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Earth: A User's Guide > Final Exam > Flashcards

Final Exam Flashcards

1
Q

Sustainable Development

A

Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

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2
Q

Intergenerational Equity

A

Do future generations deserve equal treatment as well?

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3
Q

Carbon footprint

A

Amount of carbon emissions for a person or particular group in a specified time period.

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4
Q

Ecological footprint

A
  • measures how much demand human consumption places on the biosphere.
  • accounts for biological capacity to get a more complete prospective.
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5
Q

Paris Agreement

A
  • Climate Pact: Approved in Paris in 2015
  • Historic step towards reducing and eventually eliminating the use of fossil fuels and creating international agreement.
  • Almost 200 countries agreed to ensure that global temperatures do not rise above more than 2°C
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6
Q

Issues with the Paris Agreement

A
  • every country was supposed to come back every 5 years to report their new emissions targets
  • to meet targets not just reducing emissions, but almost everything needs to become sustainable
  • Important players didn’t sign
  • tragedy of the commons
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7
Q

Ways we consume: food

A
  • amount of meat
  • food packaging
  • locally grown
  • food waste
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8
Q

Ways we consume: home

A
  • size of our home
  • type of home
  • materials used to build the home
  • number of people in the home
  • where our homes are located
  • electricity/heat
  • water
  • waste
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9
Q

Ways we consume: transportation

A
  • transit to work/school
  • distance
  • type of vehicle
  • fuel economy
  • carpool
  • public transit
  • flying
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10
Q

CERs

A
  • certified emission reductions
  • UN clean development mechanism (CDM) protocols
  • LDCs
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11
Q

VERs

A
  • voluntary GHG emission reduction projects
  • UN CDM protocols
  • MDCs
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12
Q

Problem with offsetting

A

We think that we can just pay and continue to do whatever we want.

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13
Q

Human population growth: solutions

A

Past: geographic advantages
Future: sustainable future?

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14
Q

History of Human Energy Use

A
  • most of history relied on burning wood and animal waste

- 1880s: coal, oil and natural gas

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15
Q

Fossil fuel

A

Fuel that comes from the remains of ancient plants, plankton, or algae that have been compressed and heated under layes of sediments accumulating over millions of years

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16
Q

Global energy use: phase one

A
  • 1800-1920

- coal replaces wood

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17
Q

Global energy use: phase two

A
  • 1920-1960

- liquid fuels become crucial for transportation systems

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18
Q

Global energy use: phase three

A
  • 1960+

- power plants and electric power grids

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19
Q

What is a joule?

A
  • 1 joule is approx the energy needed to lift an apple over your head.
  • energy today is measured in exajoules
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20
Q

Energy Density

A

Amount of energy in a volume or mass of fuel

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21
Q

Energy quality

A

Ability of a fuel to do useful work

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22
Q

Energy Use: countries

A

USA one of the largest per capita rates of energy use.

China and India will also have a large impact due to high and increasing population

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23
Q

How many tonnes of oil does a person in a MDC use per year?

A

5 tonnes

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24
Q

Primary energy source

A

Raw materials

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25
Q

Secondary energy source

A

Electricity and refined fuels

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26
Q

How much global primary energy was from fossil fuels?

A

86%

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27
Q

Non-renewable

A

Energy from sources that cannot be renewed within our lifetime

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28
Q

Renewables

A
  • can generate energy continuously and not be used up

- 24% of energy globally; 2/3 of renewable sources located in MDCs

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29
Q

Average American uses 2x the energy of the average…

A

French, German, Japanese, UK

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30
Q

Average American Uses 3x the energy of…

A

Average Chinese citizen

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31
Q

Overall energy use

A
  • China uses the most (more people)

- oil still most popular prinary source

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32
Q

Electricity Infrastructure

A

A concept that explains how a range of possible decisions in the present depends on choices made in the past.

