quiz 11/28 envs Flashcards
(32 cards)
Nuclear power plant
reactor core in control rods in water produce steam which turns turbines which power generator which produce electricity
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
platform exploded, causing history’s largest accidental marine oil spill as of mid-2010
BP 67% liable
The negative effects of Hydraulic Fracturing(“Fracking”)
Landscape destruction*
Water depletion*
Groundwater contamination from drilling operations*
Surface and groundwater contamination from wastewater release (thefracking fluid that returns to the surface)*
Surface spill of chemicals*
Methane leaks and CO2 emission from flaring*
Seismic activity*
Intense traffic
natural gas
cleaner combustion than coal and oil
only emits 60% GHG
Global use of energy sources
fossil fuels 81%
Nuclear power 4.9%
Renewables 13.7%
factors that affect choice of energy source
geography
costs
safety
environmental impact
Global reliance on RES
9.5% Biofuels
2.5% Hydroelectric
1.6% Solar win geothermal
13.7% total RES
Dam
Transmission lines
Dam
Penstock
Generators
Turbines
impoundment dam/diversion dam
What are costs and benefits of hydroelectric
electricity production without direct emission of CO2 or other pollutants
can harm habitats or flood areas
Disadvantages of RES
SOLAR:
* Weather: needs sun
* Siting: impact on landscape and ecosystems
* Manufacture and disposal of panels
* Challenge is to integrate solar into the national power grid
* Energy storage technology needs development
BIOFUELS:
* Emissions (outdoors and indoors)
* Refining process
* Environmental impact of clearing of land for planting crops
* Intensive agriculture (GHG, pesticides, fertilizers, etc.)
* Competes with food crops (price increase and scarcity)
GEOTHERMAL:
* Accessibility: location dependent
* Some emissions (though much lower than gas
Summarizing some of the key outcomes of COP26
- 2021 Glasgow Climate Pact
- Glasgow Leaders Declaration on
Forests and Land Use - Zero Emission Vehicle Declaration
(aka Declaration on the Transition to
Electric Vehicles) - Global Methane Pledge
* The Global Methane Pledge includes 100+
countries, led by EU and US (includes Japan
and Canada) which are responsible for 50%
of global methane emissions
* 100+ committed to cut methane emissions
by 30% from 2020 levels by 2030
OIL states
- United
States - Saudi
Arabia - Russia
Natural
Gas states
:
1.United
States
2.Russia
3.Iran
4.China
5.Qatar
6.Canada
Cesare Marchetti says it takes a century
for a NEW energy source to becoming
the dominant source in the energy
market (and 50 years to take over just
10% of the market).
Why?
Because the following factors slow the
process down:
* New infrastructure needs to be
developed (e.g., pipelines for gas, a
network of charging stations for EV)
* You need to overcome the resistance
and competition of the older, already
existing energy sources
* Cultural adaptation and changes in
consumer preferences are slow
Nuclear-free countries:
- DK, IRE, POR, AU, ITA, BEL, CH, GER (by
2022?)
31 countries have nuclear power plants:
- France for @ 70% of its energy
- Japan (50%)
- United States (20%) with 99 NPP and 10
under construction.
Nuclear power facts
NP generates @ 10% of global
electricity (down from 17% in 1996)
* Average age of NPP is 29 years
* 53 new reactors under
construction in 2017
Global investment in new power
plants from 2000 to 2013:
* 57% in RES
* 40% fossil fuel
* 3% nuclear
Arguments used by environmentalists who
oppose increasing our reliance on nuclear
power:
- It is dangerous (risk of malfunctions, natural
disasters, theft/attacks) - Risk of nuclear proliferation (spread of
fissile material that could be used for
nuclear weapons) - Nuclear power plants are extremely
expensive to build - It is unnecessary because we can switch to
renewables (RES) - Politically unfeasible in light of the public’s
opposition to nuclear power - [what to do with the nuclear waste?]
Five key obligations to NPT
NNWS will not develop or purchase NW
NWS will not transfer NW to NNWS
Nuclear energy tech is accessible
IAEA access to everywhere
Negotiations for disarmament
States that did not sign and developed: India, pakistan, isreal
The FOUR principal Greenhouse Gases we
studied:
- Carbon dioxide CO2
- Methane CH4
- Nitrous Oxides N2O
- Fluorinated gases (e.g., CFC, HCFC, etc.)
Different impact of different GHG:
GHG differ in terms of their: (i) concentration
in the atmosphere, (ii) their persistence and
their (iii) GWP (global warming potential)
Climate Change
in a nutshell
- For more than a century, we have known
that high concentrations of CO2 (as well as
those of other greenhouse gases) allow the
air to trap more heat - CO2 concentration in the atmosphere has
increased steadily over the past decades as a
result of human industrial, agricultural and
other activities (see, e.g., the Keeling Curve) - Global average temperatures have increased
during the same period (see, below,
temperature measurements)
how climate change
Increase in scope and intensity of certain human
activities (energy consumption, industry,
agriculture, transportation, etc.)
These activities generate greenhouse gases
Greenhouse gas (GHG) concentration in the
atmosphere rises
GHG trap more heat in the atmosphere
Global average temperatures rise
Global warming contributes to climate change
Market based instruments to address climate change
Emission trading systems, ETS or
“cap and trade” systems
ii. Carbon taxes: impose taxes on the
emitters of GHG, based on the
amount of GHG they emit
