evs 201 final

water footprint

rough measure of the volume of freshwater that you use directly or indirectly

virtual water use

freshwater that is not directly consumed but is used to produce food and other products

reservoir cons

leak water

lose water to evaporation

fill with silt

lose ability to store water and produce electricity

reservoir pros

provides irrigation water

provides water for drinking

produces cheap electricity

reduce downstream flooding

desalination

process of removing dissolved salts from ocean water

distillation

involves heating saltwater until it evaporates and condensing as freshwater

reverse osmosis

use high pressure to force saltwater through a membrane filter with pores small enough to remove salt

net energy ratio

net energy is the amount of high quality energy available from a given quantity of an energy resource minus the high-quality energy needed to make the energy available

focus on minimizing energy inputs while maximizing energy outputs

conventional oil

formed from decayed remains of organisms that were subjected to pressure and heat

medium energy

high environmental impact

conventional natural gas

50-90% methane

medium net energy

29% of U.S. energy

conventional coal

remnants of land plants that were buried and exposed to intense heat and pressure

37% of world’s electricity

dirtiest fossil fuel

largest emitter of CO2

fracking

used to free the oil and natural gas trapped in the shale rock

fugitive source of methane

unintentional release of methane gas from industrial and agricultural activities

methane

warms atmosphere 34 times more than a molecule of CO2

more effective at absorbing heat than CO2

anthropogenic methane

fossil fuel burning, fugitive emissions from fracking, animal waste

stratosphere

absorbs UV heated from the top, cooled

trophosphere

absorbs long wave radiation (heat) heated from the bottom, warmed

unnecessary energy waste

43%, wasted due to inefficiency

unavoidable energy waste

41%, wasted due to the degradation of energy imposed by the second law of thermodynamics

energy conservation

reducing or eliminating the unnecessary waste of energy

cogeneration

produce two useful forms of energy from the same fuel source

energy used in transportation

inefficient motors account for 60% of electricity used in U.S. industry

corporate average fuel economy

standards to improve the average fuel economy of new cars, etc.

feebate

environmental policy tool that combines a fee on high emitting products with a rebate for low-emitting products

solutions to make buildings more energy efficient

green roofs, thermal imaging camera, super insulation

LEED

developed standards for certifying that a building meets certain energy efficiency and environmental standards

passive solar energy

a system designed to collect, store, and distribute heat from the sun within an airtight structure

active solar system

captures energy from the sun by pumping a heat absorbing fluid such as water or an antifreeze solution through special collectors

hydropower

technology that uses the kinetic energy of flowing and falling water to produce electricity, produces about 17% of world’s electricity

wind power

the kinetic energy of wind can be captured and converted to electrical energy by wind turbines, produces about 4.4% of world’s electricity

geothermal energy

heat stored in soil, underground rocks, and fluids in the earth’s mantle

heat pump is the most energy efficient and cost effective way to heat and cool a space

biomass energy

energy can be produced by burning biomass, organic matter, 10% of world’s energy

biofuels

ethanol and biodiesel, U.S. Brazil and EU