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APES Unit 7

Terms in this set (77)

Depletion Time
time it takes to use up a certain proportion- usually 80%- of the reserves of a mineral at a given rate
Mineral Resource
concentration of naturally occurring material from the earth's crust that we can extract and process into raw materials and useful products at an affordable cost
Metallic mineral resource
aluminum and gold
Non Metallic mineral resource
sand and limestone
Ore
rock that contains a large enough concentration of a particular mineral-often a metal- to make it profitable for mining and processing
High-Grade ore
contains a large concentration of the desired mineral
Low-Grade ore
contains a smaller concentration of the desired mineral
Reserves
identified resources from which we can extract the mineral profitably at current prices
Smelting
heating ores to release metals
Subsidence
collapse of land above some underground mines. Can damage houses, crack sewer lines, break gas mains, and disrupt groundwater systems.
Surface Mining
shallow mineral deposits are removed by this method, in which materials lying over a deposit are removed to expose the resource for processing. Generally begin with removal of all vegetation, including forests, from a site
Open Pit
machines dig very large holes and remove metal ores (such as iron, copper, and gold ores), as well as sand, gravel, and stone (such as limestone and marble)
Strip Mining
useful and economical for extracting mineral deposits that lie in large horizontal beds close to the earth's surface
What is the Goldman Environmental Prize, and what did Maria Gunnoe do to earn one?
This award is considered the "Nobel Prize for the Environment" and it recognizes grassroots environmental leaders from around the world and their extraordinary leaders from around the world and their extraordinary efforts to protect the natural world and human rights. A coal mine began to work on a mountaintop removal on a ridge above her house in 2000 and it flooded her property 7 times, covered her yard with toxic sludge, contaminated her well and groundwater, and forced her family to use bottled water for drinking, cooking, and bathing. The coal company took no responsibility so she turned into a fearless community organizer and advocate for environmental justice in the Appalachian coalfields. She speaks all over the nation and is recognized as an inspiring leader in her fight against some of the world's wealthiest and most powerful coal companies.
Which five countries are the largest suppliers of nonrenewable mineral resources? Which resources does each of the five countries use and/or supply?
United States (imports all of its supplies of 20 key nonrenewable resources and more than 90% of its supplies of 4 other key minerals, has little or no reserves of manganese, cobalt, chromium and platinum and has 4% of the tungsten reserves), Canada (has 12% of world's tungsten reserves), Russia (coal), South Africa (largest producer of chromium and platinum), and Australia (coal). US, Russia, and Germany with only 8% of world's population consume 75% world's most widely used resources.
Describe the U.S. General Mining Law of 1872. What problems existed with the law and what is being done to improve regulations?
It was designed to encourage mineral exploration and the mining of hard rock minerals-such as gold, solver, copper, and uranium-on public lands and to help develop the western territories. Under this law, a person or corporation can file a mining claim or assume legal ownership of parcels of land on essentially all U.S. public land except national parks and wilderness. Mining companies remove at least $4 billion worth of hard rock minerals per year from US lands and degrade the lands and leave behind a toxic mess. In 1992, the law was modified to require mining companies to post bonds to cover 100% of the estimated cleanup costs in case they go bankrupt but this would cost too much money for taxpayers. EPA and the government are working together to create to new rules guaranteeing that miners will pay all cleanup costs.
Describe the difference between surface and subsurface mining techniques. Which do you think has less of an impact to the surrounding ecosystems?
Surface mining extracts mineral deposits that lie in large horizontal beds close to the earth's surface. Subsurface mining removes deep deposits of minerals in which underground mineral resources are removed through tunnels and shafts. This method is used to remove coal and metal ores that are too deep to be extracted by surface mining. Subsurface mining has less of an impact on surrounding ecosystems because it disturbs less than 1/10 as much land as surface mining disturbs, and it usually produces less waste material.
What are some of the environmental impacts that result from mining? Explain.
Disturbed land, mine waste dumping, oil spills, and heat from the exploration and extraction in mining. Solid wastes, radioactive material, air, water, and soil pollution from processing (transportation, purification, manufacturing). Thermal water pollution, pollution of air, water, and soil, solid and radioactive wastes from use (transportation or transmission to individual user, eventual use, and discarding). Surface mining scars and disrupts land surface and destroys or degrades biodiversity when ricers are polluted with mining wastes and forests are cleared. Mining produces large amounts of wastes, which cause air, and water pollution and huge amounts of water used to process ore often contain pollutants such as sulfuric acid and arsenic and this runoff contaminates freshwater supplies and fish used for food. Also, toxic chemicals are released into the atmosphere.