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33
Q

Electricity

A

Flow of charged particles

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34
Q

Energy loss

A
  • coal power plants have about 33% efficiency in USA

- up to 45% efficiency in Europe and China

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35
Q

Decentralized System

A

Where the electricity is used near the place it’s generated.

ex) solar panels, small wind turbines

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36
Q

Impacts of fossil fuels

A

Pollution: GHG, C02

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37
Q

Solutions to fossil fuels

A
  • scrubbing smokestacks
  • removing pollutants from fuels before burning
  • coal–> natural gas
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38
Q

Transportation Emissions

A

CO2, Hydrocarbons, CO, Nitrogen Oxides

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39
Q

2 options to meet future electric utility needs

A
  1. Increase supply

2. Decrease demand

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40
Q

How much did energy intensity decrease by in 1975-2015?

A

60%

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41
Q

How much energy would be saved if everyone in USA switched to low energy lighting?

A

20-30 nuclear power plants

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42
Q

Why do fossil fuels matter?

A
  • we need energy for almost everything
  • carbon makes up a very large portion of most of our total ecological footprints
  • Greenhouse gas CO2
  • 2°C vs 4°C
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43
Q

Coal

A

Ferns, trees, and other plants in ancient swamps fell and accumulated in deep layers of sediment, which is now mined as coal

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44
Q

Oil and Natural Gas

A

In ancient rivers and oceans, plankton and algae died and were buried in deep layers of sediments. After being heated and compressed under the sediments, these deposits were transformed into the oil or natural gas that we extract today.

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45
Q

Recoverable reserves

A

Deposits that are measured, legally extractable, and cost-effective

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46
Q

Marginal reserves

A

Known to exist, but a little too expensive

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47
Q

Sub-economic resources

A

Far too expensive, but known

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48
Q

Conventional oil and gas

A

Large, easily accessed deposits.

Ex) oil well

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49
Q

Unconventional oil and gas

A

Non-traditional extraction with new technology.

Ex) fracking

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50
Q

Who produces the most oil?

A
  1. The Middle East
  2. Central America, South America, and the Caribbean
  3. North America
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51
Q

Who consumes the most oil?

A
  1. Asia Pacific
  2. North America
  3. Europe and Eurasia
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52
Q

Impacts of Oil Production

A
  • Air pollution
  • Damage to Marine Ecosystems (oil spills)
  • Damage to Terrestrial Ecosystems (including water)
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53
Q

Impacts of Oil Consumption

A
  • Greenhouse Gas Emissions
  • Air pollution
  • Damage to Ecosystems (acid rain)
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54
Q

Lignite coal

A
  • lots of impurities, especially sulfur
  • low energy density
  • not often used in energy production
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55
Q

Anthracite coal

A

High energy density

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56
Q

What % of coal reserves does the USA have?

A

26% of proven reserves

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57
Q

What % of coal reserves does Russia have?

A

17.6%

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58
Q

What % of coal reserves does China have?

A

12.8%

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59
Q

China consumes how many times more coal than the USA and India?

A

5x

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60
Q

China + India + USA = % coal globally?

A

70%

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61
Q

Impacts of coal production

A
  • ecological disturbance
  • acid rain
  • dam failures
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62
Q

Impacts of coal consumption

A
  • GHG emissions
  • pollution
  • acid rain
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63
Q

Hydraulic Fracturing: Fracking

A
  • mixture of water, sand and chemicals is injected at high pressure to fracture the rocks deep underground.
  • releases gas and oil from the rock/shale
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64
Q

Impacts of Natural Gas Production

A
  • contamination of streams and groundwater
  • ecological disturbance
  • air pollution
  • uses lots of water
  • EARTHQUAKES
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65
Q

Impacts of Natural Gas Consumption

A

-GHG emissions
-Air pollution
Consumption of natural gas has a lesser environmental impact BUT the production has a far greater one.

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66
Q

Nuclear energy

A

Became more common in the mid-1990s

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67
Q

Nuclear reaction

A

Nuclei of atoms is split apart (fission) which releases a lot of energy

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68
Q

Pro of nuclear energy

A

Very little emissions in production of electricity.

Considered relatively safe.

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69
Q

Impacts of Nuclear Energy

A
  • contamination and ecological damage from uranium mining
  • potential of release of radiation from nuclear reactor
  • radioactive nuclear waste
70
Q

What must be in place for an oil boom to happen?

