Environmental Issues Test 2

Question 1

How much more energy does humanity use than in the 1800s

Answer 1

Humanity uses 30 times more energy
The per capita use is 4 times more

Question 2

What is the main source of energy today

Answer 2

Main sources of energy:
1. Oil
2. Coal
3. Natural gas

Most commonly used = fossil fuels

Question 3

What is Sarnia

Answer 3

Sarnia is a chemical valley which has more chemical/oil refineries than anywhere in Canada. The oils taken from Sarnia is taken then sold in US. The place closest to these refineries is a Native Reserve called Aamjiwnaang.

Question 4

What is Aamjiwnaang

Answer 4

Aamjiwnaang is a fence line community. As a result the people living here are under threat for health problems. They have more cancer and miscarriage rates and constant spills of hydrogen sulphide (3 so far). Yet the government does not do much about it because 40% of Canada’s petrochemical business is here.

Question 5

What is a fence line community

Answer 5

A community bordering a hazardous environment is a fenceline community

Question 6

What is the sacrificed zone in the context of Aamjiwnaang

Answer 6

sacrificed zone means health of the people there is sacrificed for the profits of the people who own refineries

Question 7

What is the greenhouse effect

Answer 7

The greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon that occurs when certain gases, such as carbon dioxide, water vapor, and methane, in the Earth’s atmosphere trap heat from the sun, warming the planet’s surface. These gases act like the glass walls of a greenhouse, allowing sunlight to enter but trapping the resulting heat. Without the greenhouse effect, the Earth’s temperature would be too cold to support life as we know it. However, human activities such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation have increased the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, leading to an enhanced greenhouse effect and global warming.

Question 8

what is the largest reservoirs of carbon

Answer 8

• Largest reservoirs of carbon = lithosphere - Earth’s interior
  
  • most of the carbon is in rocks

Question 9

What source of energy drives part of the carbon cycle

Answer 9

Geothermal energy

Question 10

What are all the reservoirs of carbon

Answer 10

• All reservoirs
  
  • atmosphere
  • lithosphere and earth’s interior
  • biosphere
  • oceans

Question 11

Explain why plants are not able to help the carbon emissions - cutting trees

Answer 11

The plant/tree takes in the carbon through photosynthesis but if you cut down the tree and burn the wood = the carbon was only in the tree for a couple decades and now it’s released back into the atmosphere when you burn it and it combines with the oxygen in the atmosphere to become CO2 again

People say that you shouldn’t cut down trees because then all the stored up carbon will come out and that will make earth warmer

Question 12

What is a carbon sink

Answer 12

Carbon sink = anything that absorbs atmospheric carbon

Ex: Oceans, forests, soil, wetlands, etc

Question 13

What is the Keeling Curve

Answer 13

The Keeling Curve is a graph that shows the ongoing increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations since the 1950s. It is named after Charles Keeling, an American scientist who created the graph in 1958 while measuring CO2 levels on top of a volcano in Hawaii. At that time, global warming and climate change were not yet in the public consciousness, but Keeling wanted to measure CO2 levels anyways. By measuring CO2 at an elevated site, above the effects of immediate human activity, Keeling was able to demonstrate the increase in atmospheric CO2 levels with very high precision.

Question 14

How can we see carbon measures from 800,000 years ago

Answer 14

One way we can see carbon measures from 800,000 years ago is by looking at the ice sheets in Antarctica. The ice sheets in Antarctica provide a historical record of Earth’s atmosphere because they trap air bubbles containing atmospheric gases such as carbon dioxide. As snow accumulates on the surface of the ice sheet, it is compressed into ice and traps the air within the bubbles. The ice layers provide a continuous record of the atmospheric composition over time, with the oldest ice being just under a million years old. By drilling deep into the ice sheets and taking samples of air that froze at the time the ice formed, scientists can analyze the trapped air bubbles to determine the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere at that time. This fossilized air provides valuable information about past levels of carbon dioxide, which helps us understand how natural processes and human activities have affected the Earth’s climate over time.

