Chapter 14 - Environmental Sci
During peak usage, what happens to the cost of electricity?
It almost always increases.
Currently, which of the following primary energy sources accounts for the least global consumption?
Nuclear
Which of the following are current environmental impacts related to the widespread generation and use of electricity in modern societies?
PCBs from transformers and cadmium from batteries are significant sources of water and soil pollution
What color smoke coming from a coal-fired power plant would indicate wasted fuel?
black
Many pollutants from coal-fired power plants are properly managed today. Which of the following is currently considered to be the biggest threat to the environment?
carbon dioxide
In the United States, the energy end use sector that uses the greatest amount of coal is ________.
electricity
Most oil in the world is used to ________.
fuel cars and trucks
Most coal in the world is used to ________.
generate electricity
Where is electricity made at a coal-fired power plant?
generator
Which one of the following represents the use of a nonrenewable primary energy source?
heating a cabin in the winter using coal
Natural gas is increasingly transported ________.
in liquid form between continents
Natural gas is increasingly transported __________.
in liquid form between continents
Which of the following factors would not lead to an increase in the rate of oil production?
lower oil prices
In general, the 50 richest countries in the world today consume ________.
most of the primary energy in the form of fossil fuels
The citizens of a small city need to replace their coal-fired power plant. To limit their contributions to global warming, they decide to build a new power plant using the latest technologies and an abundant fossil fuel that contributes the least to global warming. Their new plant will therefore use __________ for fuel.
natural gas
The use of natural gas to generate electricity is increasing because __________.
natural gas is more efficient than coal and releases fewer pollutants.
Interest in nuclear power plants is increasing because ________.
of increasing costs of other forms of alternative energy and concerns about global warming
Most electricity is generated by using ________.
primary energy sources to heat water and produce pressurized steam, which turns the turbines of an electric generator
A rancher in Texas drills for water on her property and in the process, hits oil which squirts strongly from the ground. Within days a system is installed to capture the oil as it shoots up from the ground. This system of collecting oil represents ________.
primary oil recovery
A rancher in Texas drills for water on her property and in the process, hits oil, which squirts strongly from the ground. Within days a system is installed to capture the oil as it shoots up from the ground. This system of collecting oil represents __________.
primary oil recovery
The problem of the disposal of high-level radioactive wastes from nuclear power plants could be addressed in part by fuel recycling. Why isn't fuel recycling of nuclear waste a widespread practice where nuclear power is used? Fuel recycling ________.
produces plutonium, which can be made into nuclear bombs
All fossil fuels, including coal, are considered an indirect form of ____________ energy.
solar
The discovery of new oil reserves is likely to decline for the next 40 years.
supported
The greatest proven oil reserves in the world are found in?
the Middle East
Which of the following is of least concern in the continued reliance upon coal to generate electricity in the world?
the continued availability of coal
If there are 1.2 trillion barrels of oil reserves known in the world, and we are consuming 30 billion barrels a year, we could estimate that we have about 40 years worth of oil still in the ground. This calculation represents ________.
the reserves to production ratio
Which of the following is an environmental impact directly associated with using coal-fired plants to generate electricity?
twice the amount of greenhouse gas emissions than for using natural gas
Which of the following is an advantage to using wind powered electrical generators? Wind powered electrical generators ________.
use a renewable energy resource
Electric current is measured in ______.
amperes and electrical potential are measured in volts
