Exam 4 Flashcards
What are the three main fossil fuels?
coal, oil, natural gas
How much energy/electricity come from the three main fossil fuels?
80% of energy, nearly 2/3 of electricity
How long does it take the biosphere to generate the amount of organic matter that must be buried to produce a day’s worth of fossil fuels?
1000 years
Which nation has the most coal?
the United States
How is energy use distributed in industrial nations?
1/3 transportation, 1/3 industry, 1/3 other uses
How much of the U.S.’s energy demand is for fossil fuels?
80%
Anaerobic
environment with little/no oxygen, where fossil fuels form
What is the most abundant fossil fuel?
coal
How is coal used to generate electricity?
burned to convert water to steam in power plants and rotate turbines
How much oil is consumed per person per year?
750 L, mostly from appliances
Hubbert’s peak
U.S. 1970 oil extraction peak (production rose again when fracking/other technology was developed)
Secondary extraction
injecting solvents/water/steam into rock or fracking when market prices of oil/gas are high (expensive)
How much oil and gas in the U.S. is extracted offshore?
35% of oil, 10% of gas
What was the biggest oil spill and how long did it last?
Deepwater Horizon, 3 months
What contributes to oil pollution in the ocean most?
non-point sources (cars, homes)
1002 Area
section of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge opened to petroleum extraction in 2017 and leased for exploratory drilling in 2020
Scrubbers
devices that remove/chemically convert pollutants
FutureGen project
near-zero-emissions coal-fired power plant attempted by the U.S. Department of Energy and 7 energy companies in 2003, which was suspended due to financial challenges in 2015
Strategic Petroleum Reserve
emergency stockpile of oil held in underground salt caverns in Louisiana
How do we improve energy efficiency versus conservation?
energy efficiency from technological improvements, conservation from behavioral choices
How much fossil fuel energy is lost as waste heat?
over 2/3
In what period did nuclear power grow most?
1970s/1980s
How much nuclear power does the U.S. generate, and how much does it use?
1/4 of the world’s nuclear power, uses under 20%
How much uranium in nature is uranium-238, and how much is uranium-235?
over 99% 238, under 1% 235
What is the half-life of uranium-235?
700 million years
How much high-level radioactive waste do U.S. power plants store?
over 70,000 metric tons
How much energy and electricity comes from coal/oil/natural gas?
over 4/5 energy, nearly 2/3 electricity
New renewables
renewable sources just coming into wide use, harnessed using technology in rapid development, and likely to play large roles
How much energy use, electricity generation, and transportation are powered by renewable sources in the U.S.?
11.5% total, 18.2% electricity, 5.0% transportation
How many work in renewable energy jobs?
nearly 11 million
What is the global annual investment in renewable energy?
around $300 billion
How much is the average person estimated to suffer in external fossil-fuel-related costs each year?
$700
How much solar energy does each square meter of Earth’s surface receive?
about 1 kilowatt
Which country leads in solar collectors?
China
How long do solar energy units typically produce for?
20 to 30 years
Which country is the world leader in solar power?
Germany
How much of Germany’s electricity is solar?
7% and increasing
How tall are wind turbines on average?
80 m
Which country erected the first offshore wind farm and when?
Denmark, 1991
How many people work in wind power-related jobs?
nearly 1.2 million people (over 100,000 Americans)
Where was the first tidal station established and when?
South Korea (Sihwa Lake), 2011
How much electricity does hydropower provide?
1/6
What is the EROI of hydropower?
80:1
How many appropriate U.S. rivers are dammed?
98%
What portion of renewable energy use is fuelwood, charcoal, and livestock manure?
1/2
What are the two primary biofuels?
ethanol, biodiesel
Flexible-fuel vehicles
vehicles run on E-85, which is 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline
Battery
device that stores energy and employs chemical reactions to release it
Flywheel
device that rotates quickly in a vacuum, storing energy in rotational movement and generating electricity when it slows down
What are the biggest components of U.S. municipal solid waste?
paper, food scraps, plastics, yard trimmings
How much municipal solid waste per year does the average U.S. resident generate?
nearly a ton
What portion of the U.S. waste stream could have been composted?
about 1/5
How many U.S. Americans are served by curbside recycling programs?
70%
National Sword, 2018
China cut imports of recycled materials from other nations by 96%, due to contamination of recyclables
What portion of the U.S.’s annual 7 billion tons of industrial waste is wastewater?
97%
Who regulates municipal versus industrial solid waste in the U.S.?
federal for municipal, state/local for industrial
How much household hazardous waste do Americans generate annually?
1.6 million tons
How many precious metals does a typical cell phone contain?
up to 1 dollar
How much does typical hazardous waste cleanup cost and how long does it take?
$25 million, 15 years
What happens at an oil refinery?
hydrogen molecules are separated by size and chemically transformed to create specialized fuels
What are standard steps at a U.S. coal-fired power plant?
pulverized coal is combusted at high temperatures, evaporating water so the steam rotates a turbine
How much solid waste does the average American generate per day?
2.1 kg (4.5 lb)
How much energy does recycling aluminum cans save?
95% of that required to make the same amount from mined virgin bauxite
Why were the first bottle bills passed?
to provide financial incentives for recycling
