Lecture 7 How do we get our electricity pt. 1

Question 1

acid drainage

Answer 1

chemical runoff from strip mining enters the waterway, sulfuric acid leaches metals from rocks. US regulations require companies to restore strip mined land but complete restoration is impossible

Question 2

mountain top removal

Answer 2

when the mining company strips off forests and topsoil and then blasts apart the mountain to get coal streams

Question 3

mercury

Answer 3

toxic chemical put into the air with coal power

Question 4

nitrogen oxides

Answer 4

smog chemicals released into the air with coal power, greenhouse gas

Question 5

sulfur dioxide

Answer 5

acid rain chemicals released into the air with coal power

Question 6

carbon dioxide

Answer 6

greenhouse gas released into the air with coal power

Question 7

hydraulic fracturing

Answer 7

method of obtaining natural gas

Question 8

methane

Answer 8

natural gas 84x more potent than CO2, released with fracking

Question 9

shale gas

Answer 9

a natural gas within tiny openings of shale rock

Question 10

coal

Answer 10

a combustible black or dark brown rock consisting mainly of carbonized plant matter, found mainly in underground deposits and widely used as fuel

Question 11

greenhouse gases

Answer 11

CO2, methane, ozone, water vapor, nitrous oxide