How are depletion times for resources calculated and why do experts get such different values from each other?
Calculates through analysis of amount of reserves and steps that can be taken to preserve them. Shortest depletion-time estimate assumes no recycling or reuse and no increase in reserves. A longer depletion-time estimate assumes that recycling will stretch existing reserves and that better mining technology, higher prices, or new discoveries will increase reserves. Longest estimate makes same assumptions, but also includes reuse and reduced consumption to further expand reserves. Experts get different values because they're using different assumptions about supplies and rates of use.
Explain at least three economic reasons that drive the price / value of resources.
1) In a competitive market system, a plentiful mineral resource is cheap when its supply exceeds demand. 2) When a resource becomes scarce, its price rises. 3) Governments use subsidies, taxes, regulations, and import tariffs to control the supply, demand, and prices of key minerals to such an extent that a truly competitive market doesn't exist.
Do you recommend any of the other mining methods described, such as in-place mining, biomining, ocean mining, or more? Why or why not do you think these methods should be explored?
I think in-place mining and biomining should be tested more thoroughly because they are naturally occurring bacteria used to remove desired metals from ores through wells bored into the deposits. It leaves the surrounding environment undisturbed and reduces the air pollution associated with the smelting of metal ores and reduces water pollution from releases of hazardous chemicals. Even though it's a slow process, I think it's totally worth it to explore.
What is nanotechnology and how can it be used?
AKA tiny tech; uses science and engineering to manipulate and create materials out of atoms and molecules at the ultra-small scale of less than 100 nanometers. It can be used in products for the home, skincare products, food containers, supercomputers, health improvements, remove industrial pollutants in contaminated air, water, and soil, purify water, turn garbage into breakfast, and so much more.
Coal Gasification
process that removes sulfur and most other impurities
LPG
liquefied petroleum gas, when a natural gas field is tapped, propane and butane gases are liquefied under high pressure and removed as LPG
LNG
liquefied natural gas, natural gas can be converted into this at a high pressure and at the very low temperature of -260F
Net Energy
usable amount of high-quality energy available from a given quantity of an energy resource. Total amount of useful energy available from an energy resource minus the energy needed to make it available to consumers. Calculated by estimating the total amount of energy available from the resource over its projected lifetime and then subtracting the estimated amount of energy used, automatically wasted because of the second law of thermodynamics, and unnecessarily wasted in finding, extracting, processing, and transporting the useful energy to consumers
Nuclear Fusion
nuclear change at the atomic level in which the nuclei of two isotopes of a light element such as hydrogen are forced together at extremely high temperatures until they fuse to form a heavier nucleus, releasing energy in the process. Could provide a limited source of energy when controlled.
Peak Production
after years of pumping, usually a decade or so, the pressure in a well drops and its rate of conventional crude oil production starts to decline
Petrochemicals
products of crude oil distillation, used as raw materials in industrial organic chemicals, cleaning fluids, pesticides, plastics, synthetic fibers, plaints, medicines, and many other products
Petroleum
crude oil (oil as it comes out of the ground), is a black, gooey liquid consisting of hundreds of different combustible hydrocarbons along with small amounts of sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen impurities. Makes up 30% of the world's estimated supply of oil.
Proven reserves
identified deposits from which conventional crude oil can be extracted profitably at current prices with current technology
Unproven Reserves
other deposits of potentially recoverable oil. Consists of probable (50% chance recovery) and possible (10-40% chance recovery) reserves
Refining
conventional crude oil is transported to a refinery where it's heated to separate it into components with different boiling points in a complex process. This decreases the net energy yield of oil
Shale Oil
distillated oil extracted from crushed oil shales (oily rocks), after they are heated in a large container
Synfuels
coal that's been converted into liquid fuels such as methanol and synthetic gasoline that's less air polluting when burned
Tar Sands
oil sand, mixture of clay, sand, water, and a combustible organic materials called bitumen- a thick, sticky, tarlike heavy oil with a high sulfur content
What is OPEC and what power does it hold politically and economically?
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries have about 60% of the world's proven crude oil reserves and thus are likely to control most of the world's oil supplies for many decades. Members are Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. The OPEC produced about 39% of the world's oil in 2009.
What happened at Chernobyl? What lasting impacts has it had on human health and the environment?
