Midterm Reviews (transportation) Flashcards
list 3 reasons that passenger transportation mode differ from each other
Transportation mode lifetime
Transportation mode km Traveled
Passenger km Traveled
Name 3 reasons why 2 cars may have different environmental footprint.
Same vehicle:
Overall roads traveled influence road grade
Accelerations varied
Velocity maintained differed
Different vehicles
Drag coefficients differ
Rolling resistances differ
Engine efficiency differ
what are fossil fuels?
a natural fuel such as coal or gas, formed in the geological past from the remains of living organisms.
how important are fossil fuels in our economy?
Most transport of goods
Mature infrastructure built around it
Reliable supply
Used in electricity generation
What are advantages to fossil fuels?
> Extensive infrastructure
>Effective conversion of petroleum into derivatives
Fossil fuel industry is often said to be inefficient. Name 2 reasons why?
When combusted, they make heat
Long transportation associated (long supply chain implying non local)
How important are fossil fuels in electricity generation?
About 40% of electricity comes from coal
Petroleum is major part of transportation
What are 3 concerns associated with fossil fuel economy?
Society dependent on (athuman scale) finite fossil resources
Economic dependency
Big inefficiencies
Pollute air, water, soil
what are some of the upstream impacts of fossil fuels?
Coal mining: ─ Polluted streams and rivers ─ Deaths (mining, railway crossings) • Natural gas: ─ Land use from pipelines and extraction ─ Leakage of methane from pipelines (~2%) • Oil: ─ Refinery emissions and hazardous waste ─ Oil spills
what is cogeneration? Is it a problem?
AKA combined heat and power
Use of a power station to simultaneously generate both ELECTRICITY and HEAT
This is more economical and boosts overall efficiency. 52% vs 33%
name three things that a co generation heat can be used for (facility smoke berkeley southside)
This plant runs on natural gas
- make electricity
- heat building with it
- can be used as laboratory or industrial processes (steam)
Name 1 thing to benifit to diesels engines.
Last longer
More energy efficient
More miles to gallon than gasoline engines but have high NOx and particulate matter
Conversion from mile to km
1.60934 km=1 mile
Provide 5 arguments in support to LCA
Pro: life cycle review (manufacturing maintenance and end of life) Systematic Documental Formal process Complete picture Emissions water use and resource use Internationally used
Name 3 solutions to water pollution.
Plug the leaks
Less pollutants running in fertilizer
Recycle water within buildings
What’s the dead zone?
Low oxygen waters that make it hard for aquatic life to live in. This is usually caused by
runoff into larger bodies of water that reduce the amount of oxygen. One example is runoff of Mississippi river into the gulf of Mexico.
What’s california water dilemma?
Dry seasons (each year) and drought
• Floods (too much water in spring)
• 75% of water is in north of state, 75% of demand in south
SOLUTION: Largest water works project in human history (lots of jobs for civil engineers!)
How is water used in california in relation to people and agriculture.
20% to people
80 % to agriculture
What’s meant by primary treatment, secondary treatment, and tertiary treatment
Primary- Remove suspended particles by sedimentation (BOD, some N, P and pathogens)
Secondary- Remove dissolved BOD via biological degradation (bacteria)
Tertiary- Additional treatment, specific to situation (nutrients, particles, pathogens,
trace organics)
What is sludge treatment?
Collecting solids in wastewater and disposing of it in landfill (or burning for energy )
What is a functional unit in LCA?
Unit of analysis. Transportation: car per mile driven, passenger comparison. Its basically a unit you want to observe in LCA
Name 3 environmental problems with water distribution.
Not using Local uses of water
Recycle so not to transport and keep it local
Landscaping demand is very high
