EVS Exam 3
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- water is a
- polar molecule with a covalent bond
- people spend
- 70-98% of time inside
- properties of water
- high freezing and boiling points, high heat capacity, high solutability, will filter UV radiation, high surface tension, less dense as a solid, will ionize to act as a buffer
- supply of natural gas
- 200-300 years
- chronic bronchitis
- a disease in which the air passages (bronchi) of the lungs become permanently inflamed, causing breathlessness and chronic coughing
- crude oil - 42 gallon barrel is a mix of
- gasoline, diesel, kerosene, fuel oil (all is 85%) and other minor components
- tidal energy
- few spots with great enough tidal range
- Clean Air Act of 1970
- set the standard for modern air quality regulation/authorizes the EPA to se limits on the amount of specific air pollutants permitted everywhere in the US
- pressurized fluidized bed combustion
- under high pressure, complete combustion of coal occurs at low temperatures
- cost of installing fluidized bed combustion
- compares favorably with that of installing scrubbers
- erosion of material
- kills plants
- sometimes farmers are drawing water from the Ogallala Aquifer
- 40 times faster than nature replaces it lowered water table more than 30m in some places
- force
- makes a very strong bond
- oil supply
- 62 to 93 years
- acid mine drainage
- pollution caused when sulfuric acid and dangerous dissolved materials such as lead, arsenic, and cadmium wash from mines into nearby lakes and streams
- lead
- 97.5% waste
- nuclear energy causes
- problems with waste
- nuclear energy use is
- expected to decline
- two types of opposition to securing future fossil fuel energy supplies
- one is economic and one is environmental
- world uses oil
- 86 million barrels/day
- several large power plants
- testing fluidized bed combustion in US and few small ones already use technology in commercial operation
- grades of coal
- anthracite, bituminous, lignite, peat
- energy resources
- 99% from sun
- demand-side management
- electric utilities help electricity consumers save energy
- utilities sell calcium sulfate from scrubber sludge
- to wallboard manufacturers
- Energy Policy Act of 2005
- focused largely on supporting energy research for fossil fuels, and subsidies continue, prompted in part by high gas prices in 2006
- 5 components to Bush's energy policy
- 1) modernize conservation 2) modernize our energy infrastructure 3) increase energy supplies 4) accelerate the protection and improvement of the environment 5) increase our nation's energy security
- decrease of 3.8 million metric tons of CO2
- represented a significant portion of US's total amound of sulfur dioxide emissions each year
- scrubbers
- reduce sulfur emissions associated with the combustion of coal and clean the power plants' exhaust
- 1/3 of all airborne mercury emissions are
- currently produced by coal-burning electric power plants
- US imports
- 55% of current supply
- objective 2 of the US comprehensive energy policy
- secure future fossil fuel energy supplies
- US efficiency
- 84% of commercial energy is wasted (41% converted to heat - 43% wasted)
- 35% of oil
- is average recovery from well
- currently geothermal is
- approx. 1% of electricity
- Net energy ratio for gasoline
- 4.1 : 1
- cons of hydropower
- expensive, floods areas, fills with sediment, stops critter migration
- scrubbers aka
- desulfurization systems
- tropopause is
- the upper boundary of the troposphere
- decommission
- to dismantle an old nuclear power plant after it closes
- fluidized-bed combustion
- takes place at lower temperature than regular coal burning, and fewer nitrogen oxides are produced
- incandescent lights are
- 5% efficient, 95% wasted
- industrial smog
- gray smog
- by 2010 biomass is predicted to be
- 9% of US energy
- clean coal technologies
- new methods being developed for burning coal that won't contaminate air with sulfur oxides and will reduce NO production
- supply of coal
- 215-1,125 years
- water molecules are bound together by
- hydrogen bonds and Van Der Waal's
- utilities cut nitrogen oxide emissions by 2.6 million tons/year
- out of 7.2 million tons/year total
- Yucca Mountain
- only candidate for permanent underground storage site for 70,000 tons of high-level radioactive wastes from commercially operated power plants
- nation's energy policy
- reflects the varied political views of the president, Congress, and the American public
- indoor air pollution
- fine particulates - up to 60% higher
- temperature inversion
