Unit 7: Climate Change & Energy Production Flashcards
What are 6 ways a person can reduce their energy consumption?
- using mass transit/carpool
- turning off unused lights
- reducing packaging
- turning down the thermostat in the winter, up in the summer
- purchasing only needed products
- recycle
energy efficiency
the use of less energy to perform the same task or produce the same result (save energy, waste less)
life cycle cost
initial cost + lifetime operating cost
1st Law of Thermodynamics
energy cannot be created/destroyed
2nd Law of Thermodynamics
as energy is transferred/transformed, more and more of it is wasted
What are 4 examples of widely used devices that waste large amounts of energy?
- incandescent light bulb
- internal combustion engine
- nuclear power plant
- coal burning power plant
What percent efficiency is an incandescent light bulb?
5% (95% is lost as heat)
What percent efficiency is an internal combustion engine?
25-30%
What percent efficiency is a nuclear power plant?
8%
What percent efficiency is a coal burning power plant?
35-40%
How is 92% of energy wasted in a nuclear power plant?
92% of energy is wasted through nuclear fuel and energy needed for waste management
What are 5 ways industries can save energy and money?
- cogeneration
- more energy-efficient electric motors
- more energy-efficient lighting
- increasing fuel efficiency
- making vehicles from lighter, stronger materials
cogeneration
producing both heat and electricity from one energy source
What is the most inexpensive way to heat up a space?
passive solar
What is the most expensive way to heat up a space?
electricity
What is the “best” way to heat up water?
tankless instant water heater fired by natural gas
What are 5 ways we can save energy in buildings?
- getting heat from the Sun
- super insulating
- fixing leaks
- energy efficient appliances
- energy efficient lighting
What are 2 examples of ways to save energy in buildings by super insulating?
- strawbale houses
- living roofs
What type of lightbulb uses 75-80% less electricity than incandescent?
compact fluorescent light bulbs
What are 3 reasons for why we are still wasting so much energy?
- low-priced fossil fuels
- few government tax breaks
- few financial incentives for saving energy
true cost
takes into account tax breaks for oil companies, road builders, military protection, time in traffic, death from pollution, cost to clean up pollution, etc.
passive solar
heating buildings by orienting them towards the Sun
active solar
pumping a liquid such as water through rooftop collectors
What are 2 advantages of passive or active solar heating?
- energy is free
- No CO2 emissions
What are 2 disadvantages of passive or active solar heating?
- sun blocked by other structures
- high cost (active)
What are 5 ways to naturally cool houses?
- super insulation
- taking advantages of breezes
- shading them (deciduous)
- having light colored or green roofs
- using geothermal cooling
What is an example of geothermal cooling?
earth tubes
What is the cheapest and most energy-efficient way to heat a house?
super-insulation coupled with passive solar heating and a high-efficiency natural gas furnace
energy security
the ability to secure affordable, reliable, and sufficient energy supplies for the needs of a particular country
What are 7 factors that a society’s energy choices depend on?
- availability of supply
- technological developments
- politics
- economics
- cultural attitudes
- sustainability
- environment
What will economic prosperity always require?
energy
What are 4 qualities of fossil fuels?
- stored solar energy
- non-renewable
- compresses, decomposed remains of life from millions of years ago
- emit CO2 when burned
When will we run out of coal?
230 years
When will we run out of gas?
170 years
When will we run out of oil?
100 years
Where does most energy come from?
the Sun
What are 3 examples of energy security choices?
- Ukraine-Russia gas disputes (Russia had exported gas to Ukraine for a low cost, but in 2006, Russia felt that this relationship was being abused → Russia cut supplies)
- USA shale oil (“tight oil” was too expensive to extract, but with new technologies and high oil prices it has become economic to extract → US tight oil production has increased from 600,000 to 3.5 million barrels a day → US may change from a net importer to an oil exporter)
- wind turbines in Denmark (produces 30% of energy from wind, but is linked to neighboring countries so Denmark can buy or sell if needed)
What was the cost of oil when its prices peaked in 2008?
