Chapter 14 Flashcards
Primary energy source
fossil fuels, water, wind, solar, and radioactive materials
Secondary energy source
is derived from a primary source like electricity.
Can primary energy sources be renewable and non renewable?
Yes
What is the most common way humans produce electricity?
By using a primary energy source like oil, coal, or nuclear to boil water until it produces steam which powers a turbine linked to a generator.
What primary resources do we most commonly use to produce electricity?
Crude oil, coal, and natural gas.
Describe fossil fuel formation
when organisms die and decompose in oxygen-poor conditions. It undergoes a slow anaerobic decomposition and forms kerogen. Coal is formed when plant matter is compacted so tightly that there is little composition. Geothermal heating on kerogen creates crude oil and natural gas.
Mountaintop mining
removing entire mountaintops to obtain coal underneath
strip mining
a strip of overburden next to the previously mined strip is usually drilled. The drill holes are then filled with explosives and blasted.
overburden
the earth above a coal seam
clean coal technology
chemically washes minerals and impurities from coal and treating the flue gases to remove sulfur dioxide. Also capturing co2 from flue gas.
estimated reserves
an educated guess about the location and size of oil or natural gas deposits
proven reserves
how much oil that is proven to be economically obtained from an oil field
production of oil
withdrawal of oil or gas from an oil field
How much of the world’s oil supply does the US use?
25%
What does it mean to refine oil?
Oil is boiled, the constituents that boil that the hottest temps condense at the lowest levels in the column, the rest will condense higher, at lower temps. This way, heavy oils are separated from lighter oils.
oil sands
a mixture of sand, water, and bitumen.
bitumen
a mixture of hydrocarbons (oil) that is too thick to flow on its own.
What is the Keystone XL pipeline? Why is extending it controversial?
The pipeline brings oil into the US from Canada. It has become controversial because of where it is being extended.
What are ways to assess damage from an oil spill?
shorelines, water column, sediments, human use, aquatic vegetation, birds, turtles, marine mammals, fish, shellfish, and corals.
natural gas
is found in wells like crude oil. often there is a layer of natural gas on top of a crude layer in a well.
hydraulic fracturing (fracking)
injecting liquid at high pressure into rocks, to force open existing fissures and extract oil or gas.
what environmental concerns do people have about fracking?
air pollution, water contamination, toxic chemicals, wastewater disposal, creating unstable ground
what is the easter egg hypothesis, and how does it related to oil supply?
“As your searching turns up fewer and fewer eggs, you draw the logical conclusion that nearly all the eggs have been found.” The oil supply is getting lower, and eventually there will not be any more pockets.