Term
| Is decrease of albedo of the earth good or bad? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| what happens to water density and what affect does this have on ocean current when polar ice caps melt? |
|
Definition
| LESS OF A DENSITY GRADIENT resulting in a SLOWER ocean current and the ocean becomes a less effective carbon sink. OH NOES! |
|
|
Term
| What is the allocation of energy in US? Select from: transportation, buildings, industry |
|
Definition
| Industry uses MOST energy, buildings come next, and then transportation |
|
|
Term
| where does saint louis' electricity come from? |
|
Definition
| FIRST IS OIL COAL GAS and then SECOND is nuclear |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| TREES & other large plants, heat, pressure and time=carbon rich rock |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| microscopic plants. heat pressure and time= hydrocarbons (oil) |
|
|
Term
| how is NATURAL GAS formed? |
|
Definition
| microscopic plants and TEMPERATURES HIGHER THAN 100 degrees celcius! |
|
|
Term
| What are the grades of coal and what are their properties? |
|
Definition
| Anthracite- hardest and lots of heat...stores are mostly depleted. Lignite=soft and has less heat...fuels electrical power plants |
|
|
Term
| How much coal does the US have and how long will coal last AT PRESENT RATE OF CONSUMPTION? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| What are the problems of coal? |
|
Definition
| Environmental impacts (mountaintop removal), burning releases A LOT of cO2, health of miners (black lung disease) |
|
|
Term
| what is the surface mining control and reclamation act? |
|
Definition
| it requires filling of surface mines after mining. THIS IS EXPENSIVE! |
|
|
Term
| How do we make coal cleaner? |
|
Definition
| Use scrubbers which remove 98% of acidic byproducts...MIX COAL WITH LIMESTONE and combust at lower temperatures |
|
|
Term
| what is the byproduct of making coal cleaner? What is this used for? |
|
Definition
| Calcium sulfate sludge. (wallboards, concrete, soil conditioner) |
|
|
Term
| Define Petroleum Refining. What contains more hydrocarbons crude oil or natural gas? |
|
Definition
| Hydrocarbons present in crude oil (petroleum) are SEPARATED . Natural gas contains far FEWER hydrocarbons than crude oil |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| We import 2/3 of oil, drilling refining tranporting are dangerous, WE HAVE REACHED PEAK OIL |
|
|
Term
| what is the cleanest fossil fuel? what are its disadvantages? |
|
Definition
| NATURAL GAS! produces less cO2 per unit energy than coal or oil. Costs 4X as much as oil to transport |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| More than half is located in the Middle East |
|
|
Term
| Where is the natural gas? |
|
Definition
| More than half is located in Russia and Iran |
|
|
Term
| What are the Environmental Impacts of Oil and Natural Gas? |
|
Definition
| Combustion (CO2 and Nitrogen oxides), PRODUCTION (disturbing land and habitat), Transportation (oil spills--1989 Alaskan Oil Spill) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| production of two useful forms of energy from the same fuel |
|
|
Term
| What are 3 unpopular ideas to increase energy and conservation? |
|
Definition
| decrease speed limit, eliminate government subsidies, support public transportation over highways |
|
|
Term
| why is Nuclear energy fundamentally different than combustion? |
|
Definition
| Changes in the nuclei of atoms, Matter CHANGES into energy |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| # of neutrons is greater than number of protons |
|
|
Term
| How does nuclear energy work? |
|
Definition
| radioactive isotope of U235 will emit particles and hit other U235 causing them to split and creates A LOT OF ENERGY (if you compress them, a chain reaction happens) place it in water, creates steam , powers a steam-powered generator makes ELECTRICITY! |
|
|
Term
| PROS and CONS of nuclear? |
|
Definition
| Pros: not immediately bad for environment, no greenhouse gases! Cons: can be dangerous, must store nuclear waste underground, expensive, many steps require fossil fuels |
|
|
Term
