AP Environmental Science Unit 6

Renewable energy sources

Can be replenished naturally, at or near rate of consumption

Non-renewable energy sources

Exist in fixed amounts on earth and can’t easily be replaced or regenerated

Which type of country uses the most energy?

Developed nations

What is the most used energy source?

Fossil fuels

Subsistence fuels

Biomass fuel sources that are easily accessible, often used in developing countries

Coal formation

Pressure from overlying rock and sediment layers compacts peat into coal over time

Natural gas

Natural gas is mostly methane and is found on top of trapped oil deposits

Fracking

Hydraulic fracturing is a method of natural gas extraction that has extended to natural gas

Tar

Petrol can be extracted from tar sands

Fossil fuel combustion

Reaction between oxygen and fossil fuels that releases energy as heat and produces CO2 and H2O as products

Petroleum extraction

Extracted by drilling a well through the overlying rock layers to reach the underground deposit and then pumping liquid oil out under pressure