Site of the most serious nuclear power plant accident. On April 26, 1986, two simultaneous explosions in one of the four operating reactors in this nuclear power plants in Ukraine blew the roof off the building. The reactor burned for 10 days and a radioactive cloud spread over the whole world. By 2005, 56 people died prematurely from exposure to radiation released by the accident. The number of premature deaths ranges from 9,000 to 212,000. In parts of the Ukraine, some people can't drink the water or eat locally produced food. There are higher rates of thyroid cancer, leukemia, and immune system abnormalities in children exposed to the fallout.
Describe why an energy source might have a high net energy yield or a low net energy yield. What actions are put in to place in order to account for low net energy yields?
The location and ease of access of an energy source helps determine the net energy yield. For example, most conventional oil has a high net energy ration because for many years, much of it has come form large concentrated deposits if light crude oil found not too deep underground or under the ocean floor in fairly shallow water. As these sources become depleted, oil producers have to use more energy and money to develop more dispersed and often smaller deposits that are found deeper underground or under the sea bottom. As this occurs, the net energy ratio of conventional oil declines. The actions put into place are that many governments subsidize the source that has a low net energy yield to make it available because it can't compete in the open market unless US gov't (taxpayers) provides it with large tax breaks/subsidies
Based on projections of how long the oil supply will last, do you believe any of the four options on page 375 need to be explored?
Out of the options: look for more oil, use less oil, waste less oil, or use other energy resources, the latter three are the most probable. Looking for more oil will deplete the land even more. However, using and wasting less oil will be good for the environment and for the amount of oil we have. Using other resources would be good if they were sustainable, safe, and had a high yield (not nuclear power).
Describe two advantages and two disadvantages for using conventional oil.
Advantages: high net energy yield but decreasing and low land disruption (waterways) Disadvantages: water pollution from oil spills and leaks and releases CO2 and other air pollutants when burned (will warm atmosphere and contribute to climate change)
How is tar sand and shale oil used to extract oil? Where is the largest supply of each found in the world?
Tar sand is used to extract oil by strip mining. The ecosystem (forests, wetlands, etc.) covering the ground is stropped away to expose the tar sand deposits. Then five story high electric power shovels dig up the tar sand and load it into trucks, which transport it to an upgrading plant. There the sand is mixed with hot water and steam to extract the bitumen and converted into a heavy crude oil for refining. The largest supply is found in Saudi Arabia with 20% of the world's oil reserves.
Shale oil takes a lot of energy to extract and has a low net energy yield. It also takes a lot of water to produce shale oil (5 barrels water/1 barrel shale oil). Has a higher environmental impact and releases more CO2. About 72% of the world's reserves are buried deep in rock formations located primarily in government-owned lands in Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah (Green River formation and Bakken oil formation).
Why is coal considered the dirtiest of all fossil fuels?
Before it's even burned, the processes of making it available severely degrade land and pollute water and air. When coal is burned without expensive pollution control devices, it severely pollutes the air. Coal releases SO2 into the air and burning it releases large amounts of soot and can enter our lungs. It emits CO2 and trace amounts of radioactive materials and toxins (i.e. mercury).
What are some of the environmental impacts that can result from coal ash? Explain.
In the US about 57% of ash is either buried (sometimes in mines where it can contaminate groundwater) or made into a wet slurry that's stored in holding ponds that can also leach into groundwater or break through their earthen dams and severely pollute nearby rivers, groundwater, and towns. A spill can also harm wildlife, ecosystems, and disrupt lives and biodiversity.
Nuclear power is the slowest growing form of energy and it was projected to make up the largest supply. What factors account for why nuclear power has been slow to grow?
Reactors wear out and retired faster than new ones are built, has a low net energy yield, funded greatly by taxpayers and subsidies, and there's no political or scientific consensus on how to safely store the resulting highly radioactive wastes for thousands of years. There are also concerns about the safety of nuclear reactors from radiation, melting, explosion, etc.
Describe two other serious problems that nuclear power plants pose.
Storage of wastes and radioactive fuel rods presents risks because theses areas are vulnerable to terrorists and sabotage because the storage areas aren't as well guarded. There is also the question of how to dispose of the wastes because now we can really only store it, which isn't safe or long lasting.