$180 per barrel
How much of its energy did the EU produce from renewable energy sources?
less than 7%
What might energy consumption look like in the future? (3 changes)
- hydrogen economy
- fusion
- renewables
What produces more CO2 each year than a person in Cambodia over their entire lifetime?
an AC unit in Florida
What produces the same amount of CO2 each year as 3 Ethiopians over their entire lifetime?
a dishwasher in EU
net energy
(high-quality usable energy)/(energy needed to make it available)(find, extract, process)
What does it mean if a net energy ratio is less than 1?
net energy loss
What does a higher ratio mean in terms of net energy?
greater net energy
crude oil (petroleum)
a thick liquid containing hydrocarbons
Why is oil widely used? (3 reasons)
- cheap
- easily transported
- high net energy yield
Where is crude oil extracted from?
underground deposits
What is crude oil made from?
plant and animal matter from millions of years ago
primary recovery of oil
drill a hole and pump out the light weight crude that fills the hole
secondary recovery of oil
pumping water into the well to force oil out of the pores
What happens to the water that is pumped into the well during the secondary recovery of oil?
the oil and water mixture is separated after pumping
What percent of oil is removed by primary and secondary recovery?
about 35%
tertiary recovery of oil
either a heated gas or a liquid detergent is pumped into the well to help remove more oil
What else can be used to help loosen heavy crude?
bacteria
What is a drawback to tertiary recovery of oil?
it’s expensive
What is oil converted into?
petrochemicals
What are petrochemicals used to create?
- industrial organic chemicals
- fertilizers
- pesticides
- plastics
- synthetic fibers
- paints
- medicines
What does OPEC stand for?
organization of petroleum exporting countries
How much of the world’s oil did OPEC control in 2007?
OPEC controlled 67% of the world’s oil
How much of the world’s oil did OPEC control in 2019?
39%
Which country is the world’s largest oil user?
the US
What is most of the oil used for in the US?
transportation
oil shale
fine grained sedimentary rock containing solid combustible organic material called kerogen
How is shale oil made?
shale oil is made from heating oil shale rock → collecting the liquid → removing impurities like sulfur and nitrogen → sending it to a refinery
What is tar sand high in?
sulfur
What does tar sand contain?
bitumen
What is a drawback of tar sand?
tar sand uses more energy to refine
How much oil sand does it take to produce one barrel of oil?
1.8 metric tons
Why do shale oil and tar sands have a lower net energy ratio than conventional oil deposits?
shale oil and tar sands have a higher environmental impact than conventional oil
What is one barrel of oil equal to in gallons?
42 gallons
How is crude oil refined?
the crude oil is heated by a furnace and sent to a distillation tower, where it is separated by boiling point → the material is converted by heating, pressure, or some sort of catalyst into a finished product like gasoline or diesel
What happens to net energy as oil is refined?
net energy yield is decreasing as oil is refined
natural gas
mostly methane (CH4), small amounts of toxic hydrogen sulfide (H2S)
What does hydrogen sulfide smell like?
rotten eggs
What are 3 effects of hydrogen sulfide on human health?
- shortness of breath
- dizziness
- death
liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)
propane (C3H8) and butane (C4H10) are liquefied and removed
What can liquefied petroleum gas be used for?
heating/cooking
How much more powerful is methane at warming the atmosphere than CO2?
20 to 24 times more powerful
Where do we import some of our natural gas from?
Canada
How much of the total US energy does natural gas provide?
32%
What is natural gas mostly used for?
heating homes and electricity
What are 2 advantages of using natural gas?
- less air pollution than other fossil fuels
- lower CO2 emissions than other fossil fuels
What are 3 disadvantages of natural gas?
- releases CO2 when burned
- methane (a greenhouse gas) can leak from pipelines
- difficult to transfer from one country to another
How is coal formed?
formed in several stages as the buried remains of land plants (300-400 million years ago) were subjected to intense heat and pressure
coal
mostly carbon with small amounts of sulfur, mercury, and radioactive materials
What percent of the World’s electricity is produced by burning coal in power plants?
62%
What percent of USA’s electricity is produced by burning coal in power plants in 2007?
50%
What percent of USA’s electricity is produced by burning coal in power plants in 2020?
19%
What is the most abundant fossil fuel?
coal
What are 3 disadvantages of coal?
- high CO2 emissions when burned
- releases radioactive particles and toxic mercury into the atmosphere
- not as versatile as oil
How much more CO2 does coal release than oil?
25% more
What does sulfur dioxide (SO2) lead to?
acid rain
What happens to nitrogen oxides when they are released into the atmosphere?
the nitrogen oxides can react further in the atmosphere to produce ozone (a pollutant)
peat
partially decayed plant matter in swamps and bogs
As the heat and carbon content increases during the formation of coal…
the moisture in coal decreases
What are the 4 stages of coal from beginning to end?
peat → lignite (brown coal) → bituminous (soft coal) → anthracite (hard coal)
What is the most ideal form of coal?
anthracite
Where are 2/3 of the world’s proven coal reserves found?
US, China, and Russia
What can be done with coal?
- coal can be converted into synthetic natural gas (SNG)
- coal can be converted into liquid fuels (such as methanol/synthetic gasoline)
What are 3 drawbacks of converting coal into synthetic natural gas or liquid fuels?
