Environmental Science Q4

• Natural Resources


  Natural substances required by humans for different needs
• Examples of natural resources that can be used to produce energy


  • Oil
  • Gas
  • Coal
  • Wood
  • Wind
  • Sunlight
  • Waves
• Non-Renewable Energy Sources


  Things like oil, natural gas, and coal that cannot be easily replaced because they've taken millions of years to form
• Non-renewable energy sources are being used faster than they are being made, indicating they will one day run out
• Renewable Energy Sources


  Things like wind power, wave power, solar power, and biofuel that can be easily replaced and will not run out
• Non-Renewable Energy Sources


  • Natural gas
  • Oil (petroleum)
  • Coal
  • Nuclear power
• Oil and Gas Formation


  1. Dead microscopic animals and plants sink to the bottom of the ocean and get buried with other sediments

  2. Over millions of years, the sediments get buried deeper and the microorganisms are turned into gas and oil

  3. Oil and gas move upward through tiny pores in the rocks and get trapped under impermeable layers of rock

  4. Oil and gas can then be taken out using long powerful drills
• Uses of Oil and Gas

  • Burned to heat water, steam propels turbine, generates electricity
  • Crude oil is turned into jet engine oil, petrol and diesel which are used as a fuel in planes and cars
• When oil and gas are burnt, they release carbon dioxide gas into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming
• Coal Formation


  • Carboniferous Period (360-299 million years ago)
  • Jurassic Period (201-145 million years ago)
• Uses of Coal


  • Burned to heat water, steam propels turbine, generates electricity
  • Burned for heat
• Coal is cheap and there is lots of it
• When coal is burnt, it releases Carbon dioxide, Sulphur dioxide, and Nitrogen dioxide into the atmosphere contributing to global warming and acid rain
• Nuclear


  • Nuclear reactions produce heat, steam propels turbine, generates electricity
  • Uranium and plutonium are nuclear fuels
  • Nuclear power is very efficient
  • Nuclear fuels do not produce harmful greenhouse gases
  • Nuclear power produces radioactive waste which is dangerous and has to be sealed in containers and buried for thousands of years
• Renewable Energy Sources


  • Geothermal
  • Biofuel
  • Solar
  • Wind
  • Hydroelectric
• Wind


  • Large windmills called wind turbines generate electricity when the wind blows and spins the turbine
  • Wind farms made up of many wind turbines allow lots of electricity to be generated in windy areas
• Geothermal


  Heat energy from the Earth, water can be pumped down into hot rock where it is heated, can be used to produce heat or electricity
• Solar


  Solar energy from sunlight, can be used to generate heat or electricity, solar panels filled with water produce heat, photovoltaic cells turn sunlight into electricity, solar panels can be put on building roofs
• Solar panels are expensive and you need a lot of them
• Hydroelectric


  Harnessing energy from running water, hydroelectric dams trap water in reservoirs and release it to spin a turbine and generate electricity, more reliable than solar and wind power
• Hydroelectric dams are very expensive and can harm wildlife
• Biofuel


  Made from crops, ideally should be carbon neutral (absorb CO2 as they grow and release it when burnt), but fossil fuels are used in production so they are not fully carbon neutral, crops for biofuels could be used to feed people instead
• Hydrosphere


  The layer of water that covers the earth, including water in oceans, lakes, streams, groundwater and air
• 97% of the world's water is salt water, the remaining 3% is freshwater found in rivers, lakes and underground
• Water Cycle


  Powered by solar energy, includes the processes of evaporation, condensation and precipitation, influences climate
• Humans have a major impact on the water cycle through dams, reservoirs, canals, withdrawal pipes and groundwater wells
• Common Uses of Water in Society

  • Commercial (restaurants, offices, institutions)
  • Domestic (drinking, cooking, washing, gardening)
  • Industrial (processing, cleaning, cooling)
  • Irrigation (crops, landscaping)
  • Livestock
  • Health/Medical
• Each person needs about 2.5 liters of fresh drinking water daily, and 260 liters for washing, cooking and other activities, to stay healthy
• Water is essential for proper functioning of our bodies and organs
• Rethink


  Before purchasing, consider if it is necessary to avoid unnecessary buying and waste
• Refuse


  Refuse to accept or support products or companies that harm the environment, refuse overpackaged or plastic items
• Reduce


  Decrease the quantity of resources used in daily life, such as energy, water, garbage, food waste, plastic, transportation
• Rot


  Composting to turn food waste and organics into nutrient-rich soil
• Reuse


  Reuse materials that would otherwise be discarded, to increase the life of the material and avoid landfill
• Repurpose/Repair


  Consider ways to repurpose or repair an item before disposing of it, also known as upcycling
• Recycle


  Reprocessing waste materials to produce another product, transforming used materials into raw materials for others or the same product