4: Fossil Fuels Flashcards
The three major types of fossil fuels are…
coal, oil, and natural gas
Coal is primarily made of the element .
carbon
Petroleum and natural gas consist of ______________
hydrocarbons
Which is the largest source of electricity production in the United States?
Natural gas
What major sectors rely on petroleum? (click all that apply)
Transportation
Ceramics
Plastics
Tesla
Transportation
Plastics
True or False? In 2023, most of the US’ electricity was produced by burning fossil fuels.
True. In 2023, most of the US’ electricity was produced by burning fossil fuels.
In 2022, the dominant fuel used for transportation in the US was…
Petroleum
True or False? Most coal was originally deposited as peat in stagnant swamps
True. Most coal was originally deposited as peat in stagnant swamps.
Anthracite has a (higher or lower?) percent carbon than lignite.
higher
True or False? Most modern coal plants are equipped with “scrubbers” that remove carbon dioxide from the emissions before they leave the smokestack.
false
The archeological evidence suggests that coal was first used by ________________________ 73,500 years ago.
Neanderthals
How did early “humans” likely learn that coal can be burned? Click all that apply
Group of answer choices
coal seams ignited by lightening strikes
coal seams ignited by forest fires
coal seams ignited by self-combustion brought on by tectonic friction
coal seems ignited by the last fire-breathing dragons
coal seams ignited by lightning strikes
coal seams ignited by forest fires
coal seams ignited by self-combustion brought on by tectonic friction
There is an historical correlation between when coal was widely used in regions of Europe, and when local ________ became scarce.
forests
True or False? Coal production in the US peaked during the “Age of Steam”.
false
After the Environmental Protection Agency was tasked in 1970 to regulate sulfide emissions by coal fire powerplants, coal production in the US experienced ______________, and coal employment numbers ____________.
a massive increase; continued their downward trend since the 1920s
Much of the growth in US coal production since the 1970s was caused by a huge increase in production of _____________ coals in the ____________________.
low-sulfur; Western Coalfields
Aside from its favorable chemistry, and ease of restrictions to get Western coals to market, this region’s coal production also benefited from……(click all that apply)
Group of answer choices
higher productivity due to mechanization
much cheaper labor force
more accessible near-surface coalfields
much higher average heat content of its coals than compared to the East
higher productivity due to mechanization
more accessible near-surface coalfields
Sulfur emission limits of European coal fire power plants were continuously lowered, especially when it was found that _________________ was killing forests in the 1980s.
acid rain
“Oil” found in a geological setting is called
petroleum
Oil is ultimately formed…
from the dead bodies of planktonic micro-organisms.
Oil tends to migrate upwards through overlying rocks because…
it is very light.
When searching for petroleum deposits what are some key characteristics of the geology?
Group of answer choices
High permeability cap rock
low permeability caprock
anticlines
synclines
source rock
Low permeability caprock
Anticlines
Source rock
True or False? During crude oil refining, the longest chain hydrocarbons will rise and collect at the top of a distillation column.
False. During crude oil refining, the longest chain hydrocarbons will not rise and collect at the top of a distillation column; they typically collect at the bottom.
Unless you live in the US countryside, urban “gas stoves” and “gas water heaters” are supplied with what purified “natural gas”?
methane
What is different about an unconventional reservoir as compared to a conventional reservoir?
the former has significantly lower permeability.
Burning natural gas produces less of which of the following than the burning of coal (to produce the same unit of energy)? (click all that apply)
Group of answer choices
particulates
sulfur dioxide
nitrous oxides
carbon dioxide
carbon monoxide
particulates
sulfur dioxide
nitrous oxides
carbon dioxide
carbon monoxide
The process by which energy companies artificially increase the permeability of a reservoir rock is proverbially called…..
fracking
The following two greenhouse gases are NOT produced directly by human emissions but through indirect processes and conditions created by humans (click two)
carbon dioxide
CFCs
water vapor
methane
nitrous oxide
tropospheric ozone
water vapor
tropospheric ozone
What percentage of the annual global emissions of carbon dioxide are produced by human activities?
4%
The following accounts for around 60% of all natural annual emissions of carbon dioxide
plant respiration, decomposition, and burning
80% of human emissions of carbon dioxide are due to the burning of fossil fuel. What human sources make up the other 20%? (select two)
land use
cement making
In 2023, the average annual atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide was around….
