61: Fossil Fuels

Question 1

What are fossil fuels?

Answer 1

a mixture of organic compounds that were formed from the decomposition of living matter over geological time

Question 2

What are the 3 types of fossil fuels?

Answer 2

coal, natural gas, oil (petroleum)

Question 3

What is occurring with our consumption of fossil fuels?

Answer 3

we are consuming more and more fossil fuels, consumption of oil, coal, and natural gas is increasing

Question 4

What countries are consuming the most fossil fuels?

Answer 4

China, India, Russia, United States

Question 5

How much fossil fuels do we have left (fossil fuel reserves)?

Answer 5

139 years of coal, 54 years of oil, 49 years of gas

Question 6

What will happen to fossil fuels by the end of the century?

Answer 6

we would have exhausted all our oil and natural gas reserves

Question 7

What are the pros of using coal?

Answer 7

most abundant and the US has a lot

Question 8

What are the cons of using coal?

Answer 8

1. mining is very dangerous, causes accidents and black lung disease
2. produces soil erosion
3. cannot be used in cars
4. pollutes water
5. releases radioactivity and toxic metals when burned
6. causes acid deposition
7. emits heat trapping gases when burned

Question 9

What is natural gas?

Answer 9

mix of gases found on top of crude oil reservoirs, Russia has a lot of reserves

Question 10

What is the most important natural gas?

Answer 10

methane

Question 11

What are the pros of using natural gas?

Answer 11

1. burns cleaner than coal, less CO2 emissions and less pollution
2. can be liquified
3. less damaging to extract

Question 12

What are the cons of natural gas?

Answer 12

extraction leaks methane

Question 13

What are the pros of using oil?

Answer 13

cheap and easy to transport
- very efficient
- petrochemicals are made from it (plastics, fertilizers, fibers)

Question 14

What are the cons of using oil?

Answer 14

1. it needs to be refined to be separated into different components (gases, gasoline, heating oil, diesel oil, asphalt)
2. not that much left
3. it results in oil spills
4. emits heat trapping gases and air pollutants (acid deposition and photochemical smog)

Question 15

What countries have a lot of oil?

Answer 15

Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Libya, China, Russia

Question 16

What is OPEC?

Answer 16

organization of petroleum exporting countries (OPEC) is a cartel, an association of suppliers with the purpose of maintaining prices at a high level and restricting competition
- countries that are members of OPEC get together and decide how much oil is going to be sold and at which price

Question 17

What are the member countries of OPEC?

Answer 17

Algeria, Angola, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela

Question 18

What are unconventional oil sources?

Answer 18

oil shales, tar/oil sand

Question 19

What are oil shales?

Answer 19

fine grained rock that conation a solid waxy, mixture of hydrocarbon compounds called kerogen

Question 20

What is done to a shale?

Answer 20

is crushed and heated until kerogen vaporizes

Question 21

Where are oil shale reserves?

Answer 21

Colorado, Utah, Wyoming

Question 22

What are the cons of oil shales?

Answer 22

1. bad to mine
2. takes a lot of energy to crush the stone
3. leftover pulverized rock

Question 23

What is tar/oil sand?

Answer 23

fine grained rock that conations a solid waxy, mixture of hydrocarbon compounds called Bitumen

Question 24

Where are tar/oil sand reserves?

Answer 24

Canada (Athabasca tar sand in Alberta)

Question 25

What are pipelines used for?

Answer 25

where Canada sends its fuels to the US

Question 26

What are the controversial pipelines?

Answer 26

Enbridge Pipeline and Keystone XL Pipeline are controversial as they go through Native American lands and damages them

Question 27

What could people do?

Answer 27

• Shift from coal to natural gas?
• Be more efficient in our use of fossil fuels?
• More efficient cars, better home insulation, etc.
• Move to renewable sources of energy?
• Solar, wind, hydropower, etc.
• Phase out fossil fuel subsidies?
• Halt deforestation?