- is when cool air near ground, warm air in upper atmosphere
- mineral resources - non-renewable - metallic and non-metallic
- energy is usually separate
- sustainable water supply
- irrigate more efficiently, water saving technology, improve water management
- internal combustion engine
- 10% efficient
- smelting
- melt ore and remove impurities
- currently wind is
- 1-2% of commercial energy
- sulfate and nitrate salts
- as solids
- stratopause is
- the upper boundary of the stratosphere
- biomass
- solid, liquid, gas biofuels
- resource recovery
- the process of removing any material - sulfur or metals, for example - from polluted emissions or solid waste and selling it as a marketable product
- industrial smog is powered by
- burning of coal or heavy oil and is common in Asia
- 15.7 million metric tons of CO2 in 1993
- before reductions mandated by Clean Air Act Amendments went into effect
- temperature inversions trap
- polluntants and smog
- environmental costs
- should be weighed against benefits of using particular energy source when it is considered as a practical component of an energy policy
- pesticides
- are 10 times higher indoors
- sources of coal
- US has 66% of known reserves
- increasing water supplies
- build dams and reservoirs, water transfer, use groundwater, desalination, use water more efficiently, import food
- calcium sulfate neutralizes
- acids in some soils and increases water-holding capacity
- US takes
- 50 years to change energy sources
- liquid biomass is
- ethanol and methanol for gasoline additive
- troposphere
- 0 - 11 miles (0 - 5 miles at poles); contains 75 to 80% of mass of atmosphere; most circulation and weather
- others use fly ash (chemical from chimney flues)
- to make lightweight concrete that would sub for wood in building industry
- gold
- 99.99% waste
- comercial energy use in US
- 92% from non-renewable sources
- cons of desalination
- location, expensive - not practical in LDC, produces large amounts of salt or brine
- subsidies
- a form of government support (such as public financing or tax breaks) given to a business or institution to promote that group's activity; should be eliminated to encourage energy conservation
- energy efficiency is
- the % of energy input that does useful work
- objective 4 of the US comprehensive energy policy
- meet the 1st 3 objectives without further damage to the environment
- higher temperatures
- cause N and O to combine, forming NO
- Nuclear Waste Policy Act
- put burden of developing permanent sites for civilian and military radioactive wastes on the federal government and required the first site to be operational by 1998, also legally required US govt. to take ownership of nuclear wastes
- pros of building dams and reservoirs
- more water trapped, controls floods, recreation, food-fish
- EPA estimates indoor air pollution is
- #1 source of cancer risk
- vitrification
- solidifying liquid waste into solid glass or ceramic logs
- refining produces
- polluted air and water
- desulfurization systems cost
- $50 to $80 per installed kilowatt, or about 10-15% of the construction costs of a coal-fired electric power plant
- reserve
- marginal or subeconomic
- Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990
- require nation's 111 dirtiest coal-burning power plants to cut sulfur dioxide emissions
- nuclear energy has had
- steady production since 1989
- photochemcial smog
- mix of primary and secondary pollutions formed under influence of sunlight; most common is ozone; 100+ also formed
- by 2020 wind is predicted to be
- 10% of commercial energy
- fluidized-bed combustion
- clean coal technology in which crushed coal is mixed with limestone to neutralize the acidic sulfur compounds produced during combustion
- fluidized bed combustion
- more efficient than traditional coal burning because it produces more heat from given amount of coal and reduces CO2 emissions/unit of electricity produced
- US energy use
- 4.6% of world population uses 24% of world commercial energy
- thermopause to outer space is
- the upper boundary
- top indoor air pollutants are
- smoke, formaldehyde, radon
- pros of biomass
- large supply, low cost, no net CO2 - already in system
- gas - biogas
- animal by product; decomposition of organics - trash or manure
- cogeneration
- combined heat and power
- 6% of all commercial energy is
- nuclear
- the US is 16%
- efficient
- Use water more efficiently
- typical water system - 65-70% lost; in US - 50% loss; 43% of irrigation water reaches crops, lost to evaporation, runoff, leaks; improve technology for water use; water is cheap
- air pollution
