Unit 4

Question 1

What is the major problem of peak oil?

Answer 1

We don’t have enough oil to meet our needs, thus, oil is running out

Question 2

What are the negative effects of fossil fuels?

Answer 2

War, environmental impacts, health

Question 3

What are the four types of alternate energy?

Answer 3

Solar, wind, geothermal, nuclear

Question 4

What are the pros and cons of solar energy?

Answer 4

Pros: low maintenance, can experience a money return (sell energy back to grid), silent, unlimited power sources, can power remote areas, reduced long-term electricity costs
Cons: high initial cost, can only harness power during the day and house must be facing south to work, lots of air pollution blocks sun from reaching solar cells, energy coming in isn’t constant

Question 5

What country uses the most solar Energy?

Answer 5

Germany, they expect to have 100% renewable energy in 2050 with solar being the main power source

Question 6

What is the solar project in Ontario?

Answer 6

Samsung is giving Ontario $5 billion to make new manufacturing jobs involving wind and solar pannels

Question 7

What are the pros and cons of win energy?

Answer 7

Pros: environmentally friendly, multi-use of land, energy created is cheap, good for the economy (creates jobs), doesn’t use water, needs little space
Cons: wind is always available, expensive to implement, kills wildlife, unproven health concerns (migraines at night), ugly, can interfere with radiowaves

Question 8

What are the pros and cons of nuclear energy?

Answer 8

Pros: lowers greenhouse emissions (almost by half), produces more energy that oil, doesn’t let odd harmful gasses, medical uses, uranium is cheap
Cons: radioactive waste, nuclear weapons, nuclear accidents, expensive to implement (takes 5-10 years to set-up), uranium is rare

Question 9

Name countries that use nuclear.

Answer 9

Canada, America, and especially China

Question 10

Name the pros and cons of geothermal energy.

Answer 10

Pros: zero carbons, plant can be underground, not susceptible to price fluctuations, limitless supply
Cons: drilling into rock is hard, prime sites are far away from populated areas, geothermal can cause earthquakes, uses lots of water

Question 11

What alternate energy source does Yellowknife favour?

Answer 11

Geothermal - have $14.1 million invested into it

Question 12

What is the greenhouse effect?

Answer 12

The warming of the atmosphere as some of its gases absorb heat given off by the earth’s surface. It is a natural event that maintain’s the earth’s temperature at an average of 14 degrees

Question 13

What are anthropogenic gases?

Answer 13

Gases made by people - halocarbons

Question 14

What are the four main greenhouse gases?

Answer 14

Halocarbons, carbon dioxide, methane, notrious oxide

Question 15

What is the tipping point?

Answer 15

a change in attitude about the enviornment

Question 16

What is the carbon cycle?

Answer 16

It is how carbon moves through the enviornment

Question 17

What are the main parts of the carbon cycle?

Answer 17

Carbon source - anything that releases carbon
Carbon sink - anything that holds carbon for a short period of time
Fixed carbon - anything that holds carbon for a long period of time

Question 18

What are the main impacts of global warming?

Answer 18

Higher average temperature, lower temperatures, global security, health concerns, rising sea levels, agricultural problems, ecosystem problems, changes in precipitation patterns, human migrations

Question 19

What happened in the Kyoto Conference of 1997?

Answer 19

• Kyoto pact was created
• scientists said that emissions needed to be reduced by 60%-70%
• only applied to old core counties
• reforms were to be finished in 2015 but an updated treaty would replace it in 2012

Question 20

What were the problems with the Kyoto Treaty?

Answer 20

• G8 countries like USA, Japan, and Italy increased their greenhouse gas emissions
• Russia decreased their emissions by 30% only because of the fall of the Soviet Union
• EU countries and Canada increased their emissions

Question 21

What are the solutions to global warming?

Answer 21

Cap and trade system
Carbon tax
Geo-engineering

Question 22

What is geo-engineering?

Answer 22

Creating technology to solve climate change

Question 23

What is a carbon tax?

Answer 23

Placing a tax on each tonne of cabon emissions

Question 24

What is a cap and trade system?

Answer 24

The government only allows a certain amount of greenhouse gases to be released each year. Companies are then allowed to trade and buy carbon credits

Question 25

Name the Three main sources of anthropogenic methane.

Answer 25

Decomposing garbage in dumps
Waste from extracting and processing fossil fuels
From the digestive tracks of animals

Question 26

What is an example of a carbon sink?

Answer 26

Trees

Question 27

What is an example of fixed carbon?

Answer 27

coal

Question 28

Give an example of a carbon source.

Answer 28

Decomposing vegetation in a swamp

Question 29

What is a positive feedback loop?

Answer 29

When global warming causes even more global warming

Question 30

What is peak oil?

Answer 30

The point where the world’s known oil supply is less than the amount of oil being produced