A
  1. Price of oil
  2. Labour and capital
  3. Technology
  4. Infrastructure
  5. Rights/ownership
  6. Demand/supply
71
Q

Core problem identified in ‘This Changes Everything’

A

Capitalism

72
Q

Renewable energy

A

Energy that can be generated continuously, and cannot be used up.

73
Q

Types of renewable energy

A

Water (hydro, tidal, wave), solar, wind, geothermal, biomass

74
Q

What % of electricity in MB comes from renewables?

A

99%

-96% from 15 hydroelectric generating stations

75
Q

How many windfarms in MB?

A

2

76
Q

How many thermal generating stations in MB?

A

2

77
Q

How many remote diesel generating stations in MB?

A

4

78
Q

Are renewables always renewable?

A

No. Renewable based on our current conditions, (current climate). Climate change could change our hydrological cycles, and then our hydro electricity could be affected

79
Q

Hydropower

A
  • energy from flowing water
  • largest source of renewable energy
  • low GHG emissions
  • expensive to build
  • consistent source of electricity
80
Q

Hydroelectric Energy Potential

A
  • 97% use in MB

- Canada is 3rd largest generator of hydroelectricity, after China and Brazil.

81
Q

Hydro impacts

A
  • change the flow of rivers
  • flood large areas
  • habitat disruption
  • displace people
82
Q

Solar energy

A
  • energy from solar radiation
  • free fuel
  • no GHGs or pollution
  • costly to produce large amounts of energy
  • limited by cloud and hours of darkness (requires storage)
83
Q

Amount of solar energy that reaches earth’s surface in one month = ….?

A

Energy from all fossil fuels ever used!

84
Q

Passive solar energy

A
  • direct use of solar energy
  • does not require mechanical power
  • orient windows to face the sun (or away from the sun in hot climate)
85
Q

Characteristics of passive solar energy

A
  • airtight construction
  • well-insulated
  • heated from sunlight, occupants, lights and appliances
86
Q

Active Solar Energy

A
  • direct use of solar energy that requires mechanical power
  • usually consists of pumps and other machinery to circulate air, water, or other fluids from solar collectors to a heat sink where the heat may be stored
  • solar collectors often on roof tops
87
Q

Solar Ponds

A
  • shallow pond filled with water and used to generate relatively low-temperature water
  • heated water is salty so remains near the bottom
  • heat is then extracted
88
Q

Barriers/limitations to solar energy

A

-sun not available 24 hours
-need to be able to store energy
-installation costs are the main barrier
-panels are made from metals that are expensive and rare
Main environmental impact is from mining

89
Q

Wind energy

A
  • intermittent and non-dispatchable
  • 1500 turbines is the same as one coal plant
  • wind costs the same as fossil fuels
90
Q

2015 wind energy use in USA is?

A

4.7%

91
Q

2030 wind every use is predicted to be?

A

20%

92
Q

Pros of wind energy

A
  • abundant, clean and renewable
  • almost no GHG
  • well-developed
93
Q

Cons of wind energy

A
  • requires backup systems and storage for when wind does not blow
  • noisy
  • can impair some communications transmissions
  • impact on wildlife
  • considered visual eyesore
94
Q

Future of wind energy

A
  • estimated that wind could produce between 18-41% of global electricity by 2050
  • ability to store wind energy would increase the supply between approx 30-40%
  • one of the most cost-effective renewables
95
Q

Biomass fuels

A
  • some can be burned directly
  • some can produce other materials
  • land may be required for food production rather than particularly growing fuel
  • may reduce landfill
96
Q

What is used for biomass fuels?

A
  • fermentation of corn or sugar cane
  • experimenting with switchgrass
  • cellulosic ethanol
  • algae
  • ethanol
  • biodiesel
97
Q

Geothermal energy

A

Energy from the heat of the earth’s interior.