| What percent of US energy is nuclear? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| what happened at 3 mile island? |
|
Definition
| NO HUMAN CASUALTIES! 50% meltdown of reactor core. Was contained by containment building. No environmental damage. Lead to cancellation of many new nuclear plants in the US |
|
|
Term
| how many countries use nuclear energy? where does plutonium 239 come from and what is it used for? |
|
Definition
| 31...plutonium can be obtained from spent fuel of nuclear fission |
|
|
Term
| Where is wind energy most profitable? What are the pros and cons? |
|
Definition
| rural areas with lots of wind (west texas), pros: no waste (clean source of energy), cons: really expensive, kills birds and bats. One windmill can power 250 homes! |
|
|
Term
| What is our most efficient energy source? |
|
Definition
| Hydropower (we can capture 90% of falling water's energy) (still powered by the sun) |
|
|
Term
| What will be the earth's energy consumption in 2050? |
|
Definition
| 28 TW. WE HAVE ENOUGH FOSSIL FUELS FOR THIS! |
|
|
Term
| what do we need to do to meet energy needs of 2050 and not compromise the 550 ppm carbon dioxide concentration that will drastically change temperature? |
|
Definition
| USE SOLAR POWER! Over a year the sun shines 120,000 TW of energy onto the earth |
|
|
Term
| what makes up 99% of uranium you find? What Isotope do you want? How do you achieve this? |
|
Definition
| U238 makes up 99% however, you want U235. You must enrich the Uranium to get this. |
|
|
Term
| what's wrong with the way we can make fusion happen currently? |
|
Definition
| we only get out 1/3 of the energy we put in to make a fusion reaction happen |
|
|
Term
| How many homes does Iceland power with geothermal energy? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| what percent of dams are not generating electricity? |
|
Definition
| 97% of dams ARE NOT generating electricity! |
|
|
Term
| what are the overall risks of CCS? |
|
Definition
| Climate change, human health, ecosystem damage |
|
|
Term
| Might CCS contaminate groundwater and cause earthquakes? |
|
Definition
| yes! if liquid carbon leaked, groundwater could be contaminated. Also, Induced Seismicity could occur which means fractures created result in earthquakes |
|
|
Term
| What are some regulations needed to prevent unnecessary risks of CCS? |
|
Definition
| Injection monitoring, Well construction standards (construction material life expectancy, corrosion proof) Closing standards, Monitoring after closure (future generations!) |
|
|
Term
| Is CCS a permanent solution? |
|
Definition
| NO! only enough wells for 86-860 years, seems like a transitional solution and it costs A LOT of money and there are A LOT of potential risks. 2026 earliest we could expect this tech yet by 2015 IPC is warning where we need to start tackling climate change. You need to invest 40% more energy for capture part as opposed to not capturing. TRADE OF WITH FEDERAL FUNDING FOR RENEWABLES |
|
|
Term
| what does the IPCC say about storing underground? |
|
Definition
| IPCC: 99% chance emissions will stay underground for 1,000 years. |
|
|
Term
| what does the IPCC say about storing underground? |
|
Definition
| IPCC: 99% chance emissions will stay underground for 1,000 years. |
|
|
Term
| how would captured carbon result in contaminated drinking water? |
|
Definition
| A crack would cause cO2 to leak into a fresh aquaphor, which would make water more acidic and cause metals in the rock walls to leak into water (lead and stuff) and contaminate it ! |
|
|
Term
| When have the ten hottest years recorded on this planet occurred? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| what is happening to birds and pine beetles? |
|
Definition
| Caterpillars peek two weeks earlier so baby birds face food shortage. Pine beetles used to be killed by cold winters but now milder winters mean that pine beetles kill pine trees |
|
|
Term
| Mosquitos and Coral reefs |
|
Definition
| mosquitos climbing to higher elevations due to warmer temperatures. Coral reefs are losing species diversity--species loss is now 1000 times the background extinction rate |
|
|
Term
| What country produces the most C02 at this time |
|
Definition
| CHINAA (passed US in 2007) |
|
|
