Q&A Hero

Q: Hydropower is renewable and produces less pollution than fossil fuel use.

Q: Biomass is the least"‘expensive fuel for burning in power plants.

Q: Half of all new cars in Brazil are flexible-fuel cars.

Q: Biomass was the first energy source used by humans.

Q: Renewable energy sources have received many more subsidies, tax breaks, and other incentives from governments compared to conventional sources.

Q: Today's economies are powered by fossil fuels, with four-fifths of all primary energy coming from oil, coal, and natural gas.

Q: Wind is a major energy resource in ________.A) Alberta and SaskatchewanB) OntarioC) QuebecD) British ColumbiaE) Yukon

Q: A major advantage that hydrogen"‘generated electricity has over other new renewable energy sources is that it ________. A) is less expensive B) creates greenhouse gases but no acid deposition C) can be produced where and when electricity is needed D) converts the kinetic energy of earth processes to electrical energy E) already has an infrastructure in place for using hydrogen as fuel

Q: The chemical product of using hydrogen as an energy source is ________. A) carbon dioxide B) sulphur dioxide C) water D) incineration E) electrolysis

Q: One advantage of using hydrogen fuel cells is ________. A) the potential for the production of greenhouse gases B) the ease of transporting and storage C) the energy efficiency D) that they are nonpolluting E) the low impact on atmospheric ozone

Q: Whether a hydrogen"‘based energy system is environmentally cleaner than a fossil fuel system depends on ________. A) the car driven B) the source of the oxygen used for the process C) how the hydrogen is extracted D) governmental incentives for research E) This is not correct; a hydrogen system will always be cleaner than a fossil fuel system.

Q: One difficulty with the process of using hydrogen as a power source is that it ________. A) is not properly understood B) is less efficient than fossil fuels C) requires a fuel that is a nonrenewable resource D) requires an energy investment to begin the process E) has highly volatile and dangerous components

Q: Although solar-PV-generated electricity as a power source is cleaner than burning fossil fuels, it cannot be stored easily in large quantities for use when and where it is needed. A similar disadvantage affects ________ energy. A) hydro B) wind C) biomass D) nuclear E) hydrogen fuel

Q: Which of the oceanic energy sources is likely to have the most serious negative impacts on marine and estuarine ecosystems? A) sluice-based tidal energy B) in-stream tidal energy C) wave energy D) offshore wind energy E) ocean thermal energy conversion

Q: Potential energy sources from oceans rely on ________. A) chemiluminescent bacteria B) the motion of currents, waves, and tides, and ocean thermal energy C) solar reflection D) lightning strikes in saltwater E) magnetic field generators

Q: The current practice of geothermal power generation may not provide a practical renewable energy source because ________. A) in many cases, the heated groundwater is used much faster than it is recharged B) in many cases, the magma is used faster than it is recharged C) power plants have high maintenance costs D) in some instances, pollution emissions can be very high E) geologically heated groundwater is unsuitable for these plants and must be purified first

Q: Offshore wind farms are being seriously considered because ________. A) they are more aesthetically pleasing B) they do not interfere with bird migration routes C) wind speeds are higher and turbulence is lower D) development of land for human use is pushing wind farms to open water E) maintenance costs are less than they are on land

Q: A major obstacle to the establishment of wind farms near the population centres that need them is ________. A) the lack of infrastructure to support wind"‘generated electricity B) NIMBY C) the lack of financial support for the construction of wind farms D) EROI E) the lack of large land areas needed to construct wind farms

Q: A major disadvantage to using wind to produce electricity is ________. A) the emissions it produces once in place B) its energy efficiency compared to conventional power sources C) that one has to develop a large"‘scale wind farm before wind power is economically viable D) the initial startup cost E) that land can be leased for wind power development

