Centralia College ENVS100 Exam 3 Final Lisa Carlson

Acid deposition

-a problem in areas that lie downwind from coal-burning facilities and from urban areas with large numbers of cars -contributes to resperatory disease, damages buildings, metals, and car finishes -can leach toxic metals (lead and mercury) from soils into sources of drinking water and lakes -can harm crops when combined with oxone

What are ways to clean up acid deposition?

-add lime to neutralize acidified lakes -add phosphate fertilizer to neutralize acidified lakes -add lime to neutralize acidified soils

What are the advantages of using hydrogen as fuel for vehicles?

-can be produced from plentiful water at some sites -no co2 emissions if produces with use of renewables -good substitute for oil -high efficiency in fuel cells

What are the greenhouse gases?

-carbon dioxide: fossil fuel burning, land clearing/burning -methane: breakdown of organic material by anaerobic bacteria -nitrous oxide: biomass burning, automobile exhaust -ozone: car exhaust -Chlorofluorocarbons(cfcs): refrigerants, propellants etc -water vapor: naturally occurring

Categories of hazardous waste

-chemically reactive -poisonous -corrosive -flammable

What are the disadvantages of burning solid biomass as a fuel?

-contributes to deforestation -clear cutting can cause soil erosion, waste pollution, and loss of wildlife habitat -can open ecosystems to invasive species -increases CO2 emissions if harvested and burned unsustainably

What disadvantages could arise from large scale biofuel farming?

-decrease biodiversity -increase soil degradation and erosion -push small farmers off their land -raise food prices

What are the disadvantages of using liquid biofuels?

-fuel crops can compete with food crops for land and raise food prices -fuel crops can be invasive species -low net energy yield for corn ethanol and for biodiesel from soy beans -higher CO2 emissions from core ethanol

VOCs + NO_ + heat + sunlight =

-ground level oxone (O3) and other photochemical oxidants -aldehydes -other secondary pollutants

What are the disadvantages of geothermal energy?

-high cost except at concentrated and accessible sources -scarcity of suitable sites -noise and some CO2 emissions

What are the advantages of large scale hydropower?

-high net energy yield -large untapped potential -low cost electricity -low emissions of CO2 and other pollutants in temperate areas

What are the advantages of using wind power?

-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

What are the disadvantages of large scale hydropower?

-large land disturbance and displacement of people -high CH4 (methane) emissions from rapis biomass decay in shallow tropical reserves -disrupts downstream aquatic ecosystems

What are the advantages of passive/active solar heating?

-medium net energy yield -very low emissions of CO2 and other pollutants -very low land disturbance -moderate cost (passive)

What are the advantages of geothermal energy?

-medium net energy yield and high efficiency at accessible sites -lower CO2 emissions than fossil fuels -low cost at favorable sites

What are the disadvantages of passive/active solar heating?

-need access to sun 60% of time during daylight -sun can be blocked by trees or other structures -high installation and maintenance costs for active systems -need backup system for cloudy days

What are the disadvantage of using wind power?

-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 or located

What are the disadvantages of using hydrogen as fuel for vehicles?

-negative net energy yield -co2 emissions if produced from carbon containing compounds -high costs create need for subsidies -needs H2 storage and distribution system

Sulfur dioxide (SO2)

-produced when fossil fuels containing this are burned -burning coal is primary artificial source -volcanoes and hot springs are natural sources -A precurser to acid rain (a secondary pollutant)

What are ways to prevent acid deposition?

-reduce coal use and burn only low-sulfur coal -use natural gas and renewable energy resources in place of coal -remove SO2 and NO_ from smokestack gases and remove NO_ from motor vehicles exhaust -tax SO2 emissions

What are the advantages of using liquid biofuels?

-reduced CO2 emissions for some crops -medium net energy yield for biodiesel from oil palms -medium net energy yield for ethanol from sugarcane

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

-this and related chemicals break down ozone in the stratosphere -uses(mostly phased out) air conditioners, refrigerators, spray cans, cleaner for electronic parts etc

What is thermal inversion?

-warm air normally near surface, pollutants disperse as air rises and mixes -when cool air trapped under warm air, confined by mountains, pollutants do not disperse, intensify with time

What are the advantages of burning solid biomass as a fuel?

-widely available in some areas -moderate costs -medium net energy yield -no net CO2 increase if harvested, burned, and replanted sustainably -plantations can help restore degraded lands

Why isn't full cost pricing more widely used?

1. Many businesses would have to raise prices and would go out of business 2. Difficult to estimate environmental and health costs 3. Businesses have strong influence on government- preferential regulations, tax breaks, subsidies

Problems with recycling plastics?

1. hard to isolate from other wastes, difficult to identify types, sometimes contain stabilizers and chemicals 2. only small amounts of any given resin are used per product so does not yield much 3. the cost of virgin __ items is cheaper than recycled ones

What are the challenges of turning hydrogen into a fuel source?

1. hydrogen is chemically locked up in water and organic compounds such as methane and gasoline, so it takes energy to produce H2 fuel from these compounds 2. Fuel cells are the best was to use H2 to produce electricity, bu they are expensive. Hydrogen is not an energy resource like coal or oil, it is a fuel produced by using energy 3. Doesn't necessarily cause less pollution

Copenhagen Protocol 1992

177 countries signed this and the montreal protocol of 1987, agreeing to phase out HCFCs, a CFC substitute but still slight ozone depletion

Montreal Protocol 1987

36 nations met and decided to cut emissions of CFCs by 35% between 1989-2000

What is photochemical smog?