98
Q

Pros of geothermal energy

A
  • can be used to heat or cool buildings
  • steam from these sources can power turbines
  • dispatchable: available anytime
99
Q

Future of Geothermal Energy

A
  • 40 countries could use geothermal exclusively for all electricity needs
  • Norway requires building assessments for why you CAN’T build without geothermal energy
100
Q

Sustainable

A

Meeting the needs of the present without jeopardizing the needs of future generations

101
Q

Renewable

A
  • renewable within a human lifetime

- not all renewable forms of energy are sustainable. ex) hydro

102
Q

Best options of sustainable energy

A

Solar, wind, geothermal

103
Q

Currently renewables account for less than…. % of global energy supply.

A

3%

104
Q

Barriers to change

A

Technology, infrastructure, politics, policy

105
Q

MB Hydro

A
  • exporter of power. We make more than we need
  • a lot of this energy is exported to tar sands
  • promised the “eradication of mass poverty and unemployment” and instead created “engineered poverty”
106
Q

Impacts of MB Hydro

A
  • 3 people on welfare in a community compared to 80% now, largely due to inability to fish
  • MB has a flat landscape so water can flood large areas
  • Japanese experts say that there is no safe level of mercury contamination, and no reason to believe it’ll be fine in a few decades
  • sacred sites are affected
107
Q

VEC

A
  • valued ecological component

- ex) fish (who decides what a VEC is and how much it is worth?)

108
Q

Water as a basic human right

A
  • july of 2010 UN declared access to clean water and sanitation as a human right
  • 50-100 L per day for basic needs
109
Q

People and lack of water

A

1 in 4- no access to clean drinking water

2 in 5- no adequate sanitation

110
Q

Causes of Cape Town’s Water Shortage

A

Climate change, 3 years of record breaking droughts, tried to mitigate, not enough cause estimates were made on average rainfall, which hasn’t happened.

111
Q

Day zero

A

Day when taps will be shut off. Estimated to be mid-July.

-taps turn off at 13.5%

112
Q

How much water do humans need to survive?

A

2-5 L

113
Q

Recommendation of water entitlement for humans?

A

50 L per day

114
Q

Water use agriculture %

A

69%

115
Q

Water use industrial needs %

A

23%

116
Q

Water use domestic %

A

7%

117
Q

How many L water does the average Canadian use per day?

A

251 L

118
Q

Water use reduction

A
  • use less water
  • use lower quality water for certain applications
  • “low flow” fixtures
119
Q

Solar watercones

A

Purify water even desalinization of seawater

120
Q

Q-drum

A

Allows transportation of 50 L of water

121
Q

Fog catching

A

Use of nets to capture water from fog

122
Q

How many of the world’s rivers are shared by 2 or more countries?

A

261

123
Q

Water scarcity and pollution often…

A
  • limit social and economic development

- linked to poverty, hunger and disease

124
Q

Sharing water: 4 key questions

A
  1. How will the water resource be managed to ensure compliance with any agreement?
  2. What fraction or proportion of the water can be allocated for societies use without impairing the resource beyond unacceptable limits?
  3. How will the water requirements of rural and urban populations in each country be met equitably and “timeously”, within the constraints of economics and international treaties?
  4. What constitutes a fair and equitable share of the water resource for each country?
125
Q

Atmosphere

A

Envelope of gases that surround the planet and held in by the earth’s gravitational field

126
Q

% nitrogen in the atmosphere

A

78%

127
Q

% oxygen in our atmosphere

A

21%

128
Q

Inert gases

A
  • limited ability to react with other chemicals under normal conditions
  • limited role in air pollution or climate change
129
Q

Chemically reactive gases

A
  • chemical reactions with other materials

- oxidation reactions convert chemicals from forms in atmosphere to forms that can be “washed out” with precipitation

130
Q

Radiatively Active Gases

A
  • alters the amount of heat present in the atmosphere
  • CO2
  • can heat up planet/atmosphere
131
Q

Troposphere

A

Lowest layer

132
Q

Stratosphere

A
  • as high as 50km

- warmer again as sunlight interacts with ozone

133
Q

Atmospheric circulation cells

A

Pattern of large scale movement of air around the planet cause by unequal heating of the earth’s surface

134
Q

Hadley cells

A
  • cells immediately above and below the equator
  • often why we have tropical rainforests near the equator
  • and arid regions immediately north and south of these areas where the cool dry air descends
135
Q