What are at least two of the five solutions for building new nuclear power plants in the future? P. 393
Reactors must be built so that a runaway chain reaction is impossible
Its entire fuel cycle must generate fewer greenhouse gas emissions than other energy alternatives
Active Solar Heating System
captures energy from sun by pumping a heat-absorbing fluid (such as water or antifreeze solution) through special collectors, usually mounted on a roof or on special racks to face the sun. Some of the collected heat can be used directly. The rest can be stored in a large insulated container and released as needed
Biomass
plant materials (such as wood and agricultural waste) and animal wastes that we can burn directly as a solid fuel or convert into gaseous or liquid biofuels.
Cellulosic Ethanol
produced from inedible cellulose that makes up most of the biomass of plants
CHP
combined heat and power system, where two useful forms of energy (such as steam and electricity) are produced from the same fuel source. Energy efficiency is 75-90% and emits 1/3 as much CO2 per unit of energy produced, as do conventional boilers.
Cogeneration
how industries save energy and money using a CHP system
Energy Efficiency
measure of how much work we can get from each unit of energy we use. Each unit of energy saved eliminates the need to produce that energy, and it saves us money.
Feed-in Tariff
users installing solar panels get a guaranteed payment for 20 years for each kilowatt of excess energy that they feed into the grid
Geothermal Energy
heat stored in soil, underground rocks, and fluids in the earth's mantle.
Hard Energy Paths
based on increasing use of nonrenewable coal, oil, natural gas, and nuclear energy
Hybrid Car
energy-efficient, gasoline-electric car. Has a small gas-powered engine and a battery-powered electric motor used to provide the energy needed for acceleration and hill-climbing
Passive Solar Heating System
absorbs and stores heat from the sun directly within a well-insulated structures. Converts it into low-temperature heat for space heating or for heating water for domestic use
Photovoltaic Cells
solar cells, way to convert energy directly into electrical energy
Smart Grid
modernized electrical grid that uses analogue or digital information and communications technology to gather and act on information, such as information about the behaviors of suppliers and consumers, in an automated fashion to improve the efficiency, reliability, economics, and sustainability of the production and distribution of electricity.
Soft Energy Paths
based on improving energy efficiency and increasing the use of various renewable energy resources
Solar Cookers
in some sunny rural areas, people use these inexpensive items to focus and concentrate sunlight for cooking food and sterilizing water.
Solar Thermal System
uses different methods to collect and concentrate water solar energy in order to boil water and produce steam for generating electricity. Used mostly in desert areas with ample sunlight.
Who is Amory Lovins and what important contributions has he made to environmental science?
He was an energy analyst who constructed a large, solar-heated, solar-powered, super insulated, and partially earth-sheltered home and office in Snowmass, Colorado, and an area with extremely cold winters. He has dedicated his life to show how such a shift toward a more energy-efficient world could be made. He's now helping lead the world into an energy future that's based on cutting energy waste to the home and getting at least half our energy from a variety of low-or no-carbon renewable-energy resources.
Why is so much energy (84%) wasted in the United States and what are some of the things that we waste energy on?
About 41% is unavoidably lost because of the degradation of energy quality imposed by the second law of thermodynamics. The other 43% is wasted unnecessarily, mostly due to the inefficiency of incandescent light bulbs, furnaces, industrial motors, most motor vehicles, coal and nuclear power plants, and numerous other energy-consuming devices. Also, many people live in leaky, poorly insulated, and badly designed buildings that require excessive heating in the winter and cooling in the summer. Also, the incandescent light bulb (wastes 90-95%), the internal combustion engine (wastes 80%), nuclear power plant (wastes 92%), coal-fired power plant (wastes 75-80%).
What are two ways in which industries can reduce their energy use?
Replace energy-wasting electric motors, which use ¼ of the electricity produced in the US and 65% of the electricity used in US industry. Most are inefficient and reducing them would save energy and reduce environmental impact of electric motor use. Recycling materials such as steel and other metals is another way to save energy and money. For example, producing steel from recycled scrap iron uses 75% less energy than producing steel from virgin iron ore and emits 40% less CO2. Switching ¾ of the world's steel production to such furnaces would cut energy use in the global steel industry by 40% and sharply reduce its CO2 emissions.
Why does the United States have the lowest gas efficiency (miles per gallon) than most other areas around the world?
There was no increase in the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ) standards until 2008 and because mileage standards for popular trucks and SUVs are not as high as those for cars. Other countries have much higher standards and efficiency.
Describe three ways that either new or existing buildings can save energy and money by incorporating different practices into their design.
