University of Iowa Environmental Science Final

What energy is from renewables?

20% and 4/5 is from hydro

Nonrenewable

A fuel that takes so long to form that none can be made that would be useful for our civilization

Radioactivity

A transformation from an unstable nuclear configuration to a stable configuration along with the emission of ionizing radiation

Acid Leach

Acids leach metals from the rock This is toxic to many animals This is natural but accelerated by mining

Rock

An aggregation of minerals

Steel

An alloy of iron and carbon

Consumption

An average American consumed more than 17,200kg of new minerals and fuels every year A child born in 2015 will at current rates use 1.4 million kg during their lifetime

Chicago suburbs vs chicago

An average suburbs resident takes up 11 times more space than one from the actual city

Boiling water reactor

Boiling water produced by direct contract with the nuclear core generates stream that drives a turbine

Passive Solar energy

Buildings are designed to maximize absorption of sunlight in winter

Sanitary Landfills

Bury waste in the ground or pile it in large mounds engineered to prevent wast from contaminating the environment

Sustainable solutions in Iowa

Buying local Reducing waste building with less of an energy footprint

Uncontrolled fission chain reaction

Can become a runaway process of a positive feedback creating the explosive power of a nuclear bomb

Photovoltaic

Cells that convert sunlight directly into electrical energy

Counties and PV energy

China leads the world in productive and the US ranks fifth

Recyclemania

Competition that puts educational institutions again each other Compete in ways like saving water and energy use

Edmonton Canda

Composts half its waste stream along with dried sewage sludge in gigantic aeration building

Biomass

Consists of organic material derived from living or recently living organisms- and contains chemical energy that originated with sunlight and photosynthesis

Problems with sprawl

Contraints transportation options Increased pollution from use of vehicles Paved areas create run off that may contain salt or motor oil

Benefits of wind power

Cost favorable Creates jobs- 50,000 jobs created in 2013 Allows energy independence Funding source to land owners with no pollution No water consumption Renewable

Enhanced Geothermal systems

Deep holes drilled into dry rock and the rock is fractured

Bioenergy

Derived from biomass

Deep well injections

Drill deep beneath the water table in porous rock and wastes are injected into it

Tidal Energy

Energy harnessed from damns that cross the outlets of tidal basins

Mining

Extraction of ore from the earths crust for use in industry and manufacturing

Pressurized water reactor

Fluid in contact with the nuclear core is pressurized to prevent boiling- then boil a second body of water drives a turbine

Coal formation

Forms from peat that is created from bogs on land

Ground source heat pumps

Geothermal pumps that heat buildings in the winter by transferring heat from the ground to the building

Why are we investing in renewables

Growing concern over demising fossil fuel supplies Environmental and health impacts of fossil fuels Technology advances

Coal

Hard blackish substance formed when organic material compressed under very high pressure to form dense solid carbon structures

Hydroelectric Generation

Harnessing the flow of gravity driven water flow to turn the generating turbine producing electricity

Smelting

Heating ore beyond its melting point then combining it with other metals or chemicals

Fossil Fuels

Highly combustible substances formed from the remains of organisms from past geologic ages

Reasons for Sprawl

Human population growth Per capita land consumption

Recycling and Composting

Important parts to waste reduction and similar to natural cycling of matter in ecosystems Considered recovery because they remove waste

Sweden

In 1980, sweden decided to phase out nuclear power completely by 2010- due to chernobyl accident

Industrial solid waste

Includes waste from production of consumer goods, mining, agriculture, and petroleum extraction and refining

Sustainable solutions larger context

Increasing environmental protection, economic well being and social justice

Fission Chain Reaction

Inside nuclear reactions, a substance called a moderator will slow down neutrons emitted by a fission enough that they will impact other atoms

Industrial Ecology

Integrates principals from engineering, chemistry, ecology, and economics to maximize both physical and economic efficiency

Problems with Hydro power

Land use- 3 gorges dam displaced 1.2 million people Ecological impacts- disruption to migratory fish, riparian zones, and water quality

Oil Sands

Layer of sand and clay saturated with thick, tarry, petroleum called bitumen

Life Cycle analysis

Looks for w2ays to make any part of generating a process more efficient, including obtaining raw materials, manufacturing, its use, and disposal

Where are urban areas mostly situated?

Major river, sea coast, railroad, or highway

Where does oil come from?

