We 3315: Exam #2 Review

Front 1

1.) Which senator(s) proposed a clean energy portfolio standard that granted credits to nonrenewable, low-carbon technologies?

Back 1

Senator Norm Coleman

Front 2

2.) Global funding for clean energy in 2010 increased by approximately what percentage compared to 2009?

Back 2

30%

Front 3

3.) The majority of coal-fired power plants in the U.S. have been constructed in the last 20 years, which accounts for their overall efficiency and low cost.

Back 3

False

Front 4

4.) With the absence of new clean energy policies, the generation from renewable sources will not increase significantly.

Back 4

True

Front 5

5.) A utility is awarded a lower number of clean energy credits per MWh generated from nuclear energy than that obtained from renewable energy sources.

Back 5

False

Front 6

6.) Which of the following is not one of the advantages of a Clean Energy Standard (CES)?

Back 6

CES concentrates on reducing electricity generation from fossil-fuel based energy sources.

Front 7

7.) President Obama’s proposed Clean Energy Standard includes development of electricity from all sources other than fossil-fuels.

Back 7

False

Front 8

8.) Which state(s) had enacted an electricity portfolio standard at the time the Regulatory Assistance Project was founded?

Back 8

Iowa only

Front 9

9.) President Obama has set a target for clean energy use which includes giving half credit to generation from natural gas combined cycle units.

Back 9

True

Front 10

10.) Which source has seen a dramatic increase in generating capacity during the last 70 years?

Back 10

Natural gas

Front 11

Gases that trap heat from
incident sunlight, increasing the surface temperature of
earth.

Back 11

Greenhouse gases (GHG's)

Front 12

GHGs in the Earth’s atmosphere exhibit?

Back 12

Selective absorption

Front 13

Without them (gases) the average temperature of the earth
would be about?

Back 13

30 degrees Centigrade

Front 14

Naturally occurring greenhouse gases include?

Back 14

water vapor, carbon
dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and ozone (O3)

Front 15

Other GHGs are halogenated substances that contain fluorine,
chlorine, or bromine which are?

Back 15

solely a product of industrial
activities.

Front 16

Stratospheric ozone depleting substances?

Back 16

chlorofluorocarbons
(CFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), and halons are not
considered as GHGs but are equally harmful.

Front 17

Some other fluorine-containing halogenated substances—
hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur
hexafluoride (SF6)—?

Back 17

do not deplete stratospheric ozone but are
potent greenhouse gases.

Front 18

Gases like carbon monoxide (CO), oxides of
nitrogen (NOX), and non-CH4 volatile organic
compounds and sulfur dioxide contribute to
global warming indirectly by?

Back 18

affecting terrestrial
and/or solar radiation absorption by influencing
the formation or destruction of greenhouse
gases, including tropospheric and stratospheric
ozone.

Front 19

Four major GHGs are the result of the use and
combustion of fossil fuels?

Back 19

1. water vapor
2. carbon dioxide
3. methane
4. nitrous oxide

Front 20

The most prevalent of these
gases in the atmosphere, and has the most pronounced
greenhouse effect as compared to the other gases, it is
usually not considered in this discussion, due to the
large quantities naturally in the atmosphere?

Back 20

Water vapor

Front 21

The 4th most abundant element in the universe, and is absolutely
essential to life on earth.

Back 21

Carbon

Front 22

The very definition of life, as its presence or absence helps
define whether a molecule is considered to be organic or inorganic.

Back 22

Carbon

Front 23

The movement of carbon between the
atmosphere, oceans, biosphere, and
geosphere is known as?

Back 23

Carbon Cycle

Front 24

If more carbon enters a pool than leaves
it, it is considered a?

Back 24

net carbon sink

Front 25

If more carbon leaves a pool than enters
it, it is considered as a?

Back 25

net carbon source

Front 26

CO2 as a portion of all emissions is?

Back 26

83%

Front 27

CH4 as a portion of all emissions is?