Q: Windmill towers are generally more productive if they are ________. A) higher; this minimizes turbulence and maximizes wind speed B) lower; this minimizes turbulence and maximizes wind speed C) higher; this minimizes the number of birds that interfere with blade turning D) lower; this increases heat convection from the ground E) higher; this increases heat convection from the ground

Q: Prior to 1950, the main use of windmills in Canada was for ________. A) energy generation B) grinding grain for bread C) pumping water for irrigating crops D) draining wetlands E) pumping drinking water for cattle

Q: Solar represents a minuscule portion of Canadian energy production because of ________. A) technological limitations B) lack of investment C) lack of scientific interest D) the poor outlook for this energy source's potential E) the potential for pollution from this source of energy

Q: Which of the following methods can be called passive solar energy collection? A) using heat"‘absorbing construction materials B) rooftop solar panels C) OTEC D) photovoltaic cells E) rooftop flat"‘plate solar collectors

Q: One of the obstacles to the rapid replacement of nonrenewable energy sources with renewable energy sources is ________. A) the improvement in the infrastructure for using renewable energy sources B) the lack of government and private financial support for the development of renewable energy sources C) advancements in the technological development of renewable energy sources D) the motivation of private industry to proactively develop renewable energy sources E) a unified energy policy by the government that supports the development of alternative energy sources

Q: The second fastest-growing source of electricity generation using new renewable sources is ________. A) solar B) wind C) hydro D) natural gas E) coal

Q: Currently, the fastest"‘growing source of electricity generation using new renewable sources is ________. A) solar B) wind C) hydro D) natural gas E) coal

Q: "New renewables" are ________. A) solar, wind, geothermal B) wind, wood, alcohol C) hydro, biomass D) coal, natural gas E) fusion, fission

Q: Biofuels and nuclear power may prove useful as ________. A) pollution-free sustainable energies B) energies to bridge the time between fossil fuel depletion and new renewables C) replacement fuels for motor vehicles D) stages in the development of fusion generators E) inexpensive technologies for developing nations

Q: Ultimately, all biofuels are ________, because they are the result of ________. A) geological; sedimentation B) solar; photosynthesis C) inefficient; decomposition by microorganisms D) synthetic; chemical manipulation of hydrocarbons E) polymers; biological metabolic processes

Q: A permanent nuclear storage facility in Canada is being considered deep underground at ________. A) Lac du Bonnet, Manitoba B) Vonage, Saskatchewan C) Yucca Mountain D) Port Hope, Ontario E) Sydney, Nova Scotia

Q: Which of the following countries has the most nuclear power plants? A) France B) United States C) Canada D) Sweden E) Russia

Q: Which of the following countries has the highest percentage of electricity generated from nuclear power plants? A) France B) United States C) Canada D) Sweden E) Russia

Q: Which of the following aredocumented negative impacts of dams? A) habitat destruction, alteration of river sediment deposition B) alteration of river salinity C) acid deposition D) increased atmospheric carbon dioxide and CFCs E) increased carbon monoxide emissions, decreased rainfall

Q: Biodiesel ________. A) is widely used in Canada B) is produced from sugarcane C) can be used in vehicles with diesel engines without engine modification D) is twice as expensive as petrodiesel E) produces more pollution than petrodiesel

Q: One of the promises made by the government in 1994 was "free electricity." Since 2001 the government has provided a small amount, 50 kilowatt hours per month, free to each household. Beyond that, a household must pay for the electricity that it uses. Many people would prefer a flat"‘rate pricing system, where each household throughout greater Johannesburg would pay the same rate each month. This would mean that ________. A) all households in Johannesburg would be able to have all the electricity that they need B) Eskom, the electric company, would probably make huge profits C) wealthy households would end up paying much more and have less electricity than they do now D) poor households would end up paying much more for their electricity than they do now E) there would be no incentive to keep electric usage low, and environmental issues related to the generation of electricity would worsen