- costs are high
- burning coal adds more CO2 to the troposphere than burning coal
- need a lot of coal (2 times more)
weather
the daily result of changes of temperature, pressure, and precipitation in our atmosphere
climate
the average weather pattern of many years for a location on Earth
What is the difference between weather and climate?
the difference is the timescale on which they are measured
How is weather and climate affected by clouds?
clouds can both trap heat and reflect it back into the sky
How is weather and climate affected by forest fires?
forest fires releases CO2 → increased atmosphere temp.
How is weather and climate affected by volcanic eruptions?
ash circulate and cools the Earth
What are 2 factors that influence climate?
- fluctuations in solar insolation (natural long term geologic/orbital)
- changing proportions of gas in the atmosphere
What do long term climate change records generally indicate?
long term records show that average surface temp. is increasing although it does fluctuate
What happens if there are more greenhouse gases?
less heat is lost, so the system changes/destabilizes, but if a tipping point is reached a new equilibrium will be reached
How do current models predict temp. will change in the future?
current models predict that temp. will increase 1.6 - 4.3 degrees celsius
What percent of the atmosphere is CO2?
0.04%
What do most climate change specialists believe that an increase in CO2 (and other greenhouse gases) is causing?
an enhanced greenhouse effect (warming planet)
Global Warming Potential (GWP)
the relative measure of how much heat a known mass of GHG traps over a number of years compared to the same mass of CO2
What is the GWP of methane?
21 (21 times stronger than CO2)
What does ozone do in the troposphere?
acts as a GHG
What does ozone do in the stratosphere?
absorbs UV so acts as a coolant
What do CFCs do in the troposphere?
act as a GHG
What do CFCs do in the stratosphere?
breakdown ozone
What has a small concentration in the atmosphere, but a high GWP?
CFCs
What are 3 facts about climate change that are not in debate?
- there is a greenhouse effect
- GHG emissions are increasing due to human activities
- there has been a recent pattern of increased average global temp.
What is there not total agreement over in terms of climate change?
the cause of the rise in temp. nor over what we should be doing about it
What are 4 other possible causes for climate change besides human activity?
- Earth’s rotational wobble
- sunspot activity
- the increased temp. could be causing the higher levels of GHGs not the other way around
- some simply deny that the trend is worthy of concern
feedback
the return of part of the output from a system as input, so as to affecting succeeding outputs
negative feedback
tends to dampen/reduce any deviation from equilibrium
positive feedback
amplifies/increases changes
How would climate change impact oceans?
due to ice melt and thermal expansion, the sea level could rise and the absorbing of more CO2 would reduce pH
How would climate change impact ice caps?
melting ice would dilute salinity and disrupt the thermohaline circulation (ocean currents), but the melting of arctic ice will open up new trade routes
How would climate change impact glaciers?
loss of glaciers leads to flooding and landslides, but glacial melt provides a source of freshwater for people
What are 3 ways climate change impact weather?
- more heat → more energy → more extreme weather
- increased precipitation → more erosion
- increased droughts → more irrigation/salinization
What is one way that climate change will impact food production?
- biome shift affects growing season and soil quality/type
(warmer temp. should increase photosynthesis rates, but respiration will also increase so no benefit)
What are 4 ways that climate change impacts biodiversity?
- animals can migrate but plants cannot
- polar species may become extinct
- increased droughts → increased forest fires
- the range of migratory species would change
What are 2 ways climate change would impact water supplies?
- increased evaporation in certain places leading to less surface water
- could cause flooding in some places
What are 2 ways climate change would impact human health?
- heatwaves in 2006 killed people in Europe
- insect disease vectors will spread further than before
What are 2 ways climate change would impact human migration?
- could end up with millions of environmental refugees
- can’t live where you can’t grow food/find water
How many people does the IPCC estimate will have to migrate as a result of climate change by 2050?
150 million
What are 5 ways climate change would impact national economies?
- some would suffer due to drought
- some would benefit from new mineral sources
- hydropower would be possible at higher latitudes if freezing didn’t occur
- the northwest passage free of sea ice would allow easier trade
- desertification will harm certain places
mitigation
reduction/stabilization of GHG emissions and their removal from the atmosphere
What are 3 ways to mitigate climate change?
- stabilize/reduce GHGs
- remove carbon from the atmosphere
- geo-engineering
What are 3 ways we can stabilize/reduce GHGs?
- reduce energy consumption
- reduce emissions of NOX and methane from agriculture
- use alternatives to fossil fuels
What are 3 ways we can remove carbon from the atmosphere?
