Week 4: Resource Allocation

Scarcity

A situation in which unlimited wants exceed the limited resources available to fulfill those wants

allocation

distribution

nonrenewable resource

a resource that cannot be replaced

renewable resource

A natural resource that can be replaced at the same rate at which the resource is consumed

carbon emissions

Carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide released in the atmosphere, produced by vehicles and industrial processes

Fortune 500

an annual list of the five hundred most profitable US industrial corporations

Municipality (municipal)

A city, town, or other district possessing corporate existence and usually its own local government.

nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)

nonprofit groups that provide charitable services or promote social and environmental causes

alternative energy

Any source of energy other than fossil fuels that is used for constructive purposes.

Energy sources

sun, nuclear reactions, fossil fuels

carbon nuetral

an activity that does not change atmospheric CO2 concentrations

For-profit organizations

formed to make money, or profits, by offering products or services

Deepwater Horizon

Ultra-deepwater offshore oil drilling rig. In April 2010 an explosion on the rig killed 11 men and Deepwater Horizon sank, resulting in the largest offshore oil spill in United States history.

Exxon Valdez

Oil tanker that crashed in March 1989, considered largest U. S. oil spill, emptied 35,000 tons of oil into Prince William Sound

Three Mile Island

Nuclear Power Plant in Harrisburg, Penn. which failed, causing radiation to be admitted in the air

Upper Big Branch Mine

A 2010 coal mine explosion in West Virginia caused by an unknown source when methane exploded killing 29 of the 31 miners. The worst U.S. mine disaster in the last 50 years.

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)

Government agency that has reported, investigated, and adjudicated more than 3200 accidents (mostly natural gas, oil, and pipeline explosions) since 1987.

Fukishima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant

A 2011 earthquake/tsunami caused complete failure of several nuclear reactors in Japan.

Chernobyl Disaster

An accident at a nuclear plant in Ukraine in 1986 that released radioactive clouds over Europe. Over 300,000 were relocated and thousands impacted by radioactive material with dozens dying is the first few months.

International Atomic Energy Agency

the United Nations agency concerned with atomic energy