Deck 4: Energy and Society

Question 1

Industrialization in the U.S.and other MDCs modified natural energy flows in which of the following ways?

A)It required remote reserves of fossil fuels.
B)Waste had to be transported to waste treatment plants.
C)Industrial farmers used fuel manufactured by urban industries.
D)a and b only
E)a,b,and c

Answer 1

a,b,and c

Question 2

Experts believe that global oil production will peak sometime between:

A)2010 and 2015.
B)2010 and 2020.
C)2010 and 2040.
D)2010 and 2100.

Answer 2

2010 and 2020.

Question 3

Coal is:

A)clean burning.
B)heavily subsidized by the government.
C)very safe to extract and process.
D)all of the above.