Q: Things have improved in Soweto in the past 10 years. However, even in areas where electricity is available, as of 2002, it typically cost up to 10 times more per kilowatt"‘hour for electricity in Soweto than it cost nearby industries for electricity, and electricity in Soweto cost over 30% more than in the nearby white suburban areas. A possible reason for these cost differences is that ________. A) residents of Soweto use more electricity, so they pay more B) the electricity must travel farther to reach them C) the electrical lines in Soweto are so old that it is impractical for the electric company to use them D) residents of Soweto move frequently and the costs of new hookups are expensive E) environmental and social justice appears to be lacking

Q: The global problem with using coal to generate electricity is the resulting ________. A) environmental damage in the area around the mine B) water pollution C) carbon dioxide released D) particulate pollution E) sulphur dioxide released

Q: Other than in downtown Johannesburg, the worst air pollution in the region in the year 2000 was in Soweto. The probable explanation is that in downtown Johannesburg ________, and in Soweto ________. A) coal"‘fired electrical plants were the cause; automobile traffic in overcrowded areas was the problem B) automobile traffic was the cause; automobile traffic was also the cause C) automobile traffic was the cause; the burning of fuels in each home for heating, light, and cooking was a major contributor to indoor and outdoor air pollution D) gasoline"‘powered electrical generators were the cause; trash incinerators were a problem E) trash incinerators were a problem; gasoline"‘powered electrical generators were the cause

Q: The heavy levels of soot from the electrical plant upwind of Soweto, along with dust from gigantic mine dumps from gold and coal mines, created particulate pollution more than three times the recommended level. This resulted in ________. A) high levels of heart disease B) increased incidence of lung disease C) high levels of birth defects D) problems with running local automobiles and other machinery E) enriched agricultural fields and increased crop yields

Q: Read the following scenario and answer the questions below.In Johannesburg, South Africa, the South Western Township (Soweto) was one of several areas established early in the last century for blacks to live in away from the white ruling minority. On the hills surrounding Soweto, the company that provides South Africa's electricity, Eskom, built a large, coal"‘burning, electricity-generating plant. The electricity was for white areas of Johannesburg, miles away from the plant. The residents of Soweto had no electrical connections.The high sulphur content of the coal burned in South African power plants means that the ________.A) power plants contribute to acidic depositionB) power plants burn more cleanly than other nations' plants, with little pollutionC) power plants emit high levels of radioactive pollutionD) coal is very inexpensive, leading to an improved economyE) coal is very expensive, forcing most poor people to go without electricity

Q: What is fracking? What resources can be extracted with fracking? What are the promises and perils of this technology?

Q: Describe the ecological impacts of large catastrophic oil spills using the example of British Petroleum (BP) Deepwater Horizon. How would a spill in, for example, the Beaufort Sea in the Canadian Arctic be different from the BP Deepwater Horizon spill?

Q: What are the concerns about extracting fossil fuels from the Arctic lands? Provide an example.

Q: Compare and contrast the energy use in developing and developed countries: the amount of use, the type of energy used, and the major uses.

Q: Why is it that in most parts of the world, local people do not benefit from the removal of fossil fuels from their local environment? Discuss the economic, political, and environmental reasons for why locals may not benefit.

Q: Discuss the three types of energy sources and give examples of each.

Q: Describe some of the concerns about the Mackenzie Valley pipeline.

Q: What are the ultimate sources of all of Earth's energy?

Q: China produces and consumes three times more coal than the second largest producer and consumer of coal.

Q: About two-thirds of Canadian petroleum is used for transportation.

Q: The greatest improvement in energy conservation would be more efficient home heating.

Q: Coal burning produces more greenhouse gases per unit of energy than any other fuel.

Q: Fossil fuels do not include wood and biologically produced natural gas.

Q: Although fossil fuels are a nonrenewable source of energy, the energy they contain originally came from a renewable source.

Q: Hubbert's peak is the name of the first place oil was discovered in Alberta.