Use green architecture- use natural lighting, passive solar heating, solar cells, solar hot water heaters, recycled wastewater, and energy-efficient appliances and lighting. Insulate buildings and plug leaks to save money and energy and use less heating/cooling. Use energy-efficient windows- cuts expensive heat losses, lessens cooling costs, and reduces heating system CO2 emissions.
What are current limitations that prevent renewable energy sources from making up more of the world's energy supply?
Since 1950, government tax breaks, subsidies, and funding for research and development for renewable energy resources have been much lower than those for fossil fuels and nuclear power. Although subsidies and tax breaks for fossil fuels have essentially been guaranteed for many decades, those for renewable energy have to be renewed by Congress every few years and this makes it risky for companies to invest in renewable energy. Prices we pay for nonrenewable fossil fuels and nuclear power don't include the harmful environmental and human health costs of producing and using them.
What are some positive and negative aspects of using solar thermal systems?
Positive: net energy is moderated (active solar heating) to high (passive heating), very low emissions of CO2 and other air pollutants, very low land disturbance, moderate cost (passive). Negative: needs access to sun 60% of time during daylight, sun can be blocked by trees and other structures, high installation and maintenance costs for active systems, needs backup system for cloudy days, only works in new homes in areas with adequate sunlight.
Hydropower has the potential to provide much more of the world's energy. If hydropower systems continue to be developed, what environmental impacts could result?
Uses kinetic energy of flowing and falling water to produce electricity. Existing reservoirs will fill with silt and become useless faster than new systems are built. Also, there's growing concern over emissions of methane, potent greenhouse gas, from the decomposition of submerged vegetation in hydropower plant reservoirs, especially in warm climates. The world's largest dams together are already the single largest human-caused source of methane. Large land disturbance, and disrupts (aquatic) ecosystems.
What are advantages and disadvantages of having wind farms on land and on water? In addition, do you think bird deaths (on page 418) are a major cause of concern?
Advantages: moderate to high net energy yield, widely available, low electricity cost, little or no direct emissions of CO2 and other air pollutants, easy to build and expand.
Disadvantages: needs backup or storage system when winds die down, visual pollution for some people, low-level noise bothers some people, can kill birds if not properly designed and located. I don't think bird deaths are a major cause of concern because those that killed birds were built with outdated designs and in migration corridors. Scientists have studied these corridors and redesigned turbines so as not to kill birds,
Liquid biofuels such as biodiesel and ethanol are produced from what products? Give examples from different countries.
U.S. (ethanol from corn), Brazil (ethanol from vegetable oils), European Union (biodiesel form vegetable oils), China (ethanol from non grain plant sources to avoid diverting grains from its food supply).
Read the three case studies on pages 421-424 (biodiesel, ethanol, algae/bacteria). Which method do you believe is the most practical and successful for getting energy from natural sources? Explain specific reasons why your selection has advantages over the other two methods using examples from the studies.
I think using algae/bacteria would be best because it hardly impacts the environment; it could be done anywhere, and doesn't release emissions in the process. Other methods don't yield as much energy, they're costly to do, and they emit pollutants like NOx and smog (biodiesel) and CO2 (ethanol).
What are the three main challenges to using hydrogen as a fuel source?
There's hardly any hydrogen gas (H2) in the earth's atmosphere, so it must be produced from environmental hydrogen, which is chemically locked up in water and in organic compounds. It tales energy and money to produce H2 and it would take more energy to make than we'd get (negative net energy yield).
Fuel cells are the best way to use H2 to produce electricity, but current versions of fuel cells are expensive.
Whether or not a hydrogen-based energy system produces less outdoor air pollution and CO2 than a fossil fuel system depends on the H2 is produced.
Using page 429 "choosing energy paths"... how do you predict changes in energy supply and dependence will likely change over the next fifty years?
There'll likely be a gradual shift from large, centralized macro power systems to smaller, decentralized micro power systems such as wind turbines and household solar panels. There'll also be a combination of greatly improved energy efficiency and the temporary use of natural gas will be the best way to make the transition to a diverse mix of locally available renewable energy resources. Because of their still abundant supplies and artificially low prices, fossil fuels will continue to be used in large quantities.
Describe two of the methods that governments can do to change the use of energy resources.
Keep prices of selected energy resources artificially low to encourage use of those resources. Providing research and development subsidies, tax breaks, and loan guarantees to encourage the development of those resources, and by enacting regulations that favor them. Keep prices of selected energy resources artificially high to discourage their use. Eliminating existing tax breaks and other subsidies that favor use of the targeted resource, and by enacting restrictive regulations or taxes on its use.
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