environmental final
Peaking plants help in times of peak demand and are typically inexpensive to build but expensive to run.
True
Positive feedback loops tend to exacerbate the effects of climate change.
True
Producing hydrogen takes as least as much energy as you get out of it when you use it.
True
Reservoirs formed behind large dams are potentially major contributors to climate change, especially dams located in tropical areas such as Brazil.
True
Solar Thermal Power Systems can use external combustion engines to generate electricity.
True
Some of the largest electric power plants in the world are hydroelectric plants.
True
The Montreal Protocol is generally thought of as an international agreement that stopped a global environmental problem, the depletion of the ozone layer due to CFCs.
True
The amount of carbon in the surface layers of the ocean is comparable to what is in the atmosphere.
True
Which is not a type of light water nuclear reactor?
fusion reactor
What are the two types of geothermal power plants?
steam geothermal hot-water geothermal
A 1 GWE coal plant will consume many more tons of fuel compared to a 1 GWE nuclear plant.
true
Extreme temperature events will occur more regularly with climate change. This means hotter maximum temperatures almost everywhere on Earth.
true
The ozone hole, or ozone depletion in the stratosphere, is the same problem as global warming.
False
The theory of the greenhouse effect dates to 1972.
False
The theory that climate change could be caused by increased concentrations of carbon dioxide was first proposed in 1984.
False
There are zero negative environmental impacts of solar energy.
False
There is enough tidal energy to supply 100% of the worlds energy needs.
False
There is not enough solar energy hitting the earth to meet the current energy demands of humans.
False
Wind energy could meed all of the US electrical demand and would be extremely reliable with today's technology and the current grid.
False
Indirect forms of solar energy include:
Flowing water Moving air Biomass
Active solar domestic hot water heating systems oftentimes will have a heat exchanger.
True
An evacuated-tube collector is an efficient active solar heating system.
True
An upset in Earth's energy balance is called climate forcing.
True
Land use changes don't generally affect the climate.
False
About 30% of solar energy that hits earth is reflected back into space.
True
Geothermal energy is pollution free.
False
Hydroelectric power could solve all of the worlds energy needs.
False
Large scale use of wind and solar will require no upgrades to transmission lines - long distance AC lines will work fine.
False
Like a house, a planet's energy-loss mechanism is conduction (rather than energy loss through radiation and/or convection).
False
Nuclear fusion electric power plants currently provide a significant amount of carbon-free electricity.
False
Nuclear power plants produce no solid waste.
False
Sea level rise due to climate change in the recent past has been mostly caused by melting continental glaciers.
False
Sustainable non-fossil fuel energy sources for transportation are readily available.
False
The consistent electric power generated by wind turbines is easily integrated into the grid.
False
The dominant greenhouse gas in the atmosphere is CO2.
False
The energy needs of a typical 300hp car could be met with solar panels on the roof of the car.
False
Passive solar heating systems generally have all but the following attributes?
A natural gas boiler for a hot water heating system.
Nuclear energy is which of the following:
A source of carbon-free power A potentially dangerous form of generating electricity Generates about 20% of US electricity One of the biggest sources of electricity in New Jersey
Hydrogen (H2) can be formed through electrolysis, thermal splitting or steam reforming. None of these involve the use of fossil fuels which means creation hydrogen has no environmental impact.
False
7% of world electricity is generated from hydropower, while 16% of electricty in the US is generated from hydropower
False
An example of an active solar heating system is photovoltaic solar panel.
False
Average deaths among miners and the general public are far higher with nuclear power compared to coal power.
False
Carbon capture and sequestration is a technology that is feasible with mobile sources of carbon emissions such as cars, trains, trucks and ships.
False
Carbon sequestration is technically viable if it ensures that 95% of carbon is retained for 500 years.
False
Climate change will increase the moisture content in the atmosphere and increase rainfall almost everywhere on Earth.
False
DC transmission has no advantages to AC transmission for very long distances.
False
Nuclear energy is one of only two sources of non-fossil energy that is proven to be able to make a significant contribution to world energy supply. What is the other source?
Hydroelectric
Which of the following are not advantages of alternating current (AC) as opposed to direct current (DC) for the electric power grid?
None of the above. All of the above answers are advantages of AC over DC
A climate systems response to forcing is characterized in terms of climate sensitivity.
True
Voltage is analogous to:
Pressure in a water system.
Which of the following is the largest source of background radiation for the average resident of the US?
Radon
A negawatt is a term used to describe energy we don't use.
True
What statement about the use of fuel cells and hydrogen vehicles is false?
They are highly polluting.
A better term for a geothermal heat pump is ground-sourced heat pump.
True
A carbon sink can continue to absorb and sequester carbon while carbon in a carbon reservoir cycles from one reservoir to another.
True
CO2 cycles rapidly back and forth between the atmosphere and other carbon reservoirs. A typical CO2 molecule spends about 5 years in the atmosphere. It is also true that the atmospheric lifetime of CO2 is around 1,000 years.
True
Carbon dioxide is the single greatest source of anthropogenic forcing.
True
Corn ethanol and sugarcane ethanol used as biofuels produce more volatile organic compounds than gasoline and petrodiesel.
True
Electricity and hydrogen (H2) are energy carriers.
True
Energy efficiency can be a win-win-win. Consumers, power companies, and the environment can actually save money and it can benefit everyone.
True
Hydroelectric plants are much more efficient than coal or natural gas power plants and can be over 90% efficient.
True
Infrared absorbing gasses in Earth's atmosphere such as water vapor and carbon dioxide are called greenhouse gasses.
True
Intermittency is a challenge with renewable energy.
True
Life on earth is dependent on the greenhouse effect because it keeps the planet warm, like an insulating blanket.
True
Methane, the principal component of natural gas, is the second largest contributor to anthropogenic forcing.
True
Negative feedback loops tend to reduce the magnitude of climate change.
True
Nitrous oxide and halocarbons such as chlorofluorocarbons are two other greenhouse gasses that contribute to anthropocentric forcing.
True
The atmospheres of the planets Venus, Earth and Mars vary greatly in the amount of greenhouse gasses they contain and thus help confirm what basic science explains about climate and greenhouse gasses.
True
The burning of fossil fuels including coal, oil, and natural gas contribute to over 75% of anthropogenic CO2 emissions.
True
The energy needs of a typical house (3.5kW) could be met with solar panels on the roof.
True
The fraction of sunlight that is reflected back into space is called albedo.
True
The greenhouse effect is a misnomer because greenhouse glass prevents convective heat loss while greenhouse gasses prevent heat loss through radiation.
True
The ice-albedo positive feedback loop explains why the arctic is warming much faster than other parts of the Earth.
True
The sun hits the earth with a power per unit area of 1,364 Watts per meter squared.
True
Tropical diseases could become more common in temperate regions with climate change.
True
Water vapor feedback is the most important positive feedback loop.
True
The main fuel used in nuclear reactors is:
Uranium
Which of the following is not an example of biomass:
Uranium
The three main grids in North America are called (select three below):
Western interconnection. Texas interconnection Eastern interconnection
Nuclear reactions in all operating utility-scale power plants are:
fission reactions
According to the author of our text book, there are four approaches we can take to address anthropogenic climate change. Which of the following is not one of the approaches he writes about?
mitigating carbon emissions by changes in land use that encourage sufficient carbon sequestration to offset carbon dioxide emissions
