*Umich Environ 201- Benedict Midterm Lectures 11-12

What are three examples of mitigation and adaptation strategies that we will need to adopt as a result of climate change (here my only suggestion is to make sure the examples you think of are clearly one or the other).

1. (mitigation) consume fewer fossil fuels: alternatives, increase efficiencies, behavioral changes

2. (mitigation) sequester carbon: carbon capture and storage, replant/manage forests

3. (adaptation) sea level: dikes and sea walls, pumping/draining systems, move inland

4. (adaptation) agriculture: drought resistant crops, irrigation systems

5. (adaptation) species loss: assist efforts where possible, some species will not adapt

Using the "bathtub" analogy, explain why emissions of carbon need to increase, decrease, or stay the same to achieve climate stability

• We have already emitted enough CO2 that even if we stopped today, we would still face changes from climate change. The

"drains" of CO2 are mostly natural systems and are very slow. To achieve climate stability we would have to decrease

emissions of carbon.

What are two ways CO2 is naturally taken out of the Earth's atmosphere?

• plants and soil (about a third each year)

• ocean surface water (about a quarter each year)

Whawhane-way coal power plants are limiting their CO2 output into the environment?

Carbon sequestering (Pumping CO2 into caverns in the ground (storing carbon))

What are Direct Air Capture systems?

What is Carbon Capture and Utilization Concrete? What do they do and how (generally) do they work?

DAC systems remove CO2 from the air and store it.

CCU take Co2 from powerplants and convert to limestone to create "portlandite" or Portland cement. this has the potential to recude footprint by 50%. (this 'drains the bathtub faster')

How will people living at sea level need to adapt to rising sea levels?

Build more and higher sea walls

Move inland

Better pumping and drainage systems

dispatchable energy resource

energy resource that can be integrated onto the energy grid because it is capable of being transmitted across large distances

intermittent

occurring at irregular intervals, not continuous or steady

photovoltaic cells

cells that convert sunlight directly into electrical energy

renewable portfolio standard

legislation that mandates the utilization of renewable energy

distributed generation

A system in which many smaller power-generating systems create electrical power near the point of consumption.

What are 3 ways we can improve the environmental impact of our stuff?

1. Using less stuff

2. Making our stuff more efficient

a. Design improvement

b. Conscious consumption

3. Improved environmental performance of energy system

a. Improved grid efficiency

b. Alternative energy sources

What is the largest energy source available to us on Earth?

the sun

What are dispatchable vs non-dispatchable energy sources?

• dispatchable energy resource: energy resource that can be integrated onto the energy grid because it is capable of being transmitted across large distances, or generated near population centers; sources that can be turned on and off and higher and lower (ex: Coal and natural gas plants)

• renewable energy is non-dispatchable, because it is intermittent (irregular) and has peak load & peak base issues (ex: Solar)

Which renewable energy sources are intermittent in nature?

solar, wind, hydro (water)

What is concentrated solar power and how does it work?

Photovoltaic (PV) cells generate electricity

Reflecting the sunlight on panels

Electron interactions generate electricity

What are photovoltaic cells and how (very generally) do they work?

Convert sunlight into electrical energy

Light hits the PV cell plate of silicon

Released electrons attract to the opposite plate

Wires connecting the plates let electrons flow which creates an electric current

Compare net metering to a "buy all, sell all" model. What do you predict will happen to public investment in solar if "buy all, sell all" models are adopted by states?

• net metering: pay for what you need

• buy all, sell all model: pubic buys all energy at retail value and sells all energy at wholesale prices

• incentivizes consumers to invest in more renewable energy as they would be paid for feeding their excess energy into the grid

What are three drawbacks to solar power?

1. not all regions are equally sunny

2. an intermittent resource (day and season variation)

3. most expensive form of electricity

How does a wind turbine work?

• wind blowing into the turbine turns the blades of the rotor, which rotates the machinery inside and generates an electric current (turning kinetic energy into electric)

What are three pros and three cons of wind power?

(+) clean, domestic

(+) sustainable

(+) cost-effective

(+) good on existing farms and ranches

(+) creates jobs

cons

(-) more expensive than fossil fuels

(-) good sites are often remote areas

(-) not most profitable use of land

(-) noisy, ugly

(-) kills local wildlife

What is the "not in my backyard" syndrome?