Question 15

What kind of correlation does atmospheric carbon dioxide have with rising atmospheric temperature

Answer 15

The increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide has a strong correlation with rising atmospheric temperature. This correlation is no coincidence, and physicists have known of the greenhouse trapping properties of carbon dioxide since the 1850s, with more recent research showing its role in climate change in more specific detail, aided by satellites and computers, among other advances. The graph begins in 1880, which is around the time that direct, accurate, instrument-based readings of global temperature began.

Question 16

How has the increase of CO2 affected coral reefs

Answer 16

As the ocean absorbs more carbon dioxide, its water becomes more acidic, which leads to a decrease in the growth rate of coral. When this is combined with coral bleaching that occurs due to increasing ocean temperatures, experts predict that the majority of the world’s significant coral reefs, such as the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, may perish within the next few decades.

Question 17

What are natural reasons that can cause Earth to enter an ice age

Answer 17

There are natural factors that can cause the Earth to go into an ice age. One of these factors is volcanic eruptions, which can cause the Earth’s temperature to drop by a fraction of a degree. Another factor is the Earth’s orbit, which goes in cycles between being circular or elliptical. When the Earth’s orbit is elliptical, there is less sunlight in the northern hemisphere during the summer, causing temperatures to drop and creating conditions where ice sheets can form. The Earth’s tilt can also change, leading to a decrease in solar radiation that reaches the Earth, which can cause a cooling effect and ultimately result in an ice age.

Question 18

How much carbon does nature take in

Answer 18

• Nature takes in carbon
  
  • 120 gigatons/year
  • 90 gigatons/year taken into oceans by photosynthesis

Question 19

How much extra carbon is around

Answer 19

• The oceans take in an extra 2 billion tonnes
• 4 billion tonnes of extra carbon building up in the atmosphere

causing 1.2 degree rise

Question 20

What are the different renewable forms of energy

Answer 20

• Renewable:
  
  • biomass → emits more/equal co2 to coal - but it’s still renewable ⇒ depletable ; indirectly solar
  • geothermal → dependable because the process will keep going ⇒ not solar (if the sun stopped shining, geothermal energy will still be there)
  • river → indirectly solar (evaporated rain that fell on the land); arguably depletable (rivers can change overtime)
  • direct solar
  • tidal → indirectly solar (depending on aligning of moon, sun = tide);
  • wave → indirectly solar
  • wind → indirectly solar

Question 21

What are the different non-renewable forms of energy

Answer 21

• Non-renewable:
  
  • coal → depletable; indirectly solar (since it comes from buried plants which require sun to form)
    
    • coal takes a long time to form
  • natural gas → depletable (fossils that existed for years); indirectly solar
  • oil → depletable ; indirectly solar
  • uranium → depletable; NOT solar

Question 22

What is a wicked problem

Answer 22

Wicked problem = no proper solution there is a just a better and worse option

Question 23

What are the Athabasca Oil sands

Answer 23

The Athabasca oil sands in northwest Alberta, Canada, are one of the world’s largest reserves of oil, capable of producing 174.5 billion barrels, of which 20% is easily accessible. The rest of the sands are more than 75 meters below ground and are extracted using hot water that liquefies the oil for pumping. The oil sands are responsible for 30% of Alberta’s GDP and generate nearly 55% of the province’s non-renewable resource revenue. They also provide oil to the US, which consumes 19.4 million barrels of oil per day, and TransCanada has proposed building a pipeline to bring oil from the Athabasca oil sands directly to US refineries.

Question 24

What are oil sands

Answer 24

Oil sands, also known as tar sands, refer to a type of heavy crude oil found in sand and mixed with sediments and other impurities. Extracting the oil from the sand involves separating the sediment and impurities from the oil, which can be a costly process. It takes about 50% more energy to extract and process oil sands than conventional crude oil, resulting in a higher cost per barrel. While recent technological advancements have made the process slightly cheaper, extracting oil from sands is still more expensive than other methods. Additionally, to produce two barrels of oil, one must spend the equivalent of one barrel to extract and process the oil sands.