Term
| Price-Anderson Act of 1957 |
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Definition
| limits liabilities to companies that use nuclear power |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
| How many power plants are there in the US and how much of our electricity do they provide? |
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Definition
| 103 plants, 20% of electricity |
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Term
| How much energy (worldwide) is nonrenewable? |
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Definition
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Term
| List the oil recovery types. |
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Definition
| Primary (lighter oil flows into bottom of well, pull it out) Secondary (heavier oil left behind in rock can be forced out by pressure) Tertiary (superheated steam seperates oil from rock, can get another 10-25% of oil this way) |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
| What is Huberts Bell Curve? |
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Definition
| Shows the peak of oil, 2010 is peak |
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Term
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Definition
| Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, 19 million acres on Alaska's northern coastline, established in 1960, musk oxen, polar bears, Porcupine Caribou Herd hunted by Native Americans |
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Term
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Definition
| Change to fossil fuels happened faster than any other change in energy, 3 of 7 largest companies in world are energy companies |
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Term
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Definition
| 50-90% methane, 200-325 year supply, easily transported, lowest CO2 emissions of any fossil fuel |
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Term
| Two types of natural gas. |
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Definition
| Conventional (above resivores of crude oil) Unconventional (found elsewhere) |
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Term
| What are the disadvantages of natural gas? |
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Definition
| still puts out CO2, highly explosive, sometimes not profitable to capture |
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Term
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Definition
| Formed 250 million years ago when swamps covered large areas of the US from buried plant remains subjected to intense heat and pressure |
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Term
| What are the two types of coal? |
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Definition
| Anthracite (rare, high energy yield, low sulfur content) Bituminous (more available, higher sulfur) |
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Term
| How is coal found and used? |
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Definition
| It is primarily strip-mined, can tunnel below ground, used mostly for generating electricity (62% of worlds electricity) There is enough for about 1000 years. |
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Term
| What are the disadvantages of coal? |
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Definition
| Highest environmental impact: land disturbance, air pollution, CO2 emissions, water pollution |
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Term
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Definition
| Radioactivity - unstable isotopes which emit particles until they are stable again |
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Term
| What are the three types of radioactivity? |
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Definition
| Natural Radioactive Decay (carbon 14, safe when 10 half lives have passed), Fission Radiation, Fusion Radiation |
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Term
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Definition
| The time it takes for 1/2 of nuclei in a radioactive isotope to decay and emit radiation |
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Term
| What are alpha particles? |
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Definition
| fast moving positively charged chunks of matter that lack penetrating power, problems from ingestion, skin cancer |
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Term
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Definition
| high speed electrons, can penetrate anything but a thick concrete wall or lead, can cause damage to internal organs, tissue damage, genetic changes |
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Term
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Definition
| take isotopes with a large mass number, hit it with a neutron, splits off more neutrons, chan reaction - heat is byproduct |
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Term
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Definition
| source of energy in sun and stars, hydrogen bombs, taking light elements and forcing them together with extreme high temp |
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Term
| What are the parts of a nuclear power plant? |
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Definition
| Fission Reactors, Core, Control Rods (absorb neutrons), Moderator (water), Coolant |
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Term
| What took place at Three Mile Island? |
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Definition
| March 22, 1979, Harrisburg PA, valve malfunction, 30 min away from total disaster, took 1.2 billion to clean up (twice the cost of building the plant originally) NRC inspected plant & considered it safe, last plant built in US |
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Term
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Definition
| 1986, Soviet Union, #4 Reactor torn apart by steam explosion, blamed on human error & poor design, 62,000 sq miles contaminated, thyroid cancer rates 100 times higher, total cost - 358 billion |
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Term
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Definition
| considered low risk of leakage, perhaps less damaging than coal plants, 1987 Congress stated NRC employees destroyed documents, looked over safety concerns, provided notice before safety checks |
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Term
| Shippingport Plant (Beaver Plant) |
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Definition
| First commercial plant ever licensed in US, safest plant in US, community supports |
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Term
| What are the types of Nuclear Waste? |
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Definition
| High Level (comes from spend fuel rodds in nuclear reactors) Transuranic (mid-level, contaminated tools, clothing, oils, solvents, stored underground in desert of NM) Low Level (waste from hospitals, research institutions, universities) |
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Term
| How much nuclear waste is there and where is much of it stored? |
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Definition
| 32,000 obselete nuclear warheads, most kept on-site, decommissioning plants makes even more waste |
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Term
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Definition
| Former policy with Soviet Union, mutually assured destruction, nuclear war |
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Term
| Suggestions for ridding of nuclear waste. |
