Chapter 19 REVIEW: Fossil Fuels, Their Impacts, and Energy Conservation

Fossi fuels

-are formed very slowly as buried organic matter is chemically transformed by heat , pressure, or anaerobic decomposition.

Shale oil and Methane hydrate

-are fossil fuel sources with potential for future use.

Natural gas

-consist mostly of methane and can be formed in two ways.

Evaluate political, social, and economic aspects of fossil fuel use?

-fossil fuel impose external costs. -fossil fuel extraction creates jobs but leaves pollution. People living in areas of fossil fuel extraction experience a range of consequences. -todays societies are so reliant on fossil fuel energy that sudden restrictions in oil supplies can have major economic consequences. -nations that consume far more fossil fuels than they produce are especially vulnerable to supply restrictions.

R/P ratios

-help indicate how long a resource may last, but they only tell apart of the story.

Oil sands

-contain bitten, a tarry substance formed form oil that was degraded by bacteria. This can be processed into synthetic crude oil.

Hydraulic fracking

-is producing natural gas from shale deposits.

Describe the origin and nature of major types of fossil fuels?

-are formed very slowly as buried organic matter is chemically transformed by heat , pressure, or anaerobic decomposition. -our most abundant fossil fuel, results from organic matter that undergoes high tempter and pressure. -is a thick, liquid mixture of hydrocarbons that is underground high temperature and pressure. -consist mostly of methane and can be formed in two ways. -contain bitten, a tarry substance formed form oil that was degraded by bacteria. This can be processed into synthetic crude oil. -are fossil fuel sources with potential for future use.

Outline and assess environmental impacts of fossil fuel use, and explore solutions?

-emissions form fossil fuel combustion pollute air, pose human health risks, and drive global climate change. -public policy an advances in pollution control technologies have reduced many of these emissions, but much more remains to be done. -clean coal technologies aim to reduce pollution form coal and combustion. -if we could safely and effectively capture carbon dioxide and sequester it underground, this would mitigate a primary drawback of fossil fuels. -oil is a major contributor of water pollution. -hydrofracking poses pollution concerns. -oil sands mining and transport cause deforestation, water pollution and the impacts. -coal mining can devote ecosystems and polite water ways. -oil and gas extraction exert various impacts, but directional drilling has erased them.

Specify strategies for conserving energy and enhancing efficiency?

-energy conservation involves personal choices and efficient technologies. -efficiency in power plant combustion, lightning, and consumer appliances, as well as changes in public policy can help us conserve. -automative fuel efficiency plays a key role in conserving energy. -the rebound effect can partly negate our conservation efforts. -conservation lengthens out access to fossil fuels and reduces environmental impact, but to build a sustainable society we will also need to shift to renewable energy sources.

Evaluate peak oil and the challenges it may impose?

-help indicate how long a resource may last, but they only tell apart of the story. -any nonrenewable resource can be depleted, and we have depleted nearly half the worlds conventional oil. -once we pass the peak of oil production, the gap between rising demand and falling supply may impose immense economic and social challenges for our society.

Crude oil

-is a thick, liquid mixture of hydrocarbons that is underground high temperature and pressure.

Identify the energy sources we use?

-many renewable and nonrenewable energy sources are available to us. -since the industrial revolution, nonrenewable fossil fuels including coal, natural gas and oil have become out primary sources of energy. -energy sources and energy consumption are each unevenly distributed across the world. -the concepts of net energy and EROI allow us to compare the amount of energy obtained from a source within the amount invested in its extraction and production. -we face a choice whether to pursue new low-quality fossil fuel source such as oil sands or whether to develop alternative sources of clean renewable energy.

Primary extraction

-may be followed by secondary extraction in which gas or liquid is injected into the group to help one up additional oil or gas.

Examine how we are reaching further for fossil fuels?

-may be followed by secondary extraction in which gas or liquid is injected into the group to help one up additional oil or gas. -is producing natural gas from shale deposits. -we are drilling for oil and gas further offshore, in deeper water, and are moving into the arctic. -new types of fossil fuels we may exploit include oil sands, shade oil, and methane hydrate.

Coal

-our most abundant fossil fuel, results from organic matter that undergoes high tempter and pressure.

Explain how we extract and use fossil fuels?

-scientists locate fossil fuel deposits by analyzing subterranean geology. We then estimate the technically and economically recoverable portions of those reserves. -coal is mined underground and strip-mined from the land surface, whereas we drill wells to pump out oil and gas. Oil sands may be striped-mined or dissolved underground and extracted through well shafts. -components of crude oil are separated in refineries to produce a wide variety of fuel types. -coal is used today principally to generate electricity. -natural gas is cleaner-burning than coal or oil. -oil powers transportation and also is used to create a diversity of petroleum-based products that are everywhere in our daily lives.