- 50% of all toxic emissions
- identification by
- air photos, satellite, drill core, seismic
- acid deposition causes decline in human health
- respiratory problems
- import food to reduce use
- expensive to import
- acid deposition causes
- lower soil pH
- pressurized fluidized bed combustion
- is more expensive than regular, requires costly pressurized vessel
- pros of desalination
- increase water supply; reduce use of surface and groundwater
- sources of natural gas
- Russia and Kazakhstan, Iran, Quatar, US
- lime scrubbers
- a chemical spray of water and lime neutralizes acidic gases such as sulfur dioxide (which remains behind as a calcium sulfate sludge that becomes a disposal problem)
- environmental impact
- energy use - 90 million US home for steel industry
- pros of wind
- high net energy, moderate cost to build, cheap electricity, low pollution
- indoor air pollution: common pollutants indoors
- generally 2 to 5 times higher concentration inside
- UN Convention on the Law of the Sea
- effective in 1994; considered "constitution for the ocean" that protects its resources
- composition of troposphere
- 78% nitrogen; 21% oxygen; 0.01 to 4% water; 0.8% argon; 0.037% carbon dioxide; <0.001% others
- modern scrubbers remove
- 98% of the sulfur and 99% of the particulate matter in smokestacks
- alternative fuels are
- for the most part renewable
- pros of water transfer - pipelines, tunnels, aqueducts
- get water where needed
- fluidized-bed combustion and coal gasification and liquefication (considered in discussion of synfuels)
- clean coal technologies
- types of available freshwater
- surface water - 33% is reliable runoff for use, groundwater - zones of aeration and saturation/water table, aquifer and aquaclude, currently we use 55% of reliable supply - most for irrigation
- smog
- smoke and fog
- formation by
- rock forming processes
- net energy ratio for biofuels
- 0.7 : 1
- Convention on the Regulation of Antartic Mineral Resource Activities
- required unanimous agreement for ratification so Antartica's minerals could be exploited
- entombment
- not considered b/c permanently encase the entire plant in concrete and tomb would have to remain intact for at least 1000 years
- cons of geothermal are
- few sites, associated air pollution, depleted easily
- National Appliance Energy Conservation Act
- sets national efficiency standards for fridges, freezers, washing machines, clothes dryers, dishwashers, room air conditioners, and ranges/ovens (microwaves
- subsurface mining
- shaft and gallery
- saltwater intrusion
- when you overdraw the groundwater and pull in seawater
- coal burning contributes more air pollutants than
- burning oil or natural gas
- transportation consumes
- 25% of energy in US
- increases 50%
- fuel consumption when driven at 75 mph instead of 55 mph
- clean coal technologies
- have little effect on reducing CO2 emissions
- thermosphere
- 50 - 75 miles
- land disruption
- 500,000 US mines Reclamation only required for coal mines
- increases 30%
- fuel consumption when driven at 65 mph instead of 55 mph
- nuclear energy
- produces heat to make steam to turn turbine to make electricity
- major reserves - OPEC
- Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Iran, U.A. Emirates
- coal produces
- 62% of world electricity
- bituminous coal contains
- sulfur and nitrogen that are released into the atmosphere as sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides (they form acids when they react with water)
- acid deposition causes
- pollution of surface water
- compliance w/Clean Air Act Amendment of 1990
- resulted in a total annual decrease of 3.8 million metric tons of CO2 nationwide
- industries consume
- 42% of energy in US
- water pollution
- 40% of US watersheds
- in US, government has standards
- for 6 pollutants
- within industry,
- metals -26%; chemicals -19%; fossil fuels -14%; paper -8%; stone, glass, clay -7%; food -5%; other industries -21%
- by 2025 solar energy is predicted to be
- 25% of commercial energy
- burning coal causes a more severe CO2 problem than burning other fossil fuels because
- coal burning releases more CO2 per unit of heat produced
- manganese nodules
- small rocks the size of potatoes that contain manganese and other minerals, such as copper, cobalt, and nickel/are widespread on ocean floor particularly in Pacific
- mesosphere
- 30 - 50 miles
- processing - refining
- 80% of mined material on average is waste or tailings
- hydropower as energy
- large scale - big dams; small scale - little dams; pumped storage - reservoir
- extraction
