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NC Earth & Environmental Science > Energy and Sustainability > Flashcards

Energy and Sustainability Flashcards

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Biology 101 flashcards
1
Q

Sustainability

A

Continued survival – using energy and material resources to maintain survival for the present and the future.

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2
Q

Traditional Energy Sources:

A
  • Wood
  • Peat
  • Coal
  • Petroleum
  • Natural Gas
  • Uranium
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3
Q

Wood:

  • Renewable?
  • Origin?
  • Use?
  • Obtained?
A
  • Renewable
  • From trees
  • Used for heating and cooking
  • Harvested
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4
Q

Peat:

  • Renewable?
  • Origin?
  • Use?
  • Obtained?
A
  • Renewable
  • From decaying plant matter in bogs
  • Used for heating
  • Harvested
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5
Q

Coal:

  • Renewable?
  • Origin?
  • Use?
  • Obtained?
A
  • Nonrenewable
  • From fossilized swampy plants
  • Used for electricity production
  • Mined
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6
Q

Petroleum:

  • Renewable?
  • Origin?
  • Use?
  • Obtained?
A
  • Nonrenewable
  • From fossilized plankton
  • Used for gasoline
  • Drilled (sometimes offshore, in porous sedimentary rocks)
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7
Q

Natural Gas:

  • Renewable?
  • Origin?
  • Use?
  • Obtained?
A
  • Nonrenewable
  • From sandstone
  • Used for heating and cooking (cleanest burning of fossil fuels)
  • Drilled (along with petroleum)
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8
Q

Uranium:

  • Renewable?
  • Origin?
  • Use?
  • Obtained?
A
  • Nonrenewable
  • From sandstone
  • Used for electricity production (nuclear fission uses uranium)
  • Mined
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9
Q

Coal Formation:

A
  • Coal is formed from dead, fossilized, vegetation that accumulated millions of years ago.
  • These dead plants were buried under pressure, compressed and heated, to become fossilized for coal production.
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10
Q

Harvesting effects:

A

Has lead to deforestation and resulted in erosion and topsoil loss.

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11
Q

Mining effects:

A

Has lead to the removal of mountaintops and pollution from mounds of rock.

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12
Q

Drilling effects:

A

Has lead to oil spills and damage to the environment.

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13
Q

Alternate Energy Sources:

A
  • Solar power
  • Wave/Hydro power
  • Geothermal power
  • Wind power
  • Nuclear fission / fusion
  • Biomass and biofuels
  • Fuel cells / Hydrogen power
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14
Q

Solar and Thermo-solar power:

A
  • A photovoltaic cell produces energy when exposed to light.
  • Thermo-energy heats a substance like water into steam, to turn a turbine and generate electricity.
  • Clean and quiet, but expensive.
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15
Q

Hydropower:

A
  • Turbines are situated to catch the power of rising or falling water.
  • Hard to get waves, but free power (except for setting up the facility)
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16
Q

Geothermal power:

A
  • Uses “Earth heat” to turn water into steam to spin turbines or heat water.
  • Geographically restricted, free but expensive drilling. Disturbs habitat, and can cause salty water.
17
Q

Wind power:

A
  • Wind mills act as giant turbines that spin with the energy of wind to generate electricity.
  • Hard to get wind, and wind farms can be noisy
18
Q

Nuclear fission:

A
  • Produces heat to boil and water to spin the turbines - separates
  • Splitting of a heavy, unstable nucleus into two lighter nuclei
  • High cost, and there’s the threat of a meltdown
19
Q

Biomass and biofuels:

A
  • Includes municipal waste, crop residues, manure, lumber, and paper by-products
  • Food is being used as fuel, and disrupts the cycling of nutrients back into the ecosystem.
  • Pollution can be generated in the process of converting biomass to energy.
20
Q

Fuel cells:

A
  • Hydrogen and oxygen chemically combine to form water which can generate electricity using fuel cell technology.
  • Pretty expensive, is flammable, and hydrogen must be in the proper form.
21
Q

Limiting Factors:

A

A factor which causes a population to stop increasing.

  • Limited natural resources
  • Population fluctuates (goes up and down)
  • Density-independent and dependent factors
22
Q

Carrying Capacity

A

The number of organisms that any given environment can support.

23
Q

Density-independent factor

A

Environmental factors which affect population growth regardless of population size.

  • Storms
  • Climate changes
  • Droughts
  • Floods
  • Pollution
24
Q

Density-dependent factor

A

Environmental factors that affect population growth as the population’s size increases.

  • Disease
  • Parasites
  • Lack of food / resources

NC Earth & Environmental Science (9 decks)

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