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Humans and the Environment
Test 4
30
Environmental Studies
Undergraduate 1
05/08/2011

Additional Environmental Studies Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
placer mining
Definition
miners sift through material in modern or ancient riverbed deposits. using running water to separate minerals of value.

washes large amounts of debris into streams making in uninhabitable for for fish and other life for miles downstream. erosion in riparian zone

Term
Mountain top mining
Definition

whole mountain top is blasted off while waste is dumped into valleys.

degrades or destroys immense areas of habitat and pollutants or clogs streams and rivers. erosion intensifies, causing more mudslides

Term
Undersea Mining
Definition

vacume up sand and gravel with hydraulic dredges

really hard to do so doesnt have much impact but would destroy benthic region

Term
Mine restoration
Definition
not very effective because of acid drainage and soil erosion are severe and long lasting and do not regain natural biotic communities.
Term

1872 Mining Law

Definition
encourages prospecting for minerals on federal land minerals extracted require no payment to the public
Term
process ore to get metals out
Definition

make steel by adding carbon to iron by smelting

most methods are water and engery intensive, emit air pollution soil and water can be polluted by the leftover ore which may have heavy metals and chemicals present

Term
Fossil fuels
Definition

highly combustible substances formed from the remains of or organisms from past geological ages

oil coal and natural gas

Term
fossil fuels are produced
Definition
only in anaerobic conditions with little or no oxygen environments such as bottoms of lakes swamps and shallow streams.
Term
coal:hard blackish substance from organic matter that teh was compressed under high pressure most fossil fuel from 300-400 million years ago when the world was mostly swamps
Definition

peat:organic material that is near the surface still and wet.

mined:strip mining and subsurface mining

provides:over half electricity for us and china

Term

Natural Gas

biogenic gas:created at shallow depths by bacteria

thermogennic:from compression and heat deep in the earth

Definition

cleaner then coal, mostly thermo is what we use, found along with oil and coal deposits.

gets harder over time, mostly used up easy fields now frackign is how its done

Term
crude oil: drill to extract it
Definition

40 more years

peak oil and then the decline

Term
oil sands or tar sands
Definition

has 1-20% oil

strip mined

Term
oil shale
Definition

sedimentary rock w kerogen strip mined and subsurface mined.

40% global reserves is in US

Term
methane hydrates
Definition
seafloor sediment icelike solids that has methane imbeded in water molecules
Term
impacts of fossil fuel use
Definition

pollute air and drive climate change

contaminate groundwater and alters environments

dependance on foreign oil

Term
Nuclear energy
Definition
energy that holds together protons and neutrons with the nucleus of and atom.
Term
nuclear fission
Definition

reaction that drives the realease of nuclear energy by splitting apart of atomic nuclei

was we harness nuclear energy and turn it into thermal energy which we use to produce electricity

Term
benifits
Definition

no greenhouse gases

less air pollution then fossil fuels

less ecosystem disturbance from mining

less accidnets from mining

Term
drawbacks
Definition

radioactive emissions and waste

meltdowns are catisrophic

Term
top producers of oil
Definition

Saudi Arabia

Russia

US

iran

China

Term
natural gas producers and consumers
Definition
Term
coal producers adn consumers
Definition
Term
nevada energy
Definition

powerplants:Valmy, Tracy and fort churchill produce 43% of NV energy

rest is imported

Term

Biomass energy

 

Definition

converting biomass to biomass energy

examples are wood from tree cow poop

Two liquid kinds

ethanal:for gas engines

Biodiesal:deisal engines

cofireing:add biomass to coal burnign plants

Term

hydroelectric power

 

Definition

use of kinetic energy of movign water to turn turbines and generate electricity

dams: resevoir water stored and turns turnbines

Term

Solar energy

Definition

passive: capture of sunlight to heat something

active:technological devices focus move or store solar energy

photovoltaic:electrons move from phosphorus side of silcon plate to boron side. creatign an electric current

good because it is renewable

bad because not everywhere is sunny and its expensive to startup

Term

Wind energy


Definition

wind turbines harness wind kenitic energy

pros:renewable no emissions local low cost

cons:wind varies, far from pops means power lines, ugly, blades chop up critters, high start up cost

Term
geothermal
Definition

readioactive decay of elements deep in earth core creates heat that rises toward the surface.

very localised.

Term

Ocean energy sources


Definition

kinetic engergy from motion of ocean water to generate electrical power.

thermal energy from warm ocean water

Term

Ocean energy sources


Definition

kinetic engergy from motion of ocean water to generate electrical power.

thermal energy from warm ocean water

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