Topic 1 Flashcards
Two types of energy sources?
Fossil fuels and renewables
What is a fossil fuel?
A fuel consisting of the remains of organisms preserved in rocks in the earths crust with high carbon and hydrogen contents
What is renewable energy?
A form of energy derived from natural sources that do not use up natural resources to harm the environment
Three types of fossil fuels?
Coal , natural gas and crude oil
What is coal formed from?
Dead remains of plants falling and accumulating on the ground
How does the remains get turned into peat?
The increasing weight compresses it
What happens to the peat when it further compresses?
Temperatures increase and the peat turns into different grades of coal
How is natural gas and crude oil formed?
From dead organisms , When they die they settle at the bottom of the sea . With other sediments the pressure increases and the temperature increases and are efficient for crude oil to form . In crude oil wells natural gas gets trapped above the crude oil
Nations reliance on fossil fuels in 1960 compared to 2015?
94% compared to 80%
Four uses of fossil fuels?
Plastics , pharmaceuticals, Transport and fibres.
Largest consumer of crude oil?
USA 20%
Lifespan of coal
114 years
Life span of crude oil
50.7 years
Lifespan of natural gas
52.8 years
Why can the lifespan of these fuels change?
The engineering solutions may improve to exploit hard to access oil fields
When oil prices are high ?
The incentive to invest in new engineering methods.
Global scientific community for Climate Change?
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Alternative word for human induced
Anthropogenic
What is Carbon Trading?
A method that aims to reduce carbon emissions of a nation by providing incentives for major polluting industries
How does Carbon Trading work?
A nation is provided with a number of carbon permits ,if a nation uses less than what they are given they can then sell these for profit.
Advantages of Carbon Trading
Environment , control , finiancial incentive , flexibility
Disadvantages of Carbon Trading
Complexity of the market , economy , size of permits , difficulties surrounding the measuring of emissions.
Disadvantages of Carbon Trading
Complexity of the market , economy , size of permits , difficulties surrounding the measuring of emissions.