When you see something as a good idea but don't want to physically have to deal with its noise, appearance, harmful health effects

Roughly how many birds are killed by wind turbines years? How many bats? Which is more of an ecological concern?

• birds:100,000-440,000

• bats: 600,000 (more of a concern as wind turbines is the #1 for mortality events)

How do hydroelectric plants that use reservoirs operate?

1. water flows from the reservoir through the dam

2. the flowing water turns the turbine, which turns the rotor (magnets)

3. electricity is produced as the rotor spins past the stator which is stationary and made up of copper wire

What are three pros and three cons of hydropower?

Pros:

Sustainable

Clean/domestic

Cost-effective

Cons:

More expensive than fossil fuels

Noisy and ugly

Kill local wildlife

What is a renewable portfolio standard and what are they designed to do?

Mandates that a percentage of electricity comes from a renewable source

how does distributed generation help add renewable energy to the grid

it allows renewable energy to be generated locally & fed into the grid (reducing transmission losses & increasing efficiency)

what are the biggest roadblocks to transitioning to a more disteibuted grid?

- lack ofenergy storage (batteries)

- integration challenges

how do energy subsidies impact energy generation sources?

the government puts far more money towards nuclear / oil and gas energy than renewables.

how does electricity generated from fossil fuels differ from renewable electricity? what are some similarities?

renewable energy:

- natural & replenishable sources

- little to no emissions

fossil fuels:

- fossil fuels come from non-renewable sources

- releases CO2 & other pollutants

similarities:

-

smelting

massive amounts of electricity are needed to convert the white alumina powder into aluminum metal ore: material removed from the ground in mining operations

tailings

mine dumps; the materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction (gangue) of an ore;

whats left of ore, its residue

indium

mineral used in electronics screens

e-waste

waste involving electronic devices

phosphorus

key nutrient needed for agriculture; used to produce fertilizer

ore

a rock that contains a large enough concentration of a mineral making it profitable to mine

strip mining

removing surface & minerals, selecting ore & discarding the rest

rare earth elements

Seventeen chemical elements that commonly occur together but are difficult to separate. They are commonly used to make high tech electronics and weapons systems.

What are two examples of materials we mine for energy? For our 'stuff'? For agriculture?

• energy: all fossil fuels (coal, petroleum, natural gas)

• "stuff": all plastics (oil), glass, metals, gemstones; most building materials (gravel, concrete)

• agriculture: phosphorus (fertilizer), salt

what is bauxite & how musch of it do we need to genreate approx 1 ton of aluminum for our products

it is 45-60% Al2O3 (aliuminum oxide)

- 4-6 tons to make 1 ton of aluminum

Briefly describe the general process of mining from extraction to the final product

1. recovering the minerals. This is the process of extracting the ore from rock using a variety of tools and machinery.

2. processing. The recovered minerals are processed through huge crushers or mills to separate commercially valuable minerals from their ores.

3. Once processed, the ore is then transported to smelting facilities.

4. smelting. This process involves melting the concentrate in a furnance to extract the metal from its ore. The ore is then poured into moulds, producing bars of bullion, which are then ready for sale.

What is strip mining and what are three negative effects this practice has on the environment?

Total ecosystem destruction

Toxic runoff

Top soil mixed or lost

What is mountain top removal and what mining process typically uses this technique?

-mountain top removal: method of mining that removes layers of mountains to get access to inner coal seams

-typically associated with coal mining

what are "red mud" or "red dust: and why are they produced

residual material from mountain top removal, classified as hazardous waste (ph>12)

Why does recycling materials like aluminum cans make sense in terms of energy use?

Recycling aluminum can save 95% of the energy used to create virgin aluminum and reduces the need to mine more ore

What are conflict minerals and what creates the 'conflict'? Why are they so bad for some countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo?

• "The conflict in the DRC has become mainly about access, control, and trade of five key mineral resources: coltan,

diamonds, cobalt, and gold."

What is e-waste? Which country responsible for the majority of its generation?

