carbon cycle and energy security enq 3 Flashcards
define mitigation in terms of carbon
attempting to stop or reduce greenhouse gas emissions requiring action to be taken now or very soon
define adaptation in terms of carbon
attempting to live with the issues associated with the impacts on the carbon cycle. This is a long term strategy and it assumes that impacts will be gradual and therefore there will be time to adapt
three examples of mitigation
stop using fossil fuels and use nuclear
carbon capture and storage
energy efficient infrastructure e.g. light bulbs
carbon taxation
Paris 2015 agreement
three examples of adaption
migration
seawalls
land use planning
change of planting of crops
what are the 5 forms of radical energy
hydrogen fuel cells
electric vehicles
ccs
nuclear fusion
nano technology
explain hydrogen fuel cells and pros and cons
- could replace gas and petrol if harnessed
- its only by product is water
- much more efficient than petrol and diesel
however
- process requires large amounts of energy
- an energy carrier not a primary source - can be dangerous/ explosive
example of hydrogen fuel cells
Toyota released a model with a range of 270 miles which started selling in 2015
explain electric vehicles pros and cons
- shorter distance
- infrastructure is needed to develop charging points
- uses Rare Earth Essentials - lithium batteries
- releases fossil fuels in construction
example of electric vehicles
Tesla 300,000 orders of electric vehicles
explain CCS
- capturing and burying co2 to avoid it entering atmosphere
- needs to be liquefied and transported once caught and buried in geological formations or deep underground saline aquifers
three examples of CCS
- orca project Iceland - Direct Air Capture
- 1996 schliepner project storing carbon 3 metres below sea level in north sea
- small scale northern Germany - 12MW plant
IPCC comment on ccs NEGATIVE
- it could extend the usage of fossil fuels as people will think they can limitlessly store it
- concerned with leakage into water sources and the impact this could have on human health
nucelar fusion pros and cons
- clean no GHGs or radioactivity
- long way from reality
- china and Germany committed huge amount of money to research
example and explanation of a micro hep scheme
churchbeck coniston provides 300kw energy for 120 homes
1/26 micro hep schemes in lakes
these schemes can work anywhere where there is a head of water
IMPORTANT what 8 ways can energy pathways be disrupted PPPPTTND
- natural disasters
- price and payment disputes
- piracy
- terrorism/ conflict closing choke points
- political discord between supplier and consumer
- diversion of supply
- technical interruption to production
- producer supply runs out
what three unstable countries are close to some energy chokepoints
iran
yemen
somalia
why are chokepoints important
they are narrow channels along widely used global sea routes and are a critical part of global energy security due to high volumes of oil traded through the straits
what percentage of gas reserves does Russia and Middle East hold
russia - 25%
Middle East - 40%
what are the four main energy chokepoints
- strait of hormuz
- strait of Malacca
- Suez Canal, SUMED pipeline
- bab el mandeb
straits of hormuz
20 million barrels per day
narrowest point 21 miles wide
us navy patrols area of strategic importance
iran has threatened to disrupt oil traffic through the strait
strait of Malacca
16 million barrels per day
links the Indian and pacific oceans main route for oil from Middle East to reach Asian markets
1.7 miles wide - natural bottleneck with potential for collisions and oil spills
Suez Canal and sumed pipeline
9% worlds daily seaborne oil
main route from Middle East to Europe
was blocked for almost a week in 2021 due to grounded ship = global energy impacts
bab el mandeb
links meditarrean and Indian Ocean
most oil that must pass through sumed/ Suez Canal must past through here first = multiple;e obstacles
close proximity to unstable state of Yemen
why are these 4 chokepoints so signficant
as an outrage at any of the se locations has the potential to force steep oil price increase with the effects magnified by the size and duration of the energy outage