Pre-reading Flashcards
What is the expected total population growth from 2012 to 2030 and how will the affecet the global middle class?
Total population will go from 6 to 9 billion
Middle class will increase from 1 to 4 billion
what 4 catergories can ecosystem services be catergorised into?
- provisioning services (direct products)
- Regulating services (pollination etc)
- Support services (nutrient, water cycle)
- Cultural services (spiritual, recreational etc)
What did the Millennium Ecosystem Assesment 2005 determine?
The majority of the worlds valuble ecosystem services are being degraded or used unsustainably
What is biomass?
biogenic material derived from living or recently living organisms
How are the broad land use classes distinguished by Erb et al?
Settlement and infrastructure
Croplands
Grazing and other land
Forestry
Unused lands
How much land and biomass is produced from forestry?
35Mkm*2
3.3Gt/year
How much land and biomass in produced by grazing and other land?
46.9Mkm*2
3.8 Gt/year
How much land does cropland cover?
15.2Mkm*2
How much of total human biomass is derived from cropland?
> 50%
How much land do settlements cover?
1.4Mkm*2
What would a global transition to plant based diets do?
Strongly reduce the demand on the food supply system
What is 3/4 of the unused land like?
Very unproductive (arctic, apline tundra and deserts)
What is causing a reduction in biomass yearf by year?
Harvest of biomass (food, feed , raw of wild living hetereotrophs or carbon sequestration)
Why is the use of timber over steel or concrete for contruction beneficial for the environment?
Reduce GHG emissions
What is ~60% of biomass used by humans for?
Feeding livestock
What is the energy conversion loss between trophic levels?
~90%
How is biomass produced?
primary production which convert inorganic chemical compounds (CO2 and water) into sugars.
What has been the annual increase in installed renewable technologies?
2-30%
How much of total energy production was derived from renewables in 2013?
19% (50% traditional biomass)
What is the split of energy production for different renewables largest to smallest?
- Hydrological
- Wind
- Solar-Pv
- Bio-power
- Geothermal
- Concentrated solr power
- ocean energy
How has renewable energy investment chnaged from 2004 to 2016?
$40 billion to $214 billion
Who is the biggest investor in renewables in 2016?
China ($56 billion)
What has the trend been with employment in renewables from 2004 to 2014?
Doubled from 3 to 6 million
What happened to the price of solar-pv from 2010 to 2014?
50% decrease
What is the conversion efficieny of solar-pv?
25%
What is the environmental benefit of solar-pv?
significanlty reduced atmopsheric input with emissions being linked to manufacturing of cells
How long does it take a wind turbine to “pay back” its energy?
3-6 months
What is the economical/ technical lifespan of a wind turbine?
20 years
What is the capcity factor of wind turbines?
the fact they are not able to run all the time (high winds) this is around 28-40%
What was the economic value of wind energy in 2013?
57 billion euro
What temperature of reservoir is required for geothermal energy production?
100c or higher for traditional but with lower temp evapouration fluids can be 80c
How does geothermal enegry production work?
by producing hot fluids/ vapor by tapping into hydrothermal reservoirs
What is the main challenge of food systems?
Ability to satisfy food demand
What is the aim of the UNEP sustainble food system programme?
improve resource use efficiency and reduce the polluting intensity of food systems from production to consumption
what do all food systems rely upon?
water
biodiversity
fertile soil
or
the sea
What is responsible for the biggest withdrawal of global water?
Agriculture 70%
What does rapfish mean and who produced this thesis?
Rapid appraisal for fisheries
University of British Columbia
What is the purpose of Rapfish?
A way to analyse and evaluate sustainability and fisheries
What indicators does Rapish use to asses fisheries?
Ecology
Technology
Economy
Social
Ethics
Who is the largest producer and exporter of rare earth materials?
China 90% of market with 23% of reserve
What problems are associated with Chinas rare earth metal production?
Low efficiency
Over-exploitation
Environmental pollution
What was found to be the main factor affecting rare earth material development in China?
A lag in the development of environment protection and rare earth protection systems
What elements are considered REEs (Rare Earth Elements)?
the 15 lanthanides and yttrium and scandium
In what areas are REEs used mostly?
New energy
New material
Energy conservation
Environmental protection
Aerospace
What is the proven global reserve of REEs said to be according to the US Geological Surveys Mineral commodities survery 2018?
130 million tonnes
What the trend in chinas sustainble development of REEs between 2006-2016?
Increasing
What was the main that is responsible for china sustainability growth?
Rare earth industrial industry development policy
AND
The Rare earth industry medium- and long-term developmnt plan
How much of earths land has been changed by human activity?
1/2
D.Jackson (2002)
Who said the quote “Water sustains all life on Earth; energy sustains human society”?
Gerhard et al 2002
What is electrochemical CO2 reduction?
Green and efficient process of converting CO2 to high value products i.e. alcohols, acids and chemicals
What is the main barrier to electrochemical CO2 reduction?
Efficient and low cost when scaling up the process
Why are Heteroatom-doped porous carbon based catalysts used in CO2 electrochemical reduction?
Great surface area
Electrical conductivity
tailorable structure
Easy synthesis
High yiled from inepnesive and abundant earth materials
What do ground source heat pumps do?
Take heat from the ground and raise it to a higher temperature
How much larger can the output from Ground source heat pumps be than the electrical input?
3-4 times greater
What is geothermal energy?