Back 27

10.3%

Front 28

N20 as a portion of all emissions is?

Back 28

4.5%

Front 29

How likely is it that scientist have falsified global warming research?

Back 29

40% - Very likely
29% - Likely
16% - Not likely
6% - Not At All Likely
10% - Undecided

Front 30

General agreement and understanding that the scientific
principles behind the greenhouse effect are real, namely that
atmospheric gases such as CO2:?

Back 30

selectively transmit and absorb
thermal radiation.

Front 31

Trace gas in the atmosphere, currently at about 380
parts per million, this is?

Back 31

C02

Front 32

A very strong greenhouse gas, is a ubiquitous gas of
decomposition?

Back 32

Methane

Front 33

Most comprehensive mitigation strategy is to?

Back 33

move the energy
economy from one based on fossil fuels to one based on energy
efficiency and renewables.

Front 34

The global warming debate intensifies the arguments to energy
policies with a focus on?

Back 34

energy efficiency and renewables, to
include wind power.

Front 35

Some include nuclear power as a major part of the global
warming solution, since:?

Back 35

nuclear plants emit negligible carbon
dioxide in the production of electricity.

Front 36

Another mitigation strategy is to?

Back 36

increase the use of natural gas

Front 37

Natural gas emits about:?

Back 37

one half the amount of carbon dioxide
as compared with coal, per unit of energy delivered.

Front 38

This; Combined with energy efficiency and renewable –
can provide the backup energy for the intermittent renewable
sources and thus that energy mix can deliver reliable energy with
substantial reductions in carbon emissions:

Back 38

Natural Gas

Front 39

A very strong greenhouse gas, is a ubiquitous gas of
decomposition:

Back 39

Methane

Front 40

Most comprehensive mitigation strategy is to?

Back 40

move the energy
economy from one based on fossil fuels to one based on energy efficiency and renewables.

Front 41

Some include _ as a major part of the global
warming solution, since these plants emit negligible carbon
dioxide in the production of electricity.

Back 41

Nuclear

Front 42

Another mitigation strategy is to?

Back 42

Increase the use of natural gas

Front 43

Emits about one half the amount of carbon dioxide
as compared with coal, per unit of energy delivered.

Back 43

Natural gas

Front 44

What reasoning have provided large increases in natural gas
supplies world-wide?

Back 44

Recent improvements in natural gas drilling technologies that
include directional and horizontal drilling combined with
hydraulic fracturing (also called "fracking") of extensive oil and
gas shale formations

Front 45

Specific conditions of the atmosphere at a particular place
and time, measured in terms of variables that include temperature,
precipitation, cloudiness, humidity, air pressure, wind.

Back 45

Weather

Front 46

The long-term average of conditions in the atmosphere,
ocean, and ice sheets and sea ice described by statistics, such as
means and extremes.

Back 46

Climate

Front 47

A significant and persistent change in the mean state
of the climate or its variability.

Back 47

Climate Change

Front 48

A prediction about average or extreme climate
conditions for a region in the long-term future (seasons to decades).

Back 48

Climate Forecast

Front 49

Natural changes in climate that fall within the
normal range of extremes for a particular region, as measured by
temperature, precipitation, and frequency of events.

Back 49

Climate Variability

Front 50

The matter, energy, and processes involved in
interactions among Earth’s atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere,
lithosphere, biosphere, and Earth-Sun interactions.

Back 50

Climate System

Front 51

The observed increase in average temperature
near the Earth’s surface and in the lowest layer of the atmosphere.

Back 51

Global Warming

Front 52

Circulation of carbon atoms through the Earth systems
as a result of photosynthetic conversion of carbon dioxide into
complex organic compounds by plants, which are consumed by
other organisms, and return of the carbon to the atmosphere as
carbon dioxide as a result of respiration, decay of organisms, and
combustion of fossil fuels.

