APES Unit 6 Switch

Globally, what percentage of energy is generated by burning biomass?

10%

Approximately how long does it take for crude oil to form?

10-100 million years

According to the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) in the next 50 years, what percentage of carbon dioxide could be captured from the emissions stream and stored using CCS?

15-55%

What percent of the world's population does energy poverty impact?

33%

Solar panels are made to capture only a narrow band of the light spectrum. What would be required to capture more of the spectrum?

A higher cost of materials

What is another economic benefit of the increased supply of natural gas?

A lower price

What are some environmental concerns associated with oil shale?

Accessing it requires large amounts of water and energy

What is the major source of biofuel feedstock by volume today?

Agricultural crops

What is one benefit of energy efficiency and conservation?

Allows a coal plant to burn less coal to meet energy demands

What is one economic benefit of fracking?

An increase in employment opportunities

Although typically more expensive than conventional heating and cooling to install, geothermal heat pumps usually:

Are cheaper to operate Are longer lasting Produce fewer emissions

What pollutants do "baghouses" remove?

Ash and some heavy metals

What is the limiting factor to biofuels replacing oil as an energy source for global transportation?

Available acreage required to produce enough plant cellulose

What is the most common energy source for heating and cooking for 40% of the global population?

Biomass

Which country has been able to make biofuels cheaper than gasoline?

Brazil

New technology that might make biofuels less expensive involves:

Breaking down plant cellulose into sugars that can be fermented

How do nitrogen oxides impact the environment?

By eroding the ozone layer

Water use as an environmental impact issue:

Can be improved by minimizing quantity used and recycling Previous

What does the phrase "carbon neutral" mean?

Carbon emissions are balanced with carbon removal (often through carbon offsets)

The Chernobyl nuclear disaster:

Caused an estimated 4,000 premature deaths

Which of the following pairs state both a benefit and a cost of coal?

Cheap and available; many pollutants

What might affect the future of hydroelectric power?

Cheap electricity from coal in the developing world The abundance of natural gas for power generation Environmental concerns about the land flooded by dams Lack of additional hydroelectric opportunities in the developed world

How is biodiesel made?

Conversion of soybean oil

Most hydroelectric power is produced from:

Dams

What's one result of lower oil demand?

Decreased energy imports

What are some new ways under investigation to access hot water at depth?

Drilling into and fracturing hot rock at depth to extract hot water Previous

What is the biggest obstacle to CCS?

Economics

When considering if biomass is carbon neutral, what all must be included?

Emissions to cut down trees Emissions to transport trees Emissions to turn trees into chips and pellets Emissions to transport chips and pellets Rate of burning biomass vs. rate of reforestation

What is a challenge to efficiency?

Encouraging suppliers to sell less energy, Initial costs for upgrading to efficient products, and Lack of cultural awareness

How is ethanol made?

Fermenting sugar

What are the poorest managed waste products from energy use?

Gaseous waste

Where does the rarest, but most intense, source of geothermal energy come from?

Geologic plate boundaries

The affordability of some renewables is currently influenced by:

Government subsidies bringing down the costs of new technology

Which force is behind hydroelectric power?

Gravitational

In addition to generating electricity, high-temperature geothermal can be used directly to:

Heat and cool buildings

Why can high-temperature geothermal power only be generated in certain locations?

High temperatures are needed near the surface

What type of drilling has allowed producers to extract oil from unconventional sources?

Horizontal drilling and fracturing

What are largest power stations in the world?

Hydroelectric

Which are products created from oil? I. Plastics II. Polyester III. Ethanol

I and II only

What processes are involved in carbon capture and sequestration (CCS)? I. Carbon dioxide is captured from industrial source(s) II. Carbon dioxide is compressed III. Carbon dioxide is transported by pipeline IV. Carbon dioxide is injected into the earth in a geologic storage site

I, II, III and IV

Air pollution from the burning of coal could include which of the following: I. NOx - contributes to smog II. Ash - contributes to air and water pollution III. SOx - contributes to acid rain IV. CO2 - contributes to climate change

I, II, III, and IV

Cooking in the home can lead to which of the following health issues? I. Lung cancer II. Cataracts III. Diabetes IV. Pneumonia

I, II, and IV

The ratio of power produced against the cost to produce it means solar energy is considered:

Inefficient

The vast majority of global transportation runs on oil. What influence does this give oil?

Influence on the global economy

What is the biggest challenge of using solar energy to generate electricity?

Intermittency

Diversification into other transportation fuels:

Is likely because rising oil prices will make renewables more competitive

What is one important advantage of hydropower?

It can be used for baseload or on-demand power

What is a major advantage of CCS?