A mixture of primary and secondary pollutants formed under the influence of UV radiation from the sun

Ozone

A pollutant in the troposhpere (bad), but natural and beneficial in the stratosphere (good)

What is unconventional heavy oil?

A type of crude oil that does not flow as easily as light oil, has lower net energy yields, higher production costs, and higher environmental impacts

What is a passive solar heating system?

Absorbs and stores heat from the sun directly within a structure without the need for pumps or fans to distribute the heat

What is an active solar heating system?

Absorbs energy from the sun by pumping a heat absorbing fluid through special collectors usually mounted on the roof. Some of the heat can be used directly or some can be stored in an insulated container for later release

What are biomass fuels?

Biomass consists of 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. It is an indirect form of solar energy because the organic compounds are produced by photosynthesis

What is Lignite?

Brown coal with low heat content, low sulfur content, and limited supplies in most areas

What is industrial smog caused by?

Burning large amounts of coal, consists mostly of sulfur dioxide, suspended droplets of sulferic acid, ans a variety of suspended solid particles. (gray-air smog)

What are the indirect costs on conventional oil?

Environmental and health

Where does oil and gas come from?

Fossilized marine plankton

Where does coal come from?

Fossilized trees from 300 million year old forests

What is Anthracite?

Hard coal that is highly desirable fuel because of high heat content, low sulfur content, limited supplies in most areas

What is geothermal energy?

Heat stored in soil, underground rocks, and fluids in the earth's mantle that can be tapped using a geothermal heat pump system

What are N oxides?

Nitric Oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitrous oxide (N2O)

What are proven oil reserves?

Not fixed estimates of the amount of oil available to us with current technology and profitably.

Particulates

Primary air pollutant -minute pieces of solid materials dispersed in the atmosphere (<10 microns) -smoke, asbestos, dust, ash -can accumulate in the lungs and interfere with the lungs ability to exchange gases

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)

Primary air pollutant -off-gassing from vinyl, plastics, foam, paint fumes, etc. new car smell -hydrocarbons like methane (CH4 a greenhouse gas), benzene etc -evaporated fuel or remnants of fuel incompletely burned -catalytic converters used to burn exhaust gases more completely

Carbon dioxide (CO2)

Primary air pollutant -produced when organic materials are burned -primary sources are fossil fuels used for transportation, electricity, and industry, as well as agricultural practices -major greenhouse gas- 400ppm (.04%) -not (yet) regulated as a pollutant in the US

What are the direct costs of conventional oil?

Recovery, refining, and transporting

What are the main disadvantages of using coal?

Severe land disturbance and water pollution, fine particle and toxic mercury emissions threaten human health, emits large amount of CO2 and other air pollutants when produced/burned

What is Bituminous?

Soft coal extensively used as a fuel because of high heat content and large supplies, normally has high sulfur content

Types of direct/indirect solar energy?

Solar, flowing water, wind, biomass

What are S oxides?

Sulfer dioxide (SO2), sulfer trioxide (SO3)

What is municiple solid waste?

Trash or garbage 31% paper 13.2% yard trimmings 12.7% food scraps 12% plastics 8.4% metals, 6.6% wood, 7.9% rubber textiles leather, 4.9% glass, 3.3% other

What are VOCs? (like hydrocarbons)

Volatile Organic Compounds: methane (CH4), Isoprene (C3H6), benzene (C6H6)

What are C oxides?

carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2)

Primary pollution and waste prevention

first priority -change industrial process to eliminate use of harmful chemicals -use less of a harmful product -reduce packaging and materials in products -make products that last longer

Mercury is found where and causes what?

found in paint, batteries, old thermometers industrial processes, combustion of coal, dental fillings, contaminated historical mining sites causes damage to brain, kidneys, developing fetus, learning disabilities, death with high doses

Lead is found where and causes what?

found in paint, gasoline, popes, solder in food cans (no longer in US) causes neurological damage, slows brain developement, kidney disorders, violence, death, children especially vulnerable

Arsenic is found where and causes what?

found in treated wood, some lead compounds, some semi-conductors, contaminated groundwater ans soil causes impared organs, heart, and blood functions, damages nervous system

What is fracking?

hydraulic fracturing, where drillers mix water with chemicals and sand and inject the fluid into wells to release oil or natural gas, has serious groundwater contamination concerns

PCBs (Polycholorinated biphenyls)

industrial chemical (used in fire retartands, lubricants, insulation for electrical transformers, printing inks)

What is full cost pricing?

internal + external costs

waste management

last priority -treat waste to reduce toxicity -incinerate waste -bury waste in landfills -release waste into environment for dispersal or dilution

Carbon monoxide (CO)

primary air pollutant -produced when organic materials are incompletely burned -single larges source is cars -cigarette smoke, faulty gas furnaces indoor sources (most dangerous indoors) -not a persistent pollutant -binds to hemoglobin in the blood, makes it harder to carry oxygen

Nitrogen Oxides

primary pollutant -formed when combustion takes place in the air -automobile exhaust is primary source -all biomass combustion, nitrogen fertilizers -No, No2 are precursers to acid rain and photochemical smog (both secondary) and N2O is a greenhouse gas

secondary pollution and waste prevention

second priority -reuse -repair -recycle -compost -buy reusable and recyclable products

What are particulates?

soot (C), lead (Pb), sulferic acid (H2SO4), nitric acid (HNO3)