Thermal energy stored within the earths crust
What 3 distinct groups can geothermal energy be split into according to ASHRAE (2002)?
(less
High temperature (150+)
Intermediate temperature (30-150)
Low temperature (less than 30)
What type of geothermal energy is predominantly used by Ground source heat pumps?
Low temp for cooling and heating
How do closed loop ground source systems work?
Circulating a heat carrier fluid through a heat exchanger in a sealed loop of pipework in trenches or boreholes
How do open loop ground source systems work?
Pump ground water and extract heat from or reject to the ground water by passing through a heat pump or exchnager
Can the ground be used as a store for thermal energy?
Yes due to it being a large and stable thermal mass
What is an example of using the ground as a thermal store for ground source heat pumps?
waste ehat from summer cooling can be stored and then re-used in winter
What are the general advantages to ground source heat pumps over conventional heaters and coolers?
Large potential carbon, energy and revenue savings
What is coal formed from generally?
Decaying plant life i.e. ferns, trees and other plants
What is the formation period for coal?
50 to 300 millions years ago
What is the grade of coal?
A factor that distinguishes coal based on the quantity of ash or sulfur it contains
How does devolitazation affect coal?
Will mean there is less volatile matter, oxygen and moisture
What are the different ranks of coal?
Anthracite
Bituminous
Subbituminous
Lignitic
Channel
What are the subdivisions of anthracite?
meta-anthracite
anthracite
Semianthracite
What is the fixed carbon and volatile % of metaanthracite?
Fixed carbon content of 98% and volatiles of 2% or less
What is the fixed carbon and volatile % of anthracite?
Fixed carbon: 92-98%
Volatiles: 2-8%
What does anthracite look like/ characteristics?
Iron-black color
Dull to brilliant lustre
Conchoidial fracture
What are the characteristics of burning anthracite?
Short pale blue flame
Little odour
Does not coke
What is the fixed carbon and volatile matter % of semianthracite?
Fixed: 86-92%
Volatile: 8-14%
What are the characteristics of semianthracite?
Ill defined conchodial fractures
More cleats so more friable
What is believed to be the factor that differentiates between semianthracite and anthracite?
The process of metamorphism was not carried as far maybe being less intense
What happens burning semianthracite?
HIgher volatile % means easier kindling
Short yellow flame
Short rapid combustion = more efficient than anthracite
What subdivisions of bituminous coal are there?
Low volatile
Medium volatile
High volatile (A,B,C)
High volatile = 3 seperate groups
What is the fixed carbon % of low volatile bituminous?
78-86%
What is the fixed carbon % of medium volatile bituminous coal?
69-78%
What name is given to low and medium volatile bituminous coals when burning?
Smokeless coal
What are the characteristics of low and medium bituminous coal?
Minutely jointed thus tender and friable
How are high volatile ABC bituminous coals classified?
Joule (Btu) content
A: >/= 14.7 MJ
B: 13.7-14.8 MJ
C: 12.1-13.7 MJ
What are the characteristics of bituminous coal?
Long yellow flame, suffocating odour
Essentially laminted
High lustre variability per layer (resinous, silky, earthy, pitchy or dull)
Pitch black to dark gray
Fracture irregular to splintery
How many classes of subbituminous coal are there?
3(A,B,C)
What is the heating range for subituminous ABC?
8.8-12.1MJ
What are the varying characteristics of subbituminous coal?
Some are banded like bituminous coal and some are cannel like physically and chemically
What is cannel coal?
A coal which is very rich in volatile matter and high in hydrogen
What is cannel coal composed of?
entirerly of spores, spore cases, seed coats, resinous or waxy parts of plants from the time of coal frming swamps
What are the 2 subdivisions of lignite?
Lignite group
Brown coal group
What is the joule (Btu) value of lignitic coals?
less than 8.8MJ
What is the differemce between lignite and brown coals?
Lignite is consolidated while brown coal is unconsolidated
What is the link between social media and natural resource governance?
Countries with higher social media levels enjoy natural resource governance of better quality than countries with low levels of social media
What are the general benefits of nuclear compared to other low-carbon energy producers?
operate at a low cost with greater realiability
What is the consistency of nuclear power generation like?
operate 24 hours a day at near full capacity with only having stops to refuel every 18-24 months
What is the one major downside to nuclear power which might not make it avaliable to all?
The set up of a nuclear powerplant is very capital intensive
What is the comparison between a uranium pellet and coal?
one fule pellet (finger nail size) produces the same enegry as 1 tonne of coal
Is uranium a common resource?
Yes fairly common and thus relatively cheap as avaliable as tin or zinc
what is the ultimate goal of a nuclear reactor?
to reach criticality and thus create a chain reaction of atoms splitting
What will a amture uranium province look like?
Many types of uranium will be present all having formed at different points thus being at different stages of the uranium fractionation process
What is the average uranium concentration in continental crust?
1.7ppm with the upper part being 2.7ppm
What rock types is uranium most common in?
Silicic magmatic rocks (rhyolites)
Sediemntary organic carbon rich (black shales)
Phosphorous
What are the 2 varying methods of uranium deposit classification?
Descriptive features of mineralisation
or
Genetic aspects
What are conventional uranium resources?
Uranium which is recoverable as a primary product, co product or important by-product
What are unconventional uranium resources?
Uranium is only recoverable as a minor by-product
What is the curie point?
Exact reproducible temperature at which a ferromagnetic material loses its magnetism
What is the majority of earths crust composed of?
Silica