419 parts per million
True or False? The annual human-produced methane emissions are nearly equal to the annual natural emissions.
true
Wild “ruminants” (deer, antelope, elk, etc.) produce around 4% of the natural annual emissions of methane. What other non-human animal is responsible for an additional 3%?
termites
This environment is the single largest contributor to natural annual methane emissions
wetlands
Other than the burning of fossil fuels, what are the other two major contributors to human emissions of methane? (click two)
Landfills and waste-water treatment
Animal husbandry
____________________, much like natural wetlands, contribute about 11% of the annual human emissions of methane.
rice fields
Atmospheric methane concentrations reached around 1923 ____ in 2023
parts per billion
What percentage of annual emissions of CFCs are due to natural sources?
0%
True or False? Many of the synthetic substances that were used to replace CFCs turned out to be potent greenhouse gases.
True
What percentage of annual emissions of nitrous oxides are due to human activities?
42%
The single largest producer of natural nitrous oxide emissions are __________ processes.
soil
True or False? The largest source of human emissions of nitrous oxides is the burning of fossil fuels.
false
The production of tropospheric ozone is limited by the human production of _____________________
nitrous oxides
Measuring mean daily or annual tropospheric ozone concentrations in the Earth’s atmosphere is thwarted by and essentially pointless because_______ (click all that apply).
Tropospheric ozone is very short-lived
Tropospheric ozone sources are highly localized (not uniformly mixed into the atmosphere)
This is the most produced greenhouse gas (billions of tons per year) by humans.
carbon dioxide
The atmospheric concentrations of this greenhouse gas are currently the highest compared to other directly emitted gases.
carbon dioxide
Which of the following greenhouse gases has the longest AVERAGE “e-lifetime” in the atmosphere?
nitrous oxide
Why is the e-lifetime of carbon dioxide a range rather than a single average number?
unlike methane and nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere through multiple pathways, each with their own unique rate, which affects how long a given amount of carbon dioxide will stay in the atmosphere
Some CHFCs, notably “HG-03”, have the highest radiative efficiencies among all greenhouse gases. Which of the following has the second highest radiative efficiency?
nitrous oxide
Which of the following greenhouse gases has the highest absolute global warming potential over 100 years?
nitrous oxide
Which greenhouse gas has the lowest absolute global warming potential and is therefore used as the standard for the “global warming potential”, which compares among gases?
carbon dioxide
Why is the “global warming potential” of greenhouse gas potentially misleading about the role each gas plays in actually contributing to warming?
GWP only considers the radiative efficiency of a certain amount of gas, without actually taking into consideration how much gas is ACTUALLY emitted and already present
Considering its radiative efficiency, e-lifetime, atmospheric concentrations, and total annual emissions, __________________ has and is contributing the most to global warming.
carbon dioxide
The top 5 emitters of greenhouse gases are (click all that apply)
Australia
India
United States
Brazil
Russian Federation
European Union
Japan
Indonesia
Canada
China
India
United States
Russian Federation
European Union
china
The United States emits roughly ______ times as much greenhouse gases as compared to its overall population percentage of the world.
2.75
The country with the highest global annual emissions of greenhouse gases is_________________
Australia
the European Union
China
The annual emissions of greenhouse gases of these two countries has been declining since at least the early 2000s (or even before). Click all that apply
Russian Federation
European Union
India
United States
European Union
United States
Why are the annual per capita emissions of countries like Qatar and Kuwait so large compared to other countries?
both countries have large emission related to fossil-fuel-processing (mostly for export) yet relative small populations
Among the top five emitters of GHG, which one emits the most GHG per capita (per person in country)?
Russian federation
Which of the following countries (select two) have increased the amount of GHG emissions per capita since the 1990s?
china india
Of the top 5 carbon dioxide emitters, which country has the lowest GHG emissions in terms of economic output (GDP)?
European Union
Of the top 5 carbon dioxide emitters, which countries have reduced their annual GHG emissions per GDP since 1990s? Click all that apply
China
Russian Federation
European Union
India
United States
True or False? The good news is that since the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Kyoto Protocol, and the Paris Climate Accord, we have seen dramatic decreases in global annual greenhouse gas emissions.
False