It has the potential to capture and store CO2 from emissions at large scale, It can help reduce emissions from abundant coal and natural gas power plants, and It can be done all over the world

Oil is a great transportation fuel because:

It packs a huge amount of energy into a compact form

Efficient use of electricity helps to:

Keep our electric grid stable Previous

What is the precursor to oil that is found in oil shale?

Kerogen

Which source can generate more electricity than an average single commercial nuclear reactor?

Large hydropower dam Previous

Which of the following accurately describes how most silicon-based solar panels function?

Light in the middle of the spectrum excites electrons between layers of silicon

Worldwide, why do most plants not capture pollutants from the combustion of coal?

Many countries rely on the affordability of coal

Uranium has an energy density ___________ of times higher than other energy sources.

Millions

Which of the following accurately describes how mirrored solar panels function?

Mirrored panels concentrate light to create heat that makes steam from water

Which of the following is true regarding hydroelectric power?

Most of the developed world has exhausted the supply of useable hydroelectric sites

Where are hydropower dams concentrated?

Mountainous regions in both the eastern & western United States

Spent nuclear fuel:

Must be cooled for several years prior to long-term storage

What percentage of human CO2 emissions comes from burning coal?

Nearly 50%

The energy for a nuclear fission reactor comes from a chain reaction of shattered nuclei releasing:

Neutrons

What is perhaps the most important "new" energy technology?

New ways to use less electricity

Hydroelectric power plants themselves generate _____________ carbon dioxide emissions.

No

What is one benefit of nuclear energy?

No carbon emissions

Shale oil and gas are produced from basins with geographic distributions that are concentrated in specific regions. Where are basins with especially prolific "plays" concentrated?

North Dakota and West Texas

How does the sun produce light and heat?

Nuclear fusion

Transportation networks improve the availability of which energy resource:

Oil

Oil is made from _________ that died and mixed with muds forming organic-rich sediment layers.

Plankton

Hydroelectric plants use dams to store ____________ energy.

Potential

Distributed renewable energy is the best solution to providing energy when __________ are not available.

Powerlines, roads and pipelines

__________, heat and time convert plankton into oil.

Pressure

What are some follow-on benefits of reducing electricity use?

Reducing emissions from power plants, Extending fuel supply, and Saving money

To be used to generate energy, oil must be _________, and half of each barrel is used to produce gasoline.

Refined

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) will provide energy through a(n):

Rural centralized grid

What is an added benefit of reducing electricity use during the peak demand period?

Saving electricity when it's most expensive

Which form of electricity generation produces the fewest CO2 emissions?

Solar photovoltaics

What pollutants do "scrubbers" remove?

Sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides

Because natural gas is cheaper and only produces carbon dioxide and water vapor when burned, power plants are:

Switching to natural gas to generate electricity

Where is the "wind belt" in the United States, where steady wind is concentrated?

The Central United States

Where are the best sites for commercial installation of solar power production concentrated?

The Southwest

What is the biggest challenge to the use of solar energy?

The intermittency of the energy source

What is the biggest challenge of biofuels?

The raw materials that make biofuels have low energy density Previous

How is oil released from oil shale?

The shale is heated

How is geothermal similar to hydropower?

They both can be used to follow electricity demand

What is one benefit of biofuels?

They can be used in existing car and plane engines

Why will future nuclear reactors be safer?

They will be safe against overheating and meltdowns

How can hot rock beneath the surface provide geothermal energy?

Through drilling vertical wells into hot rock and "fracking" the rock Through pumping water to be heated into "fracked" rock Through drawing heated water from underground to produce electricity

What is the purpose for which our global energy system has been built?

To meet the human demand for energy

Which of the following describes an experimental technology being used to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from coal?

Turning coal into gas before it is burned to remove the carbon dioxide

How is water that is heated by geothermal energy transported to homes?

Underground in pipelines

Nuclear has this feature in common with most other energy sources for electricity:

Uses heat to boil water, make steam, turn a turbine, which operates a generator

What did the first major electrical power plants use?

Water

What are some of the criteria assessed when looking at sustainability of an energy resource?

Water, land use, and atomospheric emissions

Reliable on-demand energy sources must supplement the intermittent nature of:

Wind because of daily fluctuations in the amount and strength of flow

What is one commonly used source of biomass for energy generation?

Wood

Which energy source emits more carbon than coal when burned?

Wood

Has substituting natural gas for coal helped reduce U.S. carbon dioxide emissions significantly?

Yes

The four pillars of energy security are affordability, availability, reliability, and infrastructure.

false

Other than transportation, what are some other uses for oil?

heating, power production, and chemical feedstocks

The surface of the Earth receives enough sunlight in a single day to meet the energy demands of the world for how long?

over a year