chapter 5 environment

At current levels of use, most experts believe that the world has less than ______years of crude oil remaining.

50 years

In the U.S. the largest fossil fuel reserves occur in the form of:

Coal

Explain what "fracking" is and why is it controversial?

Fracking is the horizontal drilling for gas and oil. It requires the use of water and chemicals being injected under high pressure to release oil and gas that was not available from traditional drilling methods. It has been shown to cause water pollution problems and causing localized earthquakes.

Which non-renewable fuel has a "smell" added to it and why is it added?

Natural gas it does not have a smell and it was added after a horrific explosion in Texas, to make it easier to notice leaking gas.

Describe two ways that coal is mined in the United States.

Surface mining: extracts the mineral and energy resources near the earth's surface by removing soil and subsoil. Can cause mountaintop removal Subsurface mining: extracts the mineral and energy resources from deep underground deposits.

What are the three major uses for coal in the United States today?

The three major uses are: 1. steel production coal is turned into coke 2. cement plants for heating up the kilns 3. Electric power plants

List and describe the pollution problems caused by using each of the following fossil fuels: coal, petroleum (oil), and natural gas. Which of the three is considered the cleanest and why?

coal - there are pollution problems with the mining of coal. Surface Mining leaves the surface exposed for erosion and pollution problems. A particular type of surface mining is Mountain top removal which can devastate ecosystems. Sub-surface mining is very dangerous due to possible collapses and gases. Burning coal can cause air pollution problems from the carbon dioxide emitted and some types of coal emit large amounts of sulfur which cause acid precipitation. Ash and other particles create air pollution issues. Mercury can also be emitted from some coals. Oil - the production of oil can lead to spills, most of the pollution problems occur after the oil has been refined into different products such as gasoline. The burning releases carbon dioxide and other air pollutants. Natural gas - is considered the cleanest burning releasing just carbon dioxide when burned. Fracking for natural gas can lead to water pollution problems.

A large majority of the fuels used today are composed of:

hydrocarbons

Which of the following is NOT produced from Crude Oil?

natural gas