Q: Cogeneration ________.A) uses a similar approach as combined cycle generationB) is a viable alternative to the very expensive energy insulationC) can almost double the fuel efficiency when used in automobilesD) cogenerates lithium needed for fuel cellsE) cogenerates high-energy inorganic compounds which could be then used to heat houses and industrial buildings

Q: Cogeneration ________. A) uses what otherwise would be a waste heat B) increases entropy C) is not technically practical yet D) produces hydrogen needed for fuel cells E) produces organic compounds that can then be used to heat houses and industrial buildings

Q: Canadian oil production ________. A) is continuing to increase as demand decreases B) is sufficient to meet national needs, thanks to major conservation efforts C) peaked years ago, requiring imports of more than 60% of petroleum to meet demand D) is now high enough for Canada to export nearly half the oil it produces E) has to fit the quotas imposed by OPEC

Q: OPEC was formed to ________. A) take maximum advantage of developed nations' dependence on imported oil B) develop technologies to conserve nonrenewable energy resources C) protect its national members' petroleum reserves for their own use D) punish those developed countries that support Israel E) ensure that developing nations get their fair share of fossil fuels

Q: The average vehicle fuel efficiency of Canadian vehicles has ________. A) improved in the past two decades, thanks to higher fuel efficiency standards, following those introduced in California B) worsened in the past two decades, because of the shift in the types of cars we buy C) come within 10% of the car fuel efficiency in the European Union, thanks to the sharing of technology allowed by European car companies, such as Mercedes and Fiat, which have acquired controlling shares in some North American major car companies, such as Chrysler D) improved in the last two decades, thanks to the introduction of energy-efficient hybrid cars E) improved by 35% since the 2006 election of the Conservative government

Q: The greatest environmental impact of burning fossil fuels is ________. A) that we release carbon back into the carbon cycle, increasing the amount available for plant growth B) the resulting carbonic acid, which leads to acid rain in areas downwind from power plants C) on the ozone layer D) the increase in greenhouse gases E) the land damage from extraction

Q: Many developed nations have economies that are closely tied to imported fossil fuels. One important consideration is that ________. A) their economy is vulnerable to political decisions made in fuel-exporting nations B) if the price of fossil fuels increases, the economy in these nations will only improve because of the increased value of their exports C) as supplies increase, fossil fuels will decline in price D) if energy conservation is put in place, the cost of fossil fuels will decrease E) if energy conservation is put in place, the cost of fossil fuels will increase

Q: When oil reached the $100 a barrel benchmark, the Investors Group found that 83% of Canadians planned to ________.A) take a trip to Florida before the price of airplane tickets rose any higherB) drive across Canada to visit National Parks before oil prices went any higherC) buy a more fuel-efficient diesel-powered boat the next time they purchased a pleasure craftD) spend vacations in the United States where fuel is less expensive than in CanadaE) buy a more fuel-efficient car the next time around

Q: Energy can be conserved by ________. A) using reengineered appliances B) increasing the use of air-conditioning to reduce amount of waste heat C) replacing compact fluorescent bulbs with tungsten bulbs D) building new roads to reduce traffic congestion E) employing cold fusion

Q: Energy conservation in Canada ________. A) can be accomplished only through changes in environmental laws B) is unlikely to ever occur C) has been accomplished by putting a price on carbon emissions D) will be a reality only if there is another major war resulting in the extreme prices for fossil fuels E) can be improved by the choices of individuals

Q: Energy conservation in Canada ________. A) became a national policy in the 1970s following the OPEC embargo, and it continues today B) has become important to most citizens C) has not been important until recently, but new government funding of alternative energy sources is now spurring research and rapid development D) depends on whether we will be able to develop new materials for better insulating our homes E) has lagged as we wait for technology to improve, so that more efficient vehicles are possible

Q: Canada, with less than ________% of the world population, consumes ________% of the world's oil. A) 0.5; 2.5 B) 0.5; 1.5 C) 0.2; 1.0 D) 0.2; 1.5 E) 1.0; 1.5

