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Alternatives to fossil fuels (cost and benefits) Flashcards

1
Q

What can help decouple fossil fuels from economic development?

A

Renewables and recyclable energy

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2
Q

How much of global energy production was renewables in 2014?

A

3%

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3
Q

who are the IPCC?

A

international panel on climate change

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4
Q

What did the IPCC conclude about renewables?

A

to reduce human induced climate change share of energy from renewables must be trebled and be the dominant world supply by 2050

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5
Q

How much has solar energy increased since 2014?

A

38.2%

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6
Q

Where is the use of nuclear energy increasing?

A

South Korea
China

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7
Q

Where is the use of nuclear energy decreasing?

A

Japan
Belgium
Germany
UK

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8
Q

What are the benefits of solar?

A

Safe, clean and non-polluting
Can be used by LICs
Links well with other sources of energy
Modular and flexible for use at range of scales

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9
Q

What are the costs of solar?

A

Not enough research and development, especially into storage
Not very effective in cloudy climates
Block sunlight to vegetation below

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10
Q

What are the benefits of wind?

A

Safe, clean and non-polluting

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11
Q

What are the costs of wind?

A

Needs large amount of land to generate the necessary energy
NIMBY issues (people issues- eyesore)
Only runs when wind is at certain speed

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12
Q

What are the benefits of geothermal?

A

safe, clean and non-polluting

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13
Q

What are the costs of geothermal?

A

in extreme cases have been blamed for earthquakes
High capital costs

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14
Q

What are the benefits of HEP?

A

Safe, clean and non-polluting
Can produce electricity immediately on demand
Tourism and recreation opportunities
Dam creates a valley crossing point

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15
Q

What are the costs of HEP?

A

Block fish migration if no fish ladder installed
Susceptible to drought disrupting water supply
Water released from deep behind dam needs re-oxygenating
Farmland, wildlife habitats and heritage sites are flooded

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16
Q

What are the benefits of nuclear?

A

High energy production
Cheap energy once up and running
‘Green’ energy

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17
Q

What are the costs of nuclear?

A

Safety (leaks)
Security of dangerous materials
Supply of scarce raw material
Disposal of waste

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18
Q

What can we learn from the graph for sources of UKs electricity from 1970-2012?

A

Coal is still responsible for a large share
Oil has nearly ceased (too valuable- vehicles)
Proportion of renewables disappointingly small

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19
Q

What can we learn from the graph about the UKs primary energy consumption between 1970-2030?

A

High reliance on oil and gas
Huge shift away from coal
Energy consumption is reducing

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20
Q

Why is it surprising that the UKs energy consumption has dropped?

A

As the population from 1970 has increased by 6.5 million

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21
Q

What reasons has energy consumption dropped in the UK since 1970?

A

More energy efficient technology
More educated on green energy and climate change
Deindustrialisation (less need for coal and heavy fuels)

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22
Q

What are biofuels?

A

Liquid derived from plant and animal matter

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23
Q

What are the 2 main types of biofuel?

A

Bioethanol
Biodiesel

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24
Q

What is Bioethanol?

A

alcohol which is made by fermenting the sugar and starch components of plant materials

