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Environmental Issues
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What are the three major sources of energy? | The fossil fuels: coal, natural gas, and oil. |
| What is the major use of oil? | Transportation |
| What is the major use of coal? | The production of electricity. |
| What is the major use of natural gas? | The heating of buildings. |
| How is coal formed? | Organic matter dies, falls into lakes and begins to decompose. Over millions of years the layers get thicker and are compacted, forming coal. |
| What is peat? | Partially decomposed vegetation; the beginning stage of coal. |
| What are the four stages of coal development? | 1. Peat 2. Lignite 3. Bituminous 4. Anthracite |
| What is the product of heating bituminous coal until it gives off water and gasses? Has a higher percentage of fixed carbon, burns hotter, used in steel making, and is very polluting. | Coke |
| "You get the biggest bang for your buck" with what fossil fuel? | Coal |
| Who are the biggest suppliers of coal? (3) | 1. Russia 2. China 3. USA |
| Where are the two major sites of coal in America? | the Appalachian Mountains and the Rocky Mountains |
| Which is higher quality; the coal from the Appalachian Mountains or the coal from the Rocky Mountains? | Appalachian |
| What's the biggest advantage of using coal? | It's cheap and abundant. |
| What's the biggest disadvantage of using coal? | It's very polluting. |
| Explain bottom ash and how it's used. | The stuff left over from coal burning; clinkers and ash are used to cinder the roads in winter. |
| What are the two ways to mine coal? | 1. Underground aka Room/Pillar Mining 2. Strip Mining |
| What's strip mining? What issues go with it? | When you take off the top layer of soil to get at the underground layers. You have to deal with: 1. the leftovers (tailings) 2. the fact that the soils banks are acidic and stone so they cannot support life |
| What are tailings? | The piles of stuff left over from strip mining. |
| What is AMD, or Acid Mine Drainage? | Water gets to where the coal was and comes into contact with the sulfur that is still there. The water, now carrying sulfur, continue on, polluting the surroundings. |
| What is the difference between a brown out and a black out? | Brown out: reduction of power because of shortage, mechanical failure, or overuseage. Black out: massive power failure when lack of electricity results in utter darkness |
| How is oil formed? | Microscopic organisms accumulate on bottom of oceans, compress, and heat up. Over time the material from inside the organisms' cells turn into a drop of oil. |
| Who has the most oil? | Middle East, i.e. Saudi Arabia |
| Earth has maybe ___ years of oil left. | 50 |
| What is OPEC? | Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries |
| One barrel of oil is equal to how many gallons? | 42 |
| What fossil fuel is odorless, tasteless, and invisible? | Natural gas |
| Which country has the most natural gas? | Russia |
| How much natural gas is left if we keep up the current consumption rate? | ~125 years |
| Rank the fossil fuels from most to least in terms of how much is left on Earth. | 1. coal 2. natural gas 3. oil |
| How is most natural gas transported? | By pipeline |
| When we liquefy natural gas we get ___? | Propane |
| What are the two types of Air Pollution? | 1. Primary 2. Secondary |
| What is the Primary type of air pollution consist of? | The direct burning of fossil fuels. |
| What are the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning? | Sleepiness, dizzy, vomiting, DEATH |
| Which are more dangerous Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM); large or small particles and why? | Small; they're small enough to be able to get deep into the lungs and remain there |
| The Secondary type of air pollution is caused when...? | When primary type air pollution comes into contact with sunlight or water. |
| Where is Ozone good for us? Where is it bad? | Good in the upper atmosphere; bad at ground level. |
| True or False; the air is cleaner after it rains. | True; it cleans out the particles |
| What does Fluidized Bed Combustion do? | Burns coal cleaner; coal is ground into a powder, creating lots of surface space. It's then put into a furnace where air is pumped in from beneath. Burns completely. |
| What is a catalyst? | Allows a chemical reaction to happen easier. i.e. at a lower temperature |
| What is the most-polluted city in the Western Hemisphere? | Mexico City |
| What state has the most power plant deaths? | Pennsylvania |
| What plant causes more deaths than any other? | Tobacco |
| When you smoke you are exposed to two pollutants. What are they? | The tobacco itself, and asbestos. Both cause cancer. Cancer chance x cancer chance |
| What is a good way to reduce indoor air pollution? | Get a plant, especially a spider plant. |
| How is acid rain created? | Sulfur and nitrogen oxides meet sunlight and water vapor |
| True or false; Acid rain is a sign that there is a problem. | False; acid rain happens naturally i.e. lightning and nitrogen |
| What can acid rain do to aluminum? | Leaches it from its surroundings; washes into river/stream/ponds/lakes and kills life there. |
| What can acid rain do to trees? | Not usually acidic enough to cause a problem but it can affect insects which can cause disease in the tree. |
| What is acid rain affecting in Europe? | Statues that were made of marble are being eaten away. |
| What US city has greatly reduced its air pollution and improved its quality of like by building a light rail system instead of more highways? | Portland, Oregon |