Majority from canada

Alloy

Metal mixed, melted, or fused with another metal or non-metal substance

Natural Gas

Methane Organic matter turned into kerogen-source for natural gas and oil

Subsurface Mines

Mines that access deep pockets of a mineral through the shares and tunnels that follow deposits

Waste management components

Minimize waste generation Recovering discarded materials and recycle them Disposing of waste safety

Wave Energy

Motion of waves being harnessed and converted from mechanical energy into electricity

Kinetic Energy

Natural motion of ocean water can generate electrical power

Mining

Naturally occurring In organic Crystalline Solid Limited chemical composition

Municipal solid waste

Non liquid waste that comes from homes, institutions, and small businesses

Solar limits

Not all regions are sunny enough Solar power is an intermittent source They need storage and backup power Costly

Extraction

Not one method of fossil fuel extraction does not leave a mark on environment

Conventional Alternatives to Fossil Fuel

Nuclear power, hydropower, and biomass energy

Fission

Nuclei spontaneously splitting

Anaerobic Decomposition

Occurs with little to no air- in deep lakes or swamps

Nonrenwables and subsidies

Oil and gas have recieved 75 times more subsidies than new renewable energy

United States consumption

Only 4.4% of population but consumes 19% of energy

Quarries

Open pits for clay, gravel, sand, stone-limestone, granite, marble, slate

Tallings

Ore left over after metals have been extracted

Case Study

Oregon passed a law the required metropolitan areas to develop urban growth boundaries in 1972

Aerobic Decomposition

Organic material is broken down and recycled in the presence of air

Overburden

Overlying of soil and rock that is removed by heavy machinery

Quarries problems

Pits fill with water and become extremely acidic and is harmful to wildlife and pollutes water

10 strategies to generation sustainable solutions

Political activism Vote with wallets Pursue quality of life Limit pop growth Enhance self sufficiency Invest in green technologies Mimic natural systems Systemic solutions Think long term promote education and research

Where does oil come from

Preserved algae found in rocks formed in oceans

Ethanol

Produced by fermenting biomass-typically carb rich crops

Oil Sands CO2

Produces 14-20% more CO2 than conventional oil

Renewable

Readily replenished or continuously available for fuel source

Recycling

Reduces pollution from the mining of new resources and the manufacture of new goods

Interest of renewable energy alternatives

Reduction in air pollution Greenhouse gas reduction Diversification of energy mix

Fossil fuel consequences

Releases CO2 in the air CO2 is a greenhouse gas

Bioenergy benefits

Renewable and releases no net carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

Sprawl

Results in development from placing homes on spacious lots spread over large areas- far from urban centers

Surface impoundments

Shallow depressions lined with plastic and an impervious material that are used to store liquid hazardous waste

New renewables

Solar Wind Geothermal Ocean Tide and wave energy

Hazardous Waste

Solid or liquid waste that is toxic, chemically reactive, flammable, or corrosive

Acid Drainage

Sulfide minerals in exposed rock form sulfuric acid and flow into waterways

Concentrated solar power

Technologies that focus solar energy to heat a fluid

Net Energy

The difference between energy returned and energy invested

Seal

The impermeable rock that traps hydrocarbon, keeping it from bubbling to the surface

Boundary layer

The lowest part of atmosphere where behavior is directly influenced by its contact with a planetary surface

Reservoir

The rock that holds the hydrocarbon in pore space

Source

The rock where the organic matter is buried and preserved a spot of the lithosphere

Urbanization

The shift of population into towns and cities

How does phytoplankton turn into fossil fuels

Their tissues were concentrated as hydrocarbon and altered and compressed

Geothermal

Thermal energy from beneath earths surface

Corn into ethanol

This intensifies pesticide use, fertilizer use, freshwater depletion, energy use, and other impacts of industrialized agriculture

Why is Keystone XL needed

To streamline delivery To remove traffic from roads and rail lines To keep Chinese from gaining oil access

Waste

Unwanted material or substance that results from a human activity or process

Wind Power

Vertical and horizontal axis turbines

Wastewater

Water we use that we drain or flush

What happened after WW11?

We became a petroleum based economy

Where to location wind farms

Where boundary layer is thinnest

Incinerators

a controlled process in which garbage is burned at very high temperatures Emissions are main concern Can be used as energy

Ore

a naturally occurring solid metal from which metal or valuable minerals be profitably extracted Two minerals: Columbite and tantalize

Radioactive Impoundments

lined tombs in solid rock that are away from population centers, seismic activity, and ground water

Strip Mining

method of mining shallow horizontal deposits in which layers of soil and rock are removed to expose to resource

Source Reduction

minimizing the amount of waste we generate

Placer Mines

mining that uses running water to separate the lighter materials from the heavier minerals

Where does oil and gas come from

remains of microscopic photosynthetic organisms (phytoplankton)- formed 100-500 million years ago

Clean coal

technologies, equipment, and approaches to remove chemical contaminants while generating electricity from coal

Active Solar energy

uses technology to focus, move, or store solar energy