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25 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What's the difference between renewable and nonrenewable energy? Give examples.
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-Nonrenewable= cannot be replaced, ex. oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear
-Renewable= can be replaced, ex. biomass, hydropower, solar and wind, tidal/wave, geothermal |
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How is coal formed?
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Peat (compressed plants)--Lignite (moist, low heat)-subbituminous--bituminous--anthrocite (less water, more heat)
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What pollutants are created from burning coal?
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CO2, mercury, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides
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What was the Clean Air Act of 1990?
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-Plants had to instal scrubbers and cut SOx emissions in half
-2008: 70% of US plants had scrubbers |
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What are some clean coal technologies?
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1. Scrubbers
2. Carbon capture 3. Coal gasification (heat ground to release coal) |
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How is oil formed? What's some of it's history?
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-Modern use began in 19th C
-Formed by ancient marine organisms |
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What is ANWR?
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-Arctic National Wildlife Reserve
-Controversy on oiling drilling in area 1002 |
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What is natural gas?
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-Mixture of gases
-Vehicles use it to produce less emissions -Major reserves= NE US, Russia, Middle East |
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What are problems with oil?
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-Transportation
-Spills -Burning (pollution) |
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What are three famous spills?
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1. Exxon Valdez= drunk ship crash in Gulf of Mexico, resulted in 1990 Oil Pollution Act ($ for spills, double-hulled ships), 260,000 barrels
2. BP Spill= explosion in deep well, Gulf of Mexico, 5 mil barrels 3. Persian Gulf= Saddam intentially spilled 6 million |
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What are three other sources of fossil fuels?
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-Tar Sands= Canada, sand thickly coated in oil (probe: tons of waste, more expensive)
-Oil Shales= Rocks containing hydrocarbons, extract oil and natural gas (probs: energy and $) -Methane hydrates= ice encrusted natural gas, on sea flow (probs: hard to get) |
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What is Uranium, what are the types and where is it found?
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-Reserves in Australia
-Uranium ore= U-238 (99%), U-235 (.7%, kind we want), U-234 (.01%) -Control rods absorb neutrons, controls the reaction |
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What are problems with nuclear power?
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-Radioactive waste= old fuel rods in ponds, low/high level
-Mining= bad for environment -Potential accidents -Disposal= 1/2 life of radioactive elements -Cost/danger of shutting down a plant |
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What are 3 accidents related to nuclear plants?
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-3-mile Island= partial meltdown, low-level water/gas leak, close to major accident
-Chernobyl= explosion Eastern Europe -Fukushima= earthquake/tsunami, cooling water couldn't circulate, reactor meltdown |
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What is biomass?
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-Wood= 80% of renewable energy, charcoal
-Peat= burned -Manure |
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What are 2 biofuels?
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-Ethanol= gas cars, alcohol from fermentation, yeast, sources= corn, cellulose, sugar cane
-Biodiesel= diesel cars, oils and fats, sources= soybeans, fryer oil, algae |
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What are the pros and cons of biofuels?
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-Pros: burns cleaner
-Cons: corn needed for food |
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What is hydroelectric power?
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Dams, 7% of electricity
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What are the basics of wind energy?
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-US= 2.5% of electricity
-Very clean -Cheap, same as coal -Modern turbines produce 3-5 MW (but average coal/nuclear=1000 MW) |
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What are problems with wind power?
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-Space
-Noise -Bird kill -Variation in wind -Power grids= collect power, hard to collect from spaced out sources with small MW |
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What's geothermal electricity?
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-Heat from earth heats up water underground
-Relatively clean (no emissions) -US is largest producer -Relatively cheap= slightly more than coal |
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What is geoexchange?
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Not electricity, uses temperature of ground to heat/cool a building
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What is tidal/wave energy?
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-Movement of tides to generate electricity
-Damns to capture tidal waters or underwater turbines -Wave= buoys with tiny generators |
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What are problems with tidal and wave energy
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-Tidal= similar to dams, location
-Wave= low amounts, boats, organisms live on (low life span for generators) -Both have probs with location and elements |
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What are the two types of solar energy?
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-Passive= use sun's energy directly (home design)
-Active= use sun's energy w/ mechanical aid to get electricity |