Back 52

Carbon Cycle

Front 53

Human interventions to reduce the sources of
greenhouse gases or enhance the sinks that remove them from the
atmosphere.

Back 53

Mitigation

Front 54

The primary source of energy for our climate system.

Back 54

The Sun

Front 55

o Earth’s climate is influenced by interactions involving the:

Back 55

Sun, ocean, atmosphere, clouds, ice, land, and life.

Front 56

The tilt of Earth’s axis relative to its orbit around the Sun
results in

Back 56

variation in amount of sunlight received which in
turn causes the annual cycle of seasons.

Front 57

The tilt of the earth relative
to its plane of travel about
the sun is what causes

Back 57

Seasons

Front 58

The hemisphere "pointing
toward" the sun is in:

Back 58

Summer

Front 59

If the earth's axis were ___ relative to the
orbital plane, there would be no seasons, since any given point
at the top of the atmosphere would receive the same amount of
sun each day of the year?

Back 59

"straight up and down"

Front 60

What means more severe seasons -
warmer summers and colder winters?

Back 60

"more tilt"

Front 61

What means less
severe seasons - cooler summers and milder winters?

Back 61

"less tilt"

Front 62

The earth wobbles in space so that
its tilt changes between about 22
and 25 degrees on a cycle of about how many years?

Back 62

41,000

Front 63

What is thought to allow snow and ice to
last from year to year in high
latitudes, eventually building up
into massive ice sheets?

Back 63

cool summers

Front 64

The earth's orbit around the sun is not
quite circular, which means that the:

Back 64

earth is slightly closer to the sun at
some times of the year than others.

Front 65

he closest approach of the earth to
the sun is called?

Back 65

perihelion, and it now
occurs in January, making northern
hemisphere winters slightly milder.

Front 66

This change in timing of perihelion is known as the:

Back 66

precession
of the equinoxes, and occurs on a period of 22,000 years.

Front 67

The "roundness", or eccentricity, of the earth's orbit varies on
cycles of 100,000 and 400,000 years, and this affects how:

Back 67

important the timing of perihelion is to the strength of the
seasons.

Front 68

This affects the
relative severity of summer and winter, and are thought to
control the growth and retreat of ice sheets:

Back 68

The combination of the 41,000 year tilt cycle and the 22,000 year
precession cycles, plus the smaller eccentricity signal

Front 69

Our understanding of the climate system is improved through:

Back 69

observations, theoretical studies, and modeling.

Front 70

Instruments on weather stations, buoys, satellites, and other platforms:

Back 70

collect climate data

Front 71

To learn about past climates, scientists use:

Back 71

natural records, such as tree
rings, ice cores, and sedimentary layers.

Front 72

Global climate has been relatively stable over the last:

Back 72

10,000 years

Front 73

the name of the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC) attributes humanity’s global
warming influence primarily to the increase in three key
heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere: carbon dioxide
methane, nitrous oxide?

Back 73

2007 Fourth Assessment

Front 74

Observation shows that human activities are responsible for
the:

Back 74

increase in average surface temperature of Earth.

Front 75

Reducing our vulnerability to these impacts depends on?

Back 75

upon our ability to understand climate science and the
implications of climate change, but also upon our ability to
integrate and use that knowledge effectively.

Front 76

Melting of ice sheets and glaciers, combined with the thermal
expansion of seawater as the oceans warm, is causing:

Back 76

sea level to rise

Front 77

The chemistry of ocean water is changed by:

Back 77

absorption of
carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, causing the oceans to
become more acidic.

Front 78

Severity of climate change can be mitigated by:

Back 78

reducing the
greenhouse gas emissions.

Front 79

GHG emissions can be reduced by:

Back 79

imiting use of carbon
based fuels and incorporating renewable energy.

Front 80

Short-term strategies involve:

Back 80

o building new infrastructure
for alternative energy resources.

Front 81

o Long-term strategies involve:

Back 81

fundamental change in the
way humans use energy.