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Definition
| shoot it into the sun, bury it under antarctic ice sheet, put it in subduction zones, decided to bury it deep underground |
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Term
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Definition
| 40 yrs was a US key research area for deveolping nuclear weapons, contaminated groundwater, oozed wated, contractor fined, closed in 1989, took 5000 workers to decommission at a cost of $2 mil a day, by 2006 will look like a grassy field but soil will still have plutonium |
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Term
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Definition
| near Columbia river, holds greatest volume of high level radioactive material in the country, whistle blowers said leaks had reached groundwater travelling toward Columbia river, govt admitted it was true, 66 known leaks, total cleanup $50 billion |
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Term
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Definition
| Nevada, work began in 1985 (43 bil cost), open 2010, store underground 1200 feet |
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Term
| Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1992 |
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Definition
| Deep Geologic Disposal, Yucca Mountain made the official site |
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Term
| The Governments Argument for Yucca Mountain |
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Definition
| energy security, national security, if we can rid of nuclear emissions, others will follow, protecting the environment, long-term design |
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Term
| The opposition to Yucca Mountain (Nevada Residents) |
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Definition
| Downwinders, 36 active earthquake faults, area only gets 6 in of rain a year worried about rain getting to waste |
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Term
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Definition
| nickel based metal, govt made, claim will last 12,000 years, claim by the time the containers erode the radiation will be safe |
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Term
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Definition
| town downstream of Yucca Mountain |
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Term
| Positives of nuclear energy? |
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Definition
| large fuel supply, less environmental impact (without accidents), low CO2 emisiions, multiple safety systems make normal operations safe |
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Term
| Negatives of nuclear energy? |
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Definition
| hugely expensive, low net energy yield, possible catastrophic accidents, questionable storage options, technology spreads knowledge for building nuclear weapons |
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Term
| Factors for future energy sources |
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Definition
| source's net energy yield, availability in short and long term, cost to develop and phase in, impacts on human health and the environment |
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Term
| What is the Hard Energy Path? |
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Definition
| assumes increasing energy use is inevitable, relies on putting more natural systems at risk |
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Term
| What is the Soft Energy Path? |
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Definition
| energy is a tool, not an end in itself, assumes a sustainable future is possible, calls for an end to damaging coal and nuclear power |
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Term
| Name the steps to a soft path. |
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Definition
| Correct institutional barriers, Remove subsidies for fossil fuels, Make energy prices reflect long-term costs |
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Term
| What's ahead in 100 years? |
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Definition
| likely to be decentralized, could change global balance of power and innovation, less global conflict? |
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Term
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Definition
| 84% of commercial energy in US is wasted (44% because of entropy), Europeans use 1/2 energy we do, Nuclear power 14% eff. , Passive solar 90% eff |
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Term
| What are the three least efficient energy uses? |
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Definition
| Incandescent light bulbs, internal combustion engines, heating useing electricity from nuclear plants |
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Term
| Name the ways to improve existing home efficiency. |
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Definition
Insulation
Elimination of air leaks
Replace old windows
Replace incandescent light bulbs
Replace inefficient appliances
Unplug unused appliances |
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Term
| Name some new energy construction opportunities. |
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Definition
| Superinsulation, Passive solar, Heat Pumps |
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Term
| Oberlin College Center for Environmental Studies |
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Definition
| uses 5 times less energy, passive solar heating, vines grow over south windows, use geothermal heat pumps, all made of recycled materials, wetlands to filter grey water |
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Term
| Zion National Park Visitor Center |
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Definition
| no A.C, designed cooltower, photovoltaic cells on roof, produce more electricity than they use, alternative transportation (propane powered busses), 70% red. in energy use |
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Term
| What is Active Solar Power? |
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Definition
| In use for electricity, etc. most produces direct current, very efficient for heating water |
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Term
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Definition
| impacts developing countries off of the power grid, solar stove can replace 150 tons of wood, new technology - non-imaging solar optical concentrator can magnify suns energy by 80,000 times |
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Term
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Definition
| first used in Persia, well known in Hollans, fastest renewable energy source, cost has dropped to about equal to fossil fuels, great plains have been called the Saudi Arabia of wind |
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Term
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Definition
| high efficiency, no CO2, easy construction, low environmental impact, can run 24 hrs |
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Term
| Disadvantages of Wind Power |
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Definition
| take space, ugly, noise, bird strikes |
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Term
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Definition
| more than 150 wind mills, 53,000 homes electricity, want to produce 10% of PA's power |
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Term
| What are tides caused by? |