-Waste involving electronic devices

-Throwing away cell phones and other things use a ton of metals and some precious metals

-United states is number 1 for e-waste

- working on e waste disposal

What is indium and why have we started using this element? Based on current and future use, we have less than a 20-year supply of indium currently, what does that mean in terms of future use?

indium = indium tin oxide, highly conductive, transparent

used to make:

(LCD displays, LEDs, touch screens, eat)

we must find other solutions/ adapt/ mitigate

Beyond indium, why should we be concerned with increased use of rare earth element/metals? Why is the term rare earth element/metal a bit of a misnomer?

- they're not actually rare, but they are difficult to extract

- many REEs are essential to modern tech

Why do we mine phosphorous?

Why can't we just recycle phosphorus too?

- key nutrient needed for agriculture

- we mine phosphorus ore to produce phosphorus fertilizer

- it is difficult and expensive to recycle

nuclear fission

a nuclear reaction in which steam is created

uranium (nuclear energy)

- Uranium atoms are spit through fission

- this releases massive amounts of thermal energy

- the power then spits other uranium energy

Nuclear Waste Legacy

nuclear waste is Deadly for thousands of years, many storage devices safe for only ~50 years

What is cleaner coal? What pollutants does it clean and what does it have no impact on?

cleaner coal:

- captures at stores CO2, which is not currently regulated

- additional reductions to other air pollutants

- no impact on coal mining & coah ash disposal

nuclear fission pricess

a nuclear reaction in which a heavy nucleus splits on impact with another uranium, with the release of energy.

What are some environmental impacts of nuclear power generation?

- no air pollution

- no greenhouse gasses

- needs larger water supply

What are the two biggest negative environmental impacts of nuclear energy (excluding nuclear accidents)?

1. generates radioactive waste

2. requires a large water supply

Be able to identify the three major nuclear accidents that have happened.

1. chernobyl

2. Fukushima

3. three mile island

What happens to nuclear waste and why is a "Nuclear Waste Legacy" such a big concern?

there are no current nuclear waste disposal sites, all waste kept at facilities. big concern because high level wastes are deadly for thousands of years

in terms of human health and the environment, which is better, nuclear or coal?

nuclear

What is the scientific name of natural gas? What technology has allowed us to mine large amounts of natural gas? What did this do to the price and production of natural gas?

methane (CH4)

- hydraulic fracturing

- production increased, price decreased

How does hydraulic fracturing work?

-Fluid (water, sand and chemicals) pumped into rock at high pressures

-Rock is fractured

-Sand keeps cracks open

-Gas/oil is released

Know the five major issues discussed about fracking and their pros and cons.

ISSUE 1: air quality

- pro: musch better than coal in terms of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions.

-con: Only relative to coal (nuclear and renewables much better), also ozone concerns.

ISSUE 2: Extraction causes greenhouse gas leakage

- pro: Fracking produces 44-50% less greenhouse gas emissions (CO2), and methane is not that bad in a hundred-year cycle.

- con: Methane is really bad even in the short term (84 times as potent than CO2), also undercuts looking for alternatives.

ISSUE 3: Fracking threatens drinking water

-pro: Unlikely to contaminate water supplies, much deeper than aquifers. Good infrastructure (steel pipes and concrete) enough.

-con: Numerous reports of bad water due to fracking. Alsochemicals used are trade secrets, so information not disclosed. Also, this means we have to trust the companies (chemicals and infrastructure).

ISSUE 4: Fracking happens around populated areas which affects built and natural environment

- pro: Fracking uses less water than coal, nuclear, and oil. Rigs only last ~20-40 years, societal benefits outweigh costs.

- con: 15 million Americans live within a mile of fracking. They can use 2-20+ million gallons of water, trucks destroy local roads and infrastructure, and devalue homes. Wells only go strong for ~5 years, then sealed and abandoned and need to be monitored by the Feds indefinitely.

ISSUE 5: Fracking can lead to earthquakes

- pro: Earthquakes naturally occur, only a few likely caused by fracking. Almost no impact, also research into safeguards.

- con: We are only beginning to understand. Between 1967 and 2000, steady rate of 21 quakes of 3.0 Mw or greater in central US. In 2001, when fracking began to grow, about 100 quakes 3.0 Mw or greater a year, with 188 in 2011 alone.

What is cleaner coal? What pollutants does it clean and what does it have no impact on?