Unit9 Energy and Sustainable Solutions
Readings: Chapter 12 & Chapter 13
Unit Objectives: Fossil Fuels
 Compare renewable and nonrenewable resources
 Explain the major ways that energy is used in our society
 Identify the types of fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, oil, oil sands, oil shale &
methane hydrate)
 Describe the nature and origin of the various types of fossil fuels
 Compare the types of coal
 Evaluate the extraction of various types of fossil fuels
 Describe strip mining, subsurface mining, and mountaintop removal
 Explain how a coal powered electricity plant works
 Outline and assess the environmental impacts of fossil fuel use
 Evaluate political, social, and economics impacts of fossil fuels use
 Specify strategies for conserving energy and enhancing efficiency
 Explain and evaluate Peak Oil
Unit Objectives: Traditional Renewable Resources
 Discuss the reasons for seeking alternatives to fossil fuels
 Summarize the contribution to world energy supplies of conventional
alternatives to fossil fuels
 Describe how nuclear energy is created and how a nuclear power plant runs
 Outline the societal debate over nuclear power
 Evaluate various solutions to disposing of nuclear waste, including the design
of Yucca Mountain
 Describe the major sources, scale, and impacts of biomass energy
 Describe the scale, methods, and impacts of hydroelectric power
Unit Objectives: New Renewable Resources
 Outline the major sources of renewable energy and asses their potential for
growth
 Describe new renewable energy resources that are currently being explored
(solar, wind, geothermal, oceans, hydrogen)
 Describe how new renewable energy (see above) are being harvested
 Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of each types of energy
Unit Objectives: Sustainable Solutions
 List and describe the approaches being taken to promote sustainability
 Explain the concept of sustainable development
 Discuss how protecting the environment can be compatible with promoting
economic welfare
Unit 9 VOCABULARY TERMS
• Active Solar Energy
• Becquerel (Bq)
• Biodiesel
• Biofuels
• Biomass
• Bitumen
• Capacity
• Capacity Factor
• Carbon Neutral
• Coal
• Cogeneration
• Combined Cycle
• Commercial Energy Sources
• Control Rods
• Crude Oil
• CTL (Coal-To-Liquid)
• Curie
• Electrical Grid
• Electrolysis
• Energy Carrier
• Energy Conservation
• Energy Efficiency
• Energy Intensity
• Ethanol
• Fission
• Flex-Fuel Vehicles
• Fossil Carbon
• Fossil Fuels
• Fuel Cell
• Fuel Rods
• Geothermal Energy
• Ground Source
• Heat Pumps
• Hubbert Curve
• Hydroelectricity
• Modern Carbon
• Net Removal
• Nonrenewable
• Nuclear Fuels
• Nuclear Fusion
• Oil Sands
• Passive Solar Energy
• Peak Demand
• Peak Oil
• Petroleum
• Photovoltaic Solar Cells
• Renewable
• Run-Of-The-River
• Siltation
• Smart Grid
• Subsistence Energy Sources
• Thermal Inertia
• Tidal Energy
• Tiered Rate
• Turbine
• Water Impoundment
• Wind Energy
• Wind Turbine