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Definition
| caused by alternating gravitational pull from the moon and the sun |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| the difference between low and high tide |
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Term
| Methods of capturing energy from Tidal Currents |
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Definition
Ebb generating system
Tidal Fence
Tidal Turbine |
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Term
| How many tidal locations exist and what tidal range must they have? |
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Definition
| 2 exist in the world, must have a 16ft tidal range |
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Term
| What are the pros of tidal currents? |
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Definition
| no acid rain, no pollution, no fossil fuels |
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Term
| What are the cons of tidal currents? |
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Definition
| can kill fish and marine mammals, less food for migratory birds, power prediction - 10 hrs a day, high cost |
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Term
| What country leads the world in geothermal? |
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Definition
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Term
| Roosevely Hot Springs, Utah |
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Definition
| uses geothermal, get superheated water which is used to drive turbines, powers 20,000 homes |
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Term
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Definition
| produces 100,000 houses of geothermal energy |
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Term
| Name some types of green transportation. |
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Definition
| Electric cars didn't work, Electric Hybrid Cars (toyota prius, honda insight) "Green & Mean" (SUVs, make fast cars that a e hybrids) |
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Term
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Definition
| additional costs, used vehicle value |
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Term
| What are the advantages of hydrogen fuel cell cars? |
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Definition
| practically 0 emissions, between 60-90% efficient |
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Term
| What are the challenges of hydrogen fuel cell cars? |
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Definition
| switching our entire infrastructure to hydrogen, producing it w/o using fossil fuels |
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Term
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Definition
| hydrogen filling stations every 20 mi by 2010, currently over 1 doz in CA, 40 in a month or two |
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Term
| Iceland Converting to Hydrogen |
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Definition
| goal by 2030 is to totally switch to H |
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Term
| Name ways to produce hydrogen |
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Definition
| Reforming natural gas, cau use coal, methanol, gasoline, electrolysis and photoelectrolysis of water (converts molecules to H2 + 02), Biological production (algae and bacteria), Sugar |
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Term
| Where was the hydrogen fuel cell first used? |
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Definition
| 1960s used in space program, Apollo and Gemini |
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Term
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Definition
| Hindenburg - 36 dead, skin of blimp caused fire, not the hydrogen |
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Term
| Name some facts on "Peer to peer" energy sharing |
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Definition
| distributed generation, creation of hydrogen energy webs, cars become power stations on wheels |
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Term
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Definition
| energy empowerment and democratic energy, requires non-profits and cooperatives to get involved, new role for energy companies |
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Term
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Definition
| centralized power grid vulnerable, electronic pearl harbor, decentralization offers security |
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Term
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Definition
| European Union commits $2 bil to establishing hydrogen economy, goal is to have 20% of electricity from renewable sources by 2010, compared to our space program of the 60s and 70s, next superpower? |
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Term
| Government support for hydrogen |
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Definition
| Bush hydrogen fuel initiative (1.2 bil), freedom car partnership (agreement b/t govt and car makers) |
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Term
| State support of hydrogen cars |
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Definition
| Ohio now supporting fuel cell use, Michigan opens NextEnergyZone, a hydrogen research campus, 700 acres |
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Term
| The near future of hydrogen in homes |
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Definition
| monitoring home appliances, "smart" energy system, too much "big brother" loss of privacy? |
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Term
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Definition
| Enclosure movements (land, oceans, atmosphere) |
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Term
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Definition
| 65% of human pop. has never made a phone call, 1/3 of humans are off energy grid, energy means job creations, energy frees humans from survival tasks |
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Term
| Challenges ahead for hydrogen energy |
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Definition
| developing energy in countries with no infrastructure, stationary fuel cells for every neighborhood, small HEWs, developed nations must be supportive |
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Term
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Definition
| 1991, self-sustaining system, wanted to understand ecosystems better, included tropical rainforest, lakes, desert, streams, wetlands, over 4000 species, crew of 8 were to live there for 2 years, completely failed |
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Term
| What are the children of the web? |
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Definition
| first generation to grow up with video games, computers, freedom perceived as the ability to join multiple relationships |
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Term
| What is the Gaia hypothesis? |
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Definition
| proposed in 1969 by James Lovelock, Earth is a self-regulating organism, all living organisms on the planet & chemical comp are in symbiotic relationship, 4% increase in O2 and planet would be in flames |
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Term
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Definition
| founded on interrelatedness of all systems of life on earth and ecocentric attitudes not anthropocentric |
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