,000 mining careers in 2014 that area essential for the areas surrounding the mines but employment number is less than that of Arby’s, the fast food chain (Ingraham 2017). This size of the career poll brings into question what direction would be most beneficial for the United States in terms of our energy industries and where we should focus our efforts in terms of resources and time. The employment in the coal industry decreases exponentially with time due to the modern technology used to mine coal and decreasing demand. Additionally, coal mining has become

The use of Cobalt, a rare Earth metal, in today's technology has created vast problems among the areas in which it is mined. 60% of the cobalt on Earth is mined from the Congo locate in Africa; however, the Congo is a very impoverished and corrupt country. Many of the miners, including children, are forced to work long hours, and in very dangerous environments without the necessary protection. Cobalt, an essential piece of technology used to charge lithium batteries, allows for devices to become smaller and smaller, thus important for this era of technology. For example, the average car has between 10-20 pounds of cobalt; whereas a smart phone contains 5-10 grams. Since the discovery of child labors and unsafe work conditions in the congo,

Due to the fracking industry being gainful, the solar has increased over 55% since 1995, but the rapid fall in the price of sol panel should be supported in future growth ( compound/complex). Also, the geothermal has signifintly became higher to about 27%. New technologies and also higher fossil fuel prices, so the geothermal space heating projects cost competitive with fossil fuel units (compound). Currently accounts are nearly 8.20% of the United States energy consumption. Most of that comes from biomass and hydroelectric sources and because of this, since 1995 the amount of energy produced by renewable sources has increased by 15.9% (complex) (History of Energy Use in the United States). Although, the percentage of fracking is beneficial,

Gasoline is widely used through out the world to power things, but unfortunately its soon becoming something of the pass since petroleum is a nonrenewable source. Through out the years this type of energy provider has given us the power to power our cars to drive us to our work, school, and home; to powering our lawnmowers to helps us maintain our front and backyard. It’s a one of a kind, and what lays in the future well just take it one step at a time.

Natural gas is already a critical part of America’s energy portfolio and consequently a critical part of the country’s economic growth. Not only does natural gas provide over 25 percent of electricity generation, natural gas, and other gases extracted from natural gas provide a feedstock for fertilizers, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, waste treatment, food processing, fueling industrial boilers, and much more. Although natural gas prices in the United States have historically been volatile, the abundance of shale gas brings the possibility of low, stable prices. North America has approximately 4.2 quadrillion (4,244 trillion) cubic feet of recoverable natural gas that would supply 175 years worth of natural gas at current consumption rates. Further, the National Petroleum Council estimates that fracking will allow 60 percent to 80 percent of all domestically drilled wells during the next 10 years to remain viable.

Cobalt-60 or also known as co-60 is one of the many isotopes of the element, Cobalt. Cobalt has 28 isotopes other than Cobalt-60, these include: Cobalt-47, Cobalt-48, Cobalt-49, Cobalt-50, Cobalt-51, Cobalt-52, Cobalt-53, Cobalt-54, Cobalt-55, Cobalt-56, Cobalt-58, Cobalt-59, Cobalt-60, Cobalt-61, Cobalt-62, Cobalt-63, Cobalt-64, Cobalt-65, Cobalt-66, Cobalt-67, Cobalt-68, Cobalt-69, Cobalt-70, Cobalt-71, Cobalt-72, Cobalt-73, Cobalt-74, Cobalt-75 and Cobalt-76 (Jefferson Lab, n.d.). Co-60 is a synthetically produced radioisotope with a half-life of 5.27 years (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2014). It decays through beta particles and gamma radiation (CDC, 2005). Cobalt-60 decays into stable isotope, Nickel-60 through beta minus decay (radioactivity.eu.com, n.d.).

Cobalt was discovered by a Swedish chemist by the name of Georg Brandt. In 1735, Georg was trying to prove that certain minerals had the ability to color glass blue and was not due to bismuth but due to an unknown element (1). Since then, it has developed into a highly useful isotope.

There are many elements in the world and one of them is cobalt. It is a silvery blue metal with a blue coat. It is element number twenty-seven on the table which means that it has twenty-seven protons and electrons. One mole or its atomic weight is 58.9 grams. It has a relatively high melting and boiling point, the melting point being 1,495 degrees Celsius or 2,723 Fahrenheit and the boiling point being 2,927 degrees Celsius or 5,301 Fahrenheit. The top three countries that mine this element are the District Republic of the Congo, Cuba, and Australia in that order. Cobalt has had and still has many uses in the world today. Cobalt is an element that has many uses that include alloys, electronics,

With the carbon emission regulations recently introduced by US government, natural gas is the most likely substitution to coal for electricity generation for years to come. Latest price reductions made natural gas from a cost perspective much more attractive than coal.

To start off with some standard facts about Cobalt are; atomic number which is 27, atomic weight-58.933149, melting point-1768 K (1495°C or 2723°F), boiling point-3200 K (2927°C or 5301°F), density-8.86 grams per cubic centimeter, phase at room temp-solid, element classification- metal, period #-4, group #-9. The apperance of Cobalt include a lustrous, silvery-blue metal. It is lustrous, hard, brittle metal, and magnetic.

By the late 1800s, the world’s first coal powered electric generator was made, the world’s first electric light was used, and the world’s first hydroelectric plant was utilized. A few years later a new type of fuel was becoming well-known, petroleum. Initially it had been an inconvenience for polluting water but by the end of the century oil, turned into gasoline, powered up engines. With the spread of economical gas cars and electricity, society’s energy use rapidly increased. Power plants became massive and power lines stretched out from hundreds of miles between cities, even during The Great Depression. After World War II, the use of energy was quickly doubling every 10 years and it concerned no one.