Quiz 8: Mining & Fossil Fuel Sources Flashcards
__________________ consists of digging tunnels or shafts into the Earth to reach buried ore deposits
subsurface mining
_______________ involves removing the dirt and rock that overlays a mineral deposit close to the surface in order to access that deposit
Surface strip mining
What is the root cause of acid mine drainage?
the exposure of sulfide-bearing minerals to air and water
Coal is a solid fossil fuel formed when plant material is buried in _______________ conditions and subjected to _________________ over a long time
oxygen-poor; high heat and pressure
What form of coal has the highest energy content?
anthracite
How does the use of coal cause acid precipitation?
The burning of coal emits gases like sulfur dioxide, which can combine with water to form acids.
Peat, the precursor to coal formation, is typically formed in areas ____________.
with low rates of decomposition
In Ireland, peat is often burned as a source of fuel. Peat is known to turn into which of the following fossil fuels?
coal
Environmentalists are especially concerned about the amount of carbon dioxide released from burning coal because it
is a significant greenhouse gas
environmental drawbacks to the mining of coal
- the burial and damage to streams caused by the dumping of overburden
- soil compaction causing increased storm water runoff and flooding
- the damage to forests caused by mountain top removal
-water and soil contamination by acid drainage and leachates
what is the hardest form of coal
anthracite
Petrochemicals create the raw materials used to produce what
-soaps
-plastics
-medicines
-pesticides
Which of the following statements about oil sands is not true?
-Oil sands can be mined and processed to produce a substitute for petroleum.
-Oil sands in Canada trap a large reservoir of bitumen.
-Oil sands mining is more efficient than harvesting conventional sources of oil.
-Oil sands trap heavy, black oil called bitumen.
Oil sands mining is more efficient than harvesting conventional sources of oil
give an example of something that is NOT a product of crude oil
natural gas
Natural gas is seen as a bridge fuel to transition from oil to more sustainable options because it
has a lower carbon footprint than other fossil fuels.
Natural gas is composed mainly of
methane
Reliance on the continued use of fossil fuels is not sustainable because fossil fuels are
not renewable and contribute to environmental destruction and climate change
In deciding whether to extract oil from a site and how much of the total to extract, an oil company considers
the distance the oil must be transported, current market price of oil, potential environmental damage
what environmental costs are directly related to oil and natural gas mining?
-oil pollution
-destruction due to explosions
-climate change
-habitat loss
The Energy Return on Energy Investment (EROEI) must be ____________ for any fuel to be worth harvesting.
positive
natural gas is often associated with
coal and petroleum
The greatest environmental impact of burning fossil fuels is
the increase in greenhouse gases
The entire pool of oil is not extracted from a well because
it is not cost‑effective
What is the definition of “unconventional oil reserves”?
They are recoverable oil deposits that are found in rock, sand, or clay where extraction is expensive and environmentally costly.