Polar cells

A

Temp difference between poles and nearby land mass

136
Q

Ferrel cells

A
  • influenced by winds from Polar and Hadley cells

- intense wind and frequent storms (often in winter)

137
Q

Circulation

A
  • heating by the sun creates an area of low pressure at the equator
  • creates weather patterns
138
Q

Trade winds

A
  • blow east to west

- air flows from high to low pressure

139
Q

Coriolis effect

A
  • clockwise deflection in Northern hemisphere

- counterclockwise deflection in Southern hemisphere

140
Q

Weather

A

Phenomena occurring in the atmosphere at a certain point in time, which results in SHORT TERM variations in atmospheric conditions

141
Q

Climate

A

Average weather conditions of a particular place over a long period of time

142
Q

Main difference between weather and climate?

A

Time scale

143
Q

Cause and impacts of nitrogen oxides

A

Cause: burning fossil fuels
Impacts: human health, ozone, acid rain

144
Q

Cause and impacts of sulfur oxides

A

Cause: coal electricity generating stations
Impacts: human health and acid rain

145
Q

Ozone

A

Molecule made up of 3 oxygen atoms found in both the troposphere and stratosphere

146
Q

Primary pollutant

A

Chemical form of pollution released into atmosphere

147
Q

Secondary pollutant

A

Chemical form of pollution formed when primary pollutants react in atmosphere. Ex) ozone

148
Q

Ozone depletion

A
  • most ozone formed at low latitudes and then transported to high latitudes
  • during winter, Antartica isolated from surrounding atmosphere
  • in spring when the sun returns chlorine destroys ozone
149
Q

Stratospheric ozone

A
  • the ozone “hole”

- 1987 Montreal Agreement.

150
Q

Montreal Agreement

A
  • singed by most nations
  • phased out CFCs
  • most no longer in use
  • ozone will take a few more decades to recover
151
Q

Particulate pollution

A

Different types of particles from mineral dust, soil, very small organic particles from fossil fuels

152
Q

Lead

A

Metal found in the atmosphere in form of particulate air pollution

153
Q

Impacts of air pollution

A

Human health: damages airways or enters bloodstream

Other impacts: pollution of waterways and ecosystems, degrade buildings

154
Q

Residence time

A

Time an element or compound spends in a particular reservoir

155
Q

Short residence time

A

Means that it will stay near where it was emitted and not last as long

156
Q

Long residence time

A

Can be emitted in South America or Africa and travel across Atlantic Ocean

157
Q

Wet deposition

A

Pollutants that dissolve in water in the atmosphere

158
Q

Dry deposition

A

Pollutants that can be deposited onto land without rain

159
Q

Energy balance

A

Difference between the solar energy that reaches the planet and the energy that leaves the earth

160
Q

Greenhouse gases

A

A gas that absorbs infrared radiation and traps heat in the atmosphere

161
Q

Greenhouse gases include:

A

CO2, methane, nitrous oxide, CFCs, water vapour

162
Q

Climate forcing

A

Alteration with energy balance of the climate.

“Forces” climate to change.

163
Q

Solar energy

A
  • solar output
  • changes in earth’s orbit around sun
  • orientation of earth relative to the sun
164
Q

Reflective energy

A
  • albedo of earth’s surface

- particles in atmosphere

165
Q

Trapped energy

A

Concentration of GHG in atmosphere

166
Q

Milankovitch Mechanism

3 Characteristics of Orbits

A
  1. Obliquity
  2. Eccentricity
  3. Precession
167
Q

Obliquity

A

Change in the earth’s axis. 22-24.5°C. Greater seasonality

168
Q

Eccentricity

A

Actual shape of the earth has changed

169
Q

Precession

A

“Wobble” of the earth’s atmosphere

170
Q

Proxy data

A

Biological and chemical signatures

171
Q

4 major long-lived GHGs

A
  1. Carbon dioxide
  2. Methane
  3. Nitrous oxide
  4. Halocarbons (CFCs)

Earth: A User's Guide (3 decks)

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