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25
How can bioethanol be used?
as a fuel for vehicles as a replacement for petrol but it is usually blended with petrol to improve vehicle emissions
26
What are some examples of bioethanol and petrol mix?
E10- cars younger than 2009, 10% ethanol E85
27
What is biodiesel?
The oils and fats from plants and animal matter can be substituted as a replacement for diesel
28
What are the advantages of biofuels?
Range of source material Renewability Security Economic stimulation Lower carbon emissions
29
How is range of source material a advantage of biofuels?
petrol limited resource from one source, biofuels can be manufactured from a range of materials
30
What sort of source materials can biofuels derive from?
crop waste Manure By-products- chip fat
31
How is renewability a advantage of biofuels?
they can be grown again and again to match needs
32
How is security a advantage of biofuels?
Biofuels can be produced locally, which decreases nations dependence upon foreign energy and make them safe from outside influence
33
How is economic stimulation a advantage of biofuels?
Biofuels are produced locally, manufacturing plants can employ local workers (creates jobs)
34
How is lower carbon emissions a advantage of biofuels?
when biofuels burnt they produce significantly less carbon and toxins Some are carbon neutral
35
What does carbon neutral mean?
only release the same amount of carbon they took in to grow
36
How many gallons of biofuel would feed a person for a year?
25
37
What are the disadvantages of biofuels?
Energy output Production emissions Food prices water use
38
Why is energy output a disadvantage of biofuels?
Biofuels have a lower energy output than fossil fuels and therefore require greater quantities to be consumed in order to produce same amount of energy
39
Why is production emissions a disadvantage of biofuels?
whilst cleaner to burn the process to produce biofuels including machinery for cultivation and fuel production have hefty carbon emissions
40
Why is food prices a disadvantage of bio fuels?
as demand for food crops such as corn grows for biofuel production it could also raise the prices for necessary staple food crops
41
How much of global biofuels were made from food crops?
99%
42
What is an example of biofuels raising food price?
Mexico imports 1/3 of corn from USA meaning price affected by change in USA use of corn, riots occurred when the price of tortilla (staple food) increased while minimum wage didn't
43
Why is water use a disadvantage of biofuels?
massive quantities of water are used for irrigation of biofuel crops as well as to manufacture the fuel, could strain local and regional water resources
44
What are 2 alternatives sources for biofuels? (not food crops)
Algae Poo (waste)
45
How much more efficient is algae then its rivals?
3 times
46
What type of water can algae be grown in?
waste water seawater fresh water
47
Where can the CO2 needed to grow algae come from? (increases sustainability)
CO2 emissions from powerplants
48
Why is it good that algae can be grown in water? (food prices)
don't use land needed for food allowing food production to increase
49
How is the oil extracted from algae?
Algae are harvested and dried (turned into pellets) Oil then squeezed out
50
What the waste from algae biofuel be used for?
Animal or fish food
51
What is an example of poo being used for power?
'poo' bus from Bath to Bristol airport
52
How can the poo bus go on a full tank?
180 miles
53
What is the actual thing that powers the poo bus?
Bio-methane
54
How is the fuel of the poo bus created?
human waste turned into slurry and then put into tanks where it's broken down by bacteria (this releases bio-methane)
55
What is the potential of poo power thought to be?
17 million m*3 of biomethane
56
What are radical technologies?
Potential replacement for fossil fuels to reduce carbon emissions
57
What is the uncertainty with radical technology?
how effective/ possible they will be
58
What are some examples of radical technologies?
Hydrogen fuel cells Electric vehicles Carbon capture storage Nuclear fusion
59
What is the premise with hydrogen fuel cells?
use hydrogen to generate electricity
60
What might mean that electric powered vehicles aren't that clean?
If the fuel source used to generate the electricity is coal (dirtiest fossil fuel)
61
Why were hydrogen vehicles originally developed in California?
Due to the zero emissions mandate which meant cars couldn't have any exhaust emissions
62
What is the waste from hydrogen fuel cells?
water
63
How much hydrogen gas can a hydrogen vehicle tank hold?
4kg
64
What are the safe guards on hydrogen vehicles?
hydrogen can emit its self though a vent if temperature gets too extreme to stop risk of explosion
65
What is the range of hydrogen vehicles?
160-200 miles
66
What are the top speeds of hydrogen vehicles?
85mph
67
What was the original production cost of the first hydrogen vehicles?
US$1 million
68
What are the advantages of hydrogen fuel cells?
hydrogen gas can be obtained from variety of sources Only waste product is water More efficient use of fuel then petrol or diesel
69
What are the disadvantages of hydrogen fuel cells?
Hydrogen not found in pure form has to be separated from other compounds requiring a large amount of energy (emits GHG) Hydrogen tanks need to be strong to withstand impact
70
What is an example of a hydrogen vehicle?
Toyota mirai range of 270 miles
71
What are the positives of electric vehicles?
zero carbon emissions from vehicle its self Minimal noise pollution Cheap to run
72
What are the negatives of of electric vehicles?
More expensive to but then petrol or diesel So quiet some worried could cause collisions with pedestrians Source of energy?
73
What eco-friendly energy profiles would suit electric vehicles?
Paraguay (HEP) Iceland (geothermal)
74
What is CCS?
carbon capture storage
75
What is the process of CCS?
collects CO2 emissions from sources (e.g. industrial and power plants) transports gas, compresses it and injects it into a suitable ecological structure over 800m below ground
76
What happens after carbon has been stored in the geological structure? (CCS)
Storage is monitored to ensure safety and no releases into the atmosphere
77
What is the problem with CCS?
It is very expensive so not possible for many countries
78
What 2 countries have CCS plants?
Norway and Canada
79
What is an example of a CCS plant?
2014 Canada opened first coal fired CCS plant at Boundary Dam in Saskatchewan at cost of US$1.3 billion
80
How effective are CCS plants?
90% by pumping CO2 underground and selling it to an oil companies for priming nearby oil fields (economically viable)
81
What 2 types of nuclear energy are there?
Fission Fusion
82
How does nuclear fusion work?
2 or more atomic nuclei join together to make a new larger nucleus, releasing energy in process
83
What is the problem with nuclear fusion?
tech is still experimental and long way from reality
84
Who is researching nuclear fusion?
ITER- International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor

Geography (103 decks)

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