- surface mining (90% of minerals and 60% of coal), open pit, dredging, area strip mine, contour strip mine, hilltop removal
- buildings consume
- 33% of energy in US
- nitric, sulfuric, hydrochloric, carbonic
- as liquids
- mesopause is
- the upper boundary of the mesosphere
- use of coal
- 21% of commerical energy is from coal
- combustion of coal is responsible for
- acid deposition
- farmers apply
- calcium sulfate as soil conditioner
- acid deposition
- a type of air pollution in which acid falls from the atmosphere to the surface as precipitation (acid precipitation) or as dry acid particles
- objective 1 of the US comprehensive energy policy
- increase energy efficiency and conservation
- storage, entombment, and decommissioning
- are three options that exist when a nuclear power plant is closed
- mesosphere has
- a thin atmosphere, temperature decreases
- cogeneration
- the production of two useful forms of energy from the same fuel
- comprehensive national energy strategy
- could include the environmentally sound and responsible development of domestically produced fossil fuels, especially natural gas
- solar energy
- heating of homes and water, high temperature furnaces, electricity - solar cells
- iron
- 60% waste
- sludge is currently disposed of
- in landfills
- Antartic Treaty
- an international agreement in effect since 1961, limits activity in Antartica to peaceful uses such as scientific studies
- Environmental Protection Protocol to the Antartic Treaty or Madrid Protocol
- went into effect in 1990, includes a moratorium on mineral exploration and development for a minimum of 50 years/designates Antartica and its marine ecosystem as a "natural reserve dedicated to peace and society"
- desalination
- remove salt from seawater/distillation/reverse osmosis (most common) - pumping water through very fine filter
- within transportation,
- motor vehicles -74%; air -14%; marine -7%; rail -5%
- outdoor air pollution major types
- carbon oxides, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds (VOC's), suspended particulate matter (SPM), photochemical oxidants, radioactive material, hazardous air pollutants (HAP's)
- biomass is ___% of US energy
- 4; crop residue, wood, manure
- currently hydropower is
- 6% of commercial energy
- geothermal
- steam or hot water
- Coal
- decomposed land plant material
- improving efficiency
- save $1 trillion/year; fluorescent lights (22% efficient); hybrid electric cars; fuel cells; building insulation
- The Ogallala Aquifer
- largest groundwater deposit in the world/farmers from High Plains depend on it/most livestock and plants come from here
- within buildings,
- heating, A/C, ventilation -64%; hot water heating -24%; lighting -12%
- sulfur emissions
- are removed as calcium sulfate and nitrogen oxide form because of low temperatures
- sludge
- is treated as a marketable product rather than as polluted emission
- nationwide cap on SO2 emissions
- from coal-burning power plants was imposed after 2000
- additional 10 to 25%
- of oil for secondary recovery
- Tuscon, Miami, San Antonio, and Memphis
- have municipal well fields and depend almost entirely on groundwater for drinking water
- pros of hydropower
- high net energy (approx. 80% efficient), cheap electricity, low pollution, flood control, water. recreation
- equilibrium between CO2 in atmosphere, CO2 dissolved in ocean, and CO2 in organic matter
- changes over long periods of time (thousands or millions of years)
- In US - 51% of all drinking water is groundwater
- 96% in rural areas is wells, 20% in urban, 43% of all irrigation
- amount of reserves depends on
- actual and potential supply - rate of use, depletion time - 80% of reserve, reserve to production ratio, price factor - 1 in 10,000 site productive
- mineral reserves
- could be extracted from seawater
- first air quality legislation
- in the US the Air Pollution Control Act of 1955 was
- groupings of air pollutants
- primary and secondary
- composition of stratosphere
- nearly same as troposphere, except no water; more ozone - filters out 95% of UV radiation; most ozone around tropopause and base of stratosphere - 14 -15 miles
- alternate energy sources
- solar, hydropower, tidal energy, wind, biomass, geothermal
- deplete foreign oil reserves while prices are reasonable
- save domestic supplies for the future
- energy use trends
- coal - down; oil and gas - up; nuclear - steady
- copper
- 99% waste
- subsidence inversion
- warm air moves in over cooler air
- cons of groundwater
- excessive removal-lowers water table and wells go dry, deplete aquifer, subsidence, saltwater intrusion, capture surface water, draw pollutants
