Chapter 14 Flashcards
What is the most important energy source worldwide?
Biomass fuel
Which 3 substances provide 5/6ths of the world’s energy?
- oil
- natural gas
- coal
List three examples of biomass fuel.
- wood
- plant material
- animal waste
Define fossil fuel.
The residue of plants and animals that were buried millions of years ago.
When will petroleum, natural gas, and coal be brokered at the current rate of consumption?
In about 50 years
What are the 2 major sources of global instability in the world?
- unequal possession
- consumption of fossil fuels
Who are the top producers of coal?
- China
- USA
Who are the top producers of petroleum?
- Saudi Arabia
- Iran
Who are the top producers of natural gas?
- Russia
- USA
How much of the world’s population is MDCs?
1/4
How much of the world’s energy are consumed by MDCs?
3/4
What are the 2 sharp regional differences in energy consumption that have geographic consequences?
- LDCs are consuming much more energy as they promote development and cope with high population growth
- Because MDCs consume more energy than they produce, they must import more fossil fuels from LDCs
What’s wrong with natural gas?
- increases by 7% every year
- hard to transport
- reserves are in relatively inaccessible locations
What is wrong with coal?
- air pollution
- mine safety
- land subsidence
- economics
What is OPEC?
- Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
- formed in 1960
- Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Qatar, Indonesia, Libya, UAE, Algeria, Nigeria, Ecuador, Angola
- unify the petroleum policies and ensure the stabilization of oil markets in order to secure an efficient, economic, and regular, supply, of oil to consumers
What is the advantage if nuclear power?
There is a large amount of energy released from a small amount of material
What are the disadvantages of nuclear power?
- potential accidents from nuclear
- radioactive waste from nuclear
- no one wants it in their community
- bomb material from nuclear, weapons and can terminate human civilizations
- limited uranium services
- very expensive
What are the 3 non-metallic resources?
- rock and earthen material
- fertilizer
- gemstones
Define ferrous.
Alloys used in the production of iron steel
What’s so special about iron?
Humans began making tools out of iron in 2000 BC
Where is iron concentrated in?
- China
- Brazil
- Australia
What are the major importers for iron?
- Western Europe
- Japan
What are common non-ferrous metals?
- aluminum
- copper
- lead
- zinc
- silver
- gold
- platinum
Define air pollution.
Concentration of trace substances at a greater level that occurs in average air
What are the most common air pollutants?
- carbon monoxide
- sulfur dioxide
- nitrogen oxides
- hydrocarbons
- solid particles
What three human activities generate the most air pollution, and what gases do they emit?
- motor vehicles: carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons
- industry: sulfur dioxide
- power plants: sulfur dioxide
What is global warming?
When human actions cause Earth’s temperature to rise
What has caused an increase in carbon dioxide I’m the air?
Increase of fossil fuel
What is greenhouse effect?
The anticipated increase in Earth’s temperature caused by carbon dioxide trapping some of the radiation emitted by the surface
What are chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) doing to the atmosphere?
- polluting
- breaking down Earth’s protective layer
How does acid precipitation affect the water and land?
- by damaging lakes, and killing fish and plants
- by depriving nutrients from plants
Where does acid precipitation occur most in the United States?
Eastern lakes
Describe the situations going on in Eastern Europe and Russia.
Policies encourage factories and power plants to not use pollution controlled devices
Why are urban areas the most populated regions?
- b/c of the large number of factories, motor vehicles, and other pollutants
- particles (dust and smoke)
How does carbon monoxide harm us?
It reduces the level of oxygen in blood
How do hydrocarbons harm us?
They cause respiratory problems
How do particles harm us?
They cause a dark plume of smoke
How does the weather affect air pollutants?
When it’s windy the wind disperses pollutants
Why is Denver the worst city in the US for concentrations of carbon monoxide and particles?
B/c the Rocky Mountains trap the gases and makes a permanent temperature.
Name two cities where there is severe air pollution and their reasons being.
Santiago - burning diesel fuel
Mexico City - dust from dirty streets
How does water-using industries due water?
They use water when making steel, chemicals, paper products, and food processing
How does municipal sewage use water?
Not all pollutants are removed from the water
How does agriculture use water?
By fertilizers and pesticide sprays that get carried into the lakes and rivers
How does biochemical oxygen demand affect aquatic life?
The oxygen consumed by the decomposing organic waste
How does DDT affect aquatic life?
Salmon becomes unfit to eat
How do factories and power plants affect aquatic life?
The fish aren’t able to adapt to the warmer water
What is the difference between MDCs and LDCs in the way of water treatment?
Usually MDCs have more sewer systems to clean the water
How much solid waste per person gets recycled?
50%
What are the two ways of disposing solid waste and what is wrong with these methods?
- sanitary landfills: more pollutants are dispersed into the air
- incineration: releases some toxins into the air
Why is disposing hazardous waste difficult?
Because they include heavy metals
