Chapter 1: Reliance On Fossil Fuels

Question 1

List the 3 types of fossil fuels.

Answer 1

Coal, crude oil and natural gas

Question 2

What is the definition of a fossil fuel?

Answer 2

A fuel consisting of the remains of organisms preserved in rocks in the Earth’s crust with high carbon and hydrogen content.

Question 3

What is the definition of renewable energy?

Answer 3

A form of energy derived from natural sources that do not use up natural resources to harm the environment.

Question 4

What is the definition of renewable energy?

Answer 4

A form of energy derived from natural sources that do not use up natural resources to harm the environment.

Question 5

What are some examples of forms of renewable energy sources?

Answer 5

Wind, solar, biomass and tidal.

Question 6

What are some examples of forms of renewable energy sources?

Answer 6

Wind, solar, biomass and tidal.

Question 7

Why are fossil fuels not a reliable source of energy?

Answer 7

Fossil fuels will run out and cannot be replenished in a human lifetime.

Question 8

Why are renewable energy sources a more efficient source of energy?

Answer 8

Renewables are energy sources that will never run out or can be replenished in a human lifetime.

Question 9

How is coal formed?

Answer 9

• Coal is formed from the dead remains of plants.
• These dead plants fall and accumulate on the ground overtime.
• The ever-increasing weight compresses the remains into peat.
• Over hundreds of millions of years this peat gets further compressed and temperatures increased.
• Eventually the remains turn into different grades of coal which can then be mined and used by humans.

Question 10

How is crude oil and natural gas formed?

Answer 10

• Natural gas and crude oil are formed from the dead remains of sea organisms.
• These sea organisms die and settle on the bottom of the oceans.
• Other remains and sediments gather on top causing an increasing pressure on the dead remains.
• The increase in pressure causes an increase in temperature.
• Over hundreds of millions of years, the pressure and temperatures are sufficient to cause crude oil to be formed.
• In the underground crude oil wells, which are located throughout a crude oil field, natural gas can get trapped at the top with crude oil below.

Question 11

What percentage of their energy do nations rely on fossil fuels for?

Answer 11

In 1960s - 94%
In 2015 - 80%

Question 12

What are the 4 forms that fossil fuels are required to provide for?

Answer 12

Plastics, pharmaceuticals, transport and fibres.

Question 13

What are the uses of plastic?

Answer 13

Food packaging and single use bags
Electronic devices
Miscellaneous (chairs, clothes, saucepans, etc)

Question 14

How are fossil fuels used in pharmaceuticals?

Answer 14

Fractions of crude oil is used to produce medicine such as aspirin and penicillin.

Question 15

How are fossil fuels used for transport?

Answer 15

• The transportation sector is massively reliant on crude oil to function across the world.
• The internal combustion engine which relies on petrol and diesel dominates transportation modes in developed nations.

Question 16

What are good alternatives to using fossil fuels for transportation?

Answer 16

• Electric cars.
• Hydrogen fuel cell cars.
• Cycling.
• Walking.
• Use of public transportation.

Question 17

What was the First Nation to declare a national climate emergency?

Answer 17

The UK in 2019.

Question 18

What was the next nation to declare a climate change emergency?

Answer 18

Ireland 2 weeks after the UK.

Question 19

Why is global action required?

Answer 19

• Every nation is using fossil fuels.
• The impact of excessive resource use affects the whole world.

Question 20

What is being done to help the global action?

Answer 20

There needs to be a transition towards renewables and low carbon alternative.

Question 21

What nation is the largest consumer of crude oil?

Answer 21

USA with contributing to 20% of the world’s overall crude oil consumption.

Question 22

What is the nation that contributes the second most of the world’s crude oil consumption?

Answer 22

China, contributing to 13% of the world’s overall crude oil consumption.

Question 23

Why do we need to conserve fossil fuels?

Answer 23

Fossil fuels take hundreds of millions of years to form. The rate of usage of fossil fuels has expanded rapidly since the Industrial Revolution.

Question 24

How long is coal projected to last?

Answer 24

Around 114 years.

Question 25

How long are crude oil and natural gas projected to last?

Answer 25

50 years.

Question 26

How does the advancements in technology affect the finding of crude oil fields?

Answer 26

The advancements in technology would allow more crude oil fields to be found and faster but this can also lead to a decrease in crude oil fields over time if they have all been extracted.

Question 27

What is the name for “human induced”.

Answer 27

Anthropogenic.

Question 28

What is the name of the global scientific panel that publishes data proving humans cause climate change.

Answer 28

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Question 29

What evidence is there that proves climate change is happening and it is anthropogenic.

Answer 29

• More volatile weather patterns have been observed such as increased frequency of flooding events, storms, forest fires and droughts.
• Sea temperatures have risen.
• Ecological changes such as the damaging of the coral reefs off the coast of Australia.
• Polar ice caps are melting.
• Rises in sea levels.
• Levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have increased significantly.
• Increased hurricane activity.
• Fewer cold days, nights and frost events.
• Hot days, nights and heat waves are more common.

Question 30

What is carbon trading?

Answer 30

It is a method that aims to reduce carbon emissions of a nation, by providing incentives for major polluting industries.

Question 31

How is carbon trading achieved?

Answer 31

A nation is provided with a certain number of carbon permits based on its national target levels set by the Kyoto Protocol. These permits can be sold to other nations who exceed their permit limit, through the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).

Question 32

What are some advantages of carbon trading?

Answer 32

• Environment = reduction of carbon dioxide emissions.
• Control = control over level of carbon dioxide emissions.
• Financial incentive = incentive to reduce polluting processes leading to generate revenue through selling excess permits.
• Flexibility = enter a period of transition that suits them.

Question 33

What are the disadvantages of carbon trading?

Answer 33

• Complexity of the market = markets are open to fraud and manipulation.
• Economy = smaller companies just pay for permits instead of installing less polluting technology.
• Size of permits = the carbon emissions were based on 1990 so some nations could have lowered them since then, so they will have extra permits.
• Difficulties surrounding the measuring of emissions = these are often carried out by the company internally and via desktop so their validity is questionable.