- objective 3 of the US comprehensive energy policy
- develop alternative energy sources
- acidification of lakes and streams
- has resulted in the decline of aquatic animal populations and is linked to some of the forest decline documented worldwide
- US's reasons for comprehensive energy policy
- 1) supply of fossil fuels is limited 2) production, transport, and use of fossil fuels pollute the environment 3) our heavy dependence on foreign oil makes us economically vulnerable
- sulfur
- in coal reacts with calcium limestone to form calcium sulfate, which precipitates out, so it is removed from coal burning process/scrubbers not needed
- combustion of coal releases
- mercury into the air
- refining
- uses lots of water and energy
- oil is formed from
- marine microorganisms
- pros of groundwater
- can be removed as needed - constant supply, not lost to evaporation, cheaper to develop
- nuclear power plant
- 8% efficient
- US trade deficit
- causes economists to argue against view of developing future fossil fuel energy supplies
- solid biomass
- burn wood or manure
- Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990
- gave incentives for utility companies to convert to clean coal technologies
- pros of solar energy
- high net energy (approximately 90% efficient), non-polluting, low environmental impact, systems last 20-40 years
- 26 nations
- are voting members of the Antartic Treaty
- normal rain is
- slightly acidic - pH = 5.6
- currently biomass is
- 11% of world energy
- currently solar is
- approximately 1% of commercial energy
- commercial energy use in world
- 82% from non-renewable sources
- comprehensive energy policy
- should provide a secure supply of energy, encourage us to use less energy, and protect the environment
- thermosphere has
- very thin atmosphere, temperature increases from direct heating from sun
- stratosphere
- 11 - 30 miles
- aluminum
- 81% waste
- no substantial mineral deposits
- have been found in Antartica
- storage
- utility company guards plant for 50 to 100 years, while some of the radioactive materials decay
- wind
- wind farms or turbine fans
- cons of solar energy
- expensive, need light approximately 60% of time, maintenance costs
- water shortage caused by
- dry climate, drought, desiccation, water stress and water scarcity
- acid deposition
- solid and liquid particles
- the 6 pollutants are
- carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, SPM, ozone, lead
- cons of building dams and reservoirs
- stop sediment movement (no new sediments for nutrients), may run river dry downstream, flood land-farmland, expensive
- amount of irrigation in Texas
- has declined 11%
- environmentalists
- opposed development and use of domestic fossil fuels because of environmental problems discussed
- air pollution is the presence of one or more chemcial in the atmosphere that
- cause harm to critters, plants, humans; cause harm to materials; alter climate
- in 2nd phase of Clean Air Act Amendments
- >200 additional power plants made SO2 cuts by the year 2000, resulting in total annual decrease of 10 million metric tons nationwide
- US uses oil
- 22 million barrels/day
- cons of water transfer
- decrease water quality in source area, encourage waste
- significantly decrease CO2 released
- if improvements of fluidized bed combustion technology developed and were adopted widely then could
- net energy ratio for natural gas
- 4.9 : 1
- radiation inversion
- air near ground cools faster at night; common in cities surrounded by mountains - LA, Denver
- estimated cost of indoor air pollution
- is $100 billion/year
- primary
- emitted directly to atmospherein potentially harmful form
- 104 current
- nuclear plants in US
- emphysema
- a disease in which the air sacs (alveoli) in the lungs become irreversibly distended, decreasing the efficiency of respiration and causing breathlessness and wheezy breathing
- natural gas
- mix of methane, ethane, propane, butane found with oil
- polluted air is cleaned by
- passing through scrubber and chemicals reacting with pollution to cause it to precipitate out
- pros of geothermal are
- high efficiency, low cost, low impact
- secondary
- primary that react with atmosphere or each other
- cons of wind
- need steady wind, need back up system for no wind, large land use, noise
- cons of biomass
- low efficiency, increases erosion, air pollution
- resources
- hypothetical and speculative
- water supplies
- 71% of planet surface cover, 97.4% is saltwater, 2.46% is ice or deep groundwater, 0.014% is available freshwater