Fossil Fuels Flashcards
fossil fuels in 2015?
86% of the world’s primary energy
what was the significance of steam engines?
used up vast amounts of coal, first designs were very inefficient
vital to the industrial revolution
coal pushed forward the industrial revolution and sped up technological advances
was coal mining critical to industrialisation?
yes, greatly sped up the process
the Netherlands’ lack of coal caused them to fall behind coal-rich Belgium in industry
how much coal produced and consumed in Britain in 1800?
15 million tons of coal a year, more than Europe combined
energy usage vs efficiency
even as machines and industries became more efficient, they became more widespread meaning that total energy usage remained the same eg automobile industry
electricity?
began to overtake steam and coal
used for telecommunications
telegraph relied on the battery, invented by Volta in 1800
US efficiency of oil
by 1985 needed 37% less crude oil to create one dollar of GDP than in 1970
by 2000 53% less
by 2014 62% less
effect of industrialisation on economies
grew by 20-60% in a decade
output of British economy increased by tenfold from 1800 to 1900
USA’s GDP doubled between 1880 and 1900
worldwide fossil fuel consumption between 1950-2000
from less than 2 billion tons in 1950 to 8 billion tons in 2000
percentage of nuclear power today
7% of the world’s energy and 17% of electricity
France is the leading country with 80% nuclear energy
what started environmental movements?
1930s US Dust Bowl
‘Grow more wheat year’ 1929 Australia, led to over-farming and dust storms
Great Smog of London, 1952 - thousands of deaths
Rachel Carson’s ‘Silent Spring’ - raised awareness
concerns for air, water and smoke pollution - Anti-Smoke League in Baltimore, 1905
1988 - WHO estimated that more than a billion city dwellers inhaled breathed in unhealthy amounts of soot and sulphur dioxide
what can be seen as the reason for the ‘ecological revolution’?
Great Smog of London, 1952 - thousands of deaths, pollution, species loss, overpopulation
Biological warfare of the US Army in Vietnam - 40 million litres of Agent Orange which destroyed vast areas of forest
East Asia
industrialisation in the 1960s and 1970s - shipbuilding, steel, chemicals, in Taiwan, China, South Korea
benefits of oil
began to replace coal around 1910, but especially after 1950 when USA began to get involved in oil trade in the Middle East
Oil contains twice as much energy as coal and easier to transport, store, and process
price of oil affected automobile industry and cars bought and used
how have carbon emissions increased?
1900 - 0.6 billion tons
2000 - 7.2 billion tons