Q: The greatest damage to the environment caused by oil extraction is likely from ________. A) the drilling B) road construction and infrastructure development C) the development of the market in a new country D) the remediation and relocation E) the initial logging

Q: Of the available policy options regarding eventual conversion to renewable energy sources, environmentalists would probably prefer that we ________. A) pass laws immediately banning the use of fossil fuels B) pass laws immediately banning the exploration and development of further fossil fuel resources C) encourage, with subsidies, tax rebates, and grants, the rapid development and widespread use of renewable alternative energy resources D) prepare for a gradual changeover by slowly increasing funding and putting alternative energy resources into place over the next 100 years E) plan for the switch to renewable energy sources, but not implement any plans until most fossil fuels have been depleted

Q: One of the problems with finding new fossil fuel deposits in developing countries is that ________. A) it is very expensive to transport the deposit elsewhere B) those countries tend to keep the resource for themselves, not sharing with other countries C) international companies move in to harvest the new deposit, and very little money or resource remains in the country D) their governments seldom allow extraction of the deposit without meeting expensive environmental regulations E) their governments seldom allow extraction of the deposit without imposing huge taxes to fund new social benefits for the country

Q: Natural gas is ________. A) trapped over some cities for commercial use B) produced only by bacteria during decomposition C) more damaging to the environment than coal D) still much more expensive than other fossil fuels E) often associated with coal and petroleum deposits

Q: Deposits of natural gas are most numerous in ________. A) Russia and the Middle East B) Russia and the United States C) South America D) Panama E) Spain and Portugal

Q: Natural gas ________. A) includes octane as its primary component B) produces fewer greenhouse gases per energy unit than coal C) was discovered by Bunsen in 1885 D) will be depleted by 2030 at current usage rates E) is transported primarily by truck and rail

Q: Crude oil is ________. A) composed of just a few types of hydrocarbon molecules B) fully usable in its raw form C) formed less than 100 metres below the surface; in deeper places with more pressure, coal is formed D) formed in a wide range of temperature and pressure circumstances E) fractionated to obtain the chemicals used for gasoline, lubricants, plastics, and other products

Q: Water continues to be the main fuel used to generate electricity in Canada. This is because ________. A) the country has such large potential for hydroelectric power B) the number of hydroelectric dams is uniform across Canada C) it does not take much time to build a dam for the generation of hydroelectricity D) the cost of building a hydroelectric dam is lower than the cost of building a coal-fired generating plant E) there is no ecological impact from building a dam on a river

Q: Secondary extraction of petroleum ________. A) occurs immediately after primary extraction B) is less expensive than primary extraction C) uses solvents, water, or steam D) allows the oil to be extracted to the last drop E) causes less environmental damage than tertiary extraction

Q: In deciding whether to extract oil from a site and how much of the total to extract, an oil company considers ________. A) the distance the oil must be transported, current market price of oil, potential environmental damage B) the amount of greenhouse gases the oil will release when burned C) the current price of gasoline at the pump D) which nation will make the largest purchases E) the fraction of the oil that will go to fuels, plastics, synthetic fibres, and lubricants

Q: The entire pool of oil is NOT extracted from a well because ________. A) it is too destructive to the environment B) it is not cost effective C) in some areas it is too liquid to extract D) only a strip-mine could fully extract it E) This is not correct; we often are able to extract the entire pool.

Q: Scientists search for fossil fuels in many ways. Sending a sound wave into the ground (by exploding dynamite, thumping the ground with a large weight, or using an electric vibrating machine) and measuring its return to the surface at receiving stations is called ________. A) dynamite surveying B) destructive surveying C) seismic surveying D) sonar surveying E) geologic surveying

Q: For Canada, the primary fuel that we use for our energy is ________. A) wood B) natural gas C) coal D) oil E) nuclear