Mining Practice Test

Explain how the combustion of fossil fuels contributes to global warming When fossil fuel is used as energy it releases CO2 Increased CO2 in the atmosphere traps more heat in the lower atmosphere increasing the rate of global warming

Why are fossil fuels non renewable? They take thousands of years to be formed They are formed from the remains of ancient organisms (plants, animals, other living things) They will not be replenished in our lifetime

What makes a natural resource renewable? They can continually be replaced after they are used Examples: solar, wind, water, plant resources

What is the impact of land due to coal mining? Land disturbance (landscapes are destroyed, ripped about and sink) Unable to completely restore land to its prior state Lots of pollution due to chemicals, dust, CO2 in mining process

What is the impact of coal mining on water? Water is contaminated, and can become acidic

How can the impact on water due to coal mining be reduced? Treating stream beds with limestone to increase pH (make it less acidic) Filtering water used and reuse it in the mining process

What kind of fossil fuel is harvested in the fracking process? Natural Gas

How is water used in the fracking process? Water is mixed with other chemicals and forced down the pipes The mixture of water and chemicals keeps the cracks/fractures in the rock/shale open so that natural gas can escape and be collected.

How can the water that is used for fracking contaminate the water supply? Inadequate water management: treatment plans/plants are not equipped to efficiently “clean”/treat contaminated fracking fluid Surface spills: fracking fluid can spill over onto the surface and contaminate the ground water used by residents Methane migration: the natural gas in the rock and can leak out and enter the ground water used by residents

Which country uses the most oil? United States

Does the united states produce the most oil? No

Why does the United States use the most oil even though it produces the least? The United States is one of the most developed nations This means most of our population has access to energy for cars, homes, etc.

Which type of fuel was most in the US? Oil

What type of fuel is used the least in the US? Renewable Energy Solar 1% Wind 2%

Which country uses the most oil? US

Which country uses the least oil? Mexico, France and Brazil 2.1 barrels used per day

Which country produces the most oil? Saudi Arabia, Middle East

Which country produces the least amount of oil? Nigeria

Compare oil use in US and oil production in US We use more than we make We use 20 million barrels per day and we only make 8.84 million barrels per day

How much oil do we need (after making about 9 million barrels per day)? extra barrels are needed each day to provide for our energy needs

Where does the extra barrels come from? Other countries including Saudi Arabia, Russia and and Iran

How does the oil we affect the environment when it is burned for energy? It releases pollution, mainly in the form of CO2 gas emissions This adds excess CO2 into the atmosphere and this traps heat (increasing the global temperature)

What will need to happen if fossil fuels run out? We will need to use alternative forms of energy including: Renewables: solar, wind, water, geothermal