| What makes a certain type of atom that certain type? | The amount of protons it has |
| True or False; most atoms and isotopes are stable but some are radioactive | True |
| What is fission? | The splitting of an atom which will result in a release of energy. |
| What is critical mass? | The amount of a substance needed to sustain an explosion. |
| What is a "dirty" bomb? | Chemical bomb that, once exploded, will become radioactive and the area will be rendered uninhabitable. |
| How much radiation is too much? | Trick question! No one really knows. |
| What is background radiation? | Radiation that we are exposed to all the time from the sun or Earth. |
| Where is the uranium located in a nuclear power plant? | In the fuel rods. |
| Why was the Shorham nuclear power plant shut down and dismantled after producing electricity for only 32 hours? | There were concerns whether surrounding areas could be evacuated in case of an accident. |
| Can a nuclear power plant blow up like an A bomb? Why or why not? | NO 1. Uranium fuel is not enriched enough 2. There isn't a critical mass |
| What happens during a steam explosion? | Super heated water will flash to steam and create a huge explosion (not atomic) |
| What happens during a melt down? | Reactor fuel gets so hot it begins to melt. |
| Was the Chernobyl incident a steam explosion or a melt down? | Steam explosion |
| Was the incident at TMI, human or computer error? | Human error |
| Was the TMI incident a steam explosion or a melt down? | Partial melt down |
| Who were the main casualties in the Chernobyl incident? | The firemen from overexposure to radiation. |
| Which is more dangerous; plutonium or uranium? | Plutonium; its highly fissionable |
| What do Breeder Reactors do? | Create extra fissionable material; i.e. plutonium |
| Why are Breeder Reactors so unsafe? (4) | 1. Less stable (harder to control) 2. Use liquid sodium as a coolant (burns in contact with air; explodes in contact with water) 3. Terrorism (tons of weapons grade plutonium in the core) 4. Pipes break easier (running hotter) |
| What is the Price-Anderson law about? | Talks about what happens when we have a nuclear accident. |
| What is strict liability under the Price-Anderson law? | Negligence does not need to be proven, just that harm was done. |
| What is extraordinary nuclear accident under the Price-Anderson law? | Doesn't come into effect until the government calls it; never been used as of yet |
| What are the three types of nuclear waste in order of least-to-most radioactive? | 1. Uranium tailings 2. Low Level waste 3. High Level waste |
| Does one really have to worry about any of the classes of Low Level Waste? i.e. A, B, C | Yes, C class is practically High Level waste |
| What are the two High Level wastes? | 1. Spent fuel rods 2. Liquids left over from reprocessing |
| How do you rid of High Level wastes? | Spent fuel rods are stored in pools of water; some have been there long enough that they have been placed in concrete casts |
| What level of the government is responsible for disposing of High Level waste? | Federal |
| Where was the government supposed to build a permanent resting place for nuclear waste? | Yucca Mountain, Nevada |
| What group said that would host a monitored retrieval storage facility? | An old Indian tribe in New Mexico |
| What's the biggest issue concerning nuclear power plants? | The disposal of waste |
| How long, on average, do power plants last before they're torn down? | 30-40 years |
| What two countries have committed to nuclear power? | Japan and France |
| Fusion is the transformation of ___ to ___. | Hydrogen; helium |
| How does the sun create its energy? | Fusion |
| What's more powerful; fusion or fission? | Fusion |
| What is the main problem with fusion? | As of yet we can only get as much energy out of it as we put in to it. We're breaking even. Not a good power source. |
| Once we've perfected fusion what are the three advantages? | 1. Produces little radioactive waste 2. Plenty of hydrogen to fuel it 3. Safer; if something goes wrong, it just fizzles out |
| What gas is radioactive, invisible, odorless/tasteless, and naturally occurring? | Radon |
| What is geothermal energy? | The process of using the heat from the ground to make electricity |
| What are the two problems with geothermal energy? | 1. Will eventually cool the ground water and make it a chilled zone. 2. Sometimes smells like sulfur (located in the soil) |
| What country gets almost all of their electricity from geothermal energy? | Iceland; its situated on a series of volcanoes. |
| What are some positive aspects for hydroelectric power? (3) | 1. Cheap 2. Non-polluting 3. Renewable |
| Where is tidal power used? | The Bay of Fundy; tides come in, turning the turbine one way. When they leave the turn the turbine the other way. |
| If we could harness the power of the _____, then we would never have to look into any other form of energy. | Tides |
| What are some drawbacks of wind power? (6) | 1. towers are noisy 2. have to build a lot to get enough power 3. no trees can be around 4. kills birds/bats 5. disrupts local TV and radio signals 6. considered unsightly |
| What are some positives about wind power? (4) | 1. quick and easy to build 2. fastest growing energy source 3. free and renewable 4. non-polluting |
| If you want to become a millionaire, what's a good thing to discover? | A cheap, convenient way to store electricity. |
Created by:
stoniertk28
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