Energy and Environmental Health

Question 1

Define Fossil Fuels.

Answer 1

• formed from buried remains of prehistoric plants and animals that lived millions of years ago
• energy that plants and animals originally obtained from the sun was stored as carbon
• fossil fuels from when decomposed plants and animals mix with mud/sand, exposed to intense heat and pressure over millions of years
• fossil fuels are millions of years of buried sunshine

Question 2

What is Renewable Energy?

Answer 2

sources are continually replenished on a human tiescale

Question 3

Give Examples of Renewable Energy.

Answer 3

sunlight, wind, water

Question 4

What is Non-Renewable Energy?

Answer 4

sources cannot be replenished in a short period of time

Question 5

Give examples of Non-Renewable Energy.

Answer 5

fossil fuels (coal, oil/petroleum, natural gas)

Question 6

How is Electricity produced?

Answer 6

• fossil fuels are burned to heat water to make steam
• steam spins a big fan called turbine
• the spinning turbine rotates a big magnet around a piece of wire & that motion creates a magnetic field, which moves electrons in the wire, creating an electric current
• the electric current flows through the wire and is pushed out through high-voltage transformers

Question 7

What are the environmental impacts of coal?

Answer 7

Mining: releases methane
Cleaning: large quantities of water needed to remove impurities from coal, can contaminate water sources or disturb ecosystem
Burning: release CO2, SO2, NOx, mercury and particulates into air, produces ash that must be disposed of
Benefit: trying to make better use of ash and incorporate it into building materials

Question 8

What are the environmental impacts of natural gas?

Answer 8

drilling- must drill into ground to get gas, building drill sites can destroy natural habitat, cause erosion, landslides
transport- habitat destruction for pipelines, methane leaks
burning- produces NOx and CO2 at lower quantities that coal, methane not completely burnt off, negligible amounts of SO2 and mercury released
requires little water and doesn’t produce much waste

Question 9

What are the environmental impacts of hydroelectric power?

Answer 9

• no air or water quality impacts, no emissions

- often requires use of dams which can disrupt ecosystem

Question 10

What are the environmental impacts of solar energy?

Answer 10

No emissions & a renewable resource but this can be expensive, not always available

Question 11

What are the environmental impacts of wind energy?

Answer 11

no emissions, renewable resource, cost effective BUT turbines can be ugly and they can harm wildlife

Question 12

What is hydraulic fracturing?

Answer 12

• technique used for decades to assist in extracting oils and natural gas from rock
• advances in horizontal drilling have made it more common

Question 13

How does hydraulic fracturing work?

Answer 13

Water, sand chemicals pumped into shale at high pressure ➞ fluid creates fractures in rock formation ➞ sand and chemicals hold fissures open ➞ internal pressure of rock causes gas and ‘flowback water’ to return to surface through wellborn

Question 14

What are the potential hazards of hydraulic fracturing?

Answer 14

• water, noise, air, light pollution
• greenhouse gas emissions
• seismic activity