- photosynthesis (reforesting, restoring grasslands)
- CCS (carbon capture and sequestration)
- biomass fuel (no net change in CO2)
What is geo-engineering?
large scale intervention projects
What are 4 examples of geo-engineering?
- scatter nutrients in the ocean to increase algal blooms
- add sulfur to jet fuel to increase global dimming
- send mirrors into space
- light colored roofs
global dimming
a reduction in the total solar radiation reaching the Earth
What is global dimming caused by?
particulates in the atmosphere
What can global dimming do?
mask the effects of global warming
adaptation
the adjustment in natural/human systems in response to actual/expected climatic stimuli/their effects
adaptive capacity
the ability/potential of a system to respond to change
How can we adapt towards climate change?
- land use (do not build on floodplains)
- build with flooding in mind (build on stilts/plan water catchment)
- change agriculture (irrigate more effectively by storing water and growing different crops like drought-tolerant crops)
What are 4 reasons why wind power is the world’s most promising energy resource?
- it is abundant
- renewable
- cheap
- clean (emits, no GHG)
Why does Europe now lead the wind power industry, instead of the US?
the US gov. lacked subsidies, tax breaks, and other financial incentives
Which country was the first to use wind turbines to produce commercial electricity in 1890?
Denmark
What does geothermal energy consist of?
heat stored in soil, underground rocks, and fluids in the Earth’s mantle
What can geothermal energy do?
can heat/cool buildings and produce electricity
Which country is the world’s largest producer of geothermal electricity?
the US
dry steam power plants
underground steam is piped directly from the ground to the generators
dry steam
water vapor w/ no water droplets
flash steam power plants
use geothermal reservoirs of hot water that rises to the surface under its own pressure (most common)
wet steam
a mixture of steam and water droplets
binary cycle power plants
use lower temp. water to heat a low boiling point fluid to produce steam and the water is injected back into the ground to be reheated
What are 3 pros of dams and reservoirs?
- cheap electricity
- reduce downstream flooding
- provide year-round water for irrigating crops
What are 3 cons of dams and reservoirs?
- displaces people (floods upstream)
- disrupts aquatic systems (sometimes the river stops flowing to the oceans, runs out of water)
- expensive to build
How much of the world’s runoff do dams capture and store?
14%
How much of the water do dams and reservoirs supply for irrigated cropland?
almost half
How much of the electricity do dams supply for 65 countries?
more than half
How many large and small dams does the US have?
more than 70,000
tidal barrage
a dam that at high tide fills up one side with water, low tide releases water and spins a turbine
tidal stream power
underwater stream currents spin a turbine
solar concentrators
in deserts, mirrors can focus sunlight to heat up an oil/molten salt which is used to boil water
What are 2 cons of soil concentrators?
- construction costs are high
- some birds mistake the mirrors for water
Where can solar cells be used?
in rural villages with ample sunlight who are not connected to an electrical grid
In 2011, what percent of the US’s electricity did the 104 licensed nuclear power plants generate?
20%
uranium oxide
consists of about 97% non fissionable uranium-238 and 3% uranium-235
Why do isotopes of uranium and plutonium undergo controlled nuclear fission?
they are easy to initiate and control
How is the concentration of uranium-235 increased?
through an enrichment process
moderator
slows neutrons down
control rods
move in/out to absorb nutrients
fuel rods
contain fuel pellets
coolant
usually water, removes heat from core
What happens to spent fuel rods?
spent fuel rods are removed and stored in a deep pool of water contained in a steel-lined concrete container
What happens to spent fuel rods after they have been cooled?
spent fuel rods are moved to dry-storage containers made of steel/concrete
How long have nuclear wastes been stored?
at least 10,000 years
After more than 50 years of development and government subsidies, what are 4 reasons why nuclear power has not lived up to its promise?
1.multi billion dollar construction costs
2. higher operation costs are more malfunctions than expected
3. poor management
4. public concerns about safety and strict government safety regulations
What are 5 ways scientists are contemplating disposing nuclear waste?
- dismantle and bury it deep underground
- entomb it/physical barrier
- shoot it into space
- bury it in the Antarctic ice sheet
- bury it in the deep ocean floor that is geologically stable
What caused Chernobyl?
poor reactor design and human error (graphite moderator caught fire, reactor exploded)
Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Accident
the world’s worst nuclear power plant accident that occurred in Ukraine in 1986
What are 2 advantages to using nuclear power?
- emits 1/6 as much CO2 as coal
- moderate land use
What is the main disadvantage of using nuclear power?
cannot compete economically without huge government subsidies
Where did 3 Mile Island happen?
Pennsylvania (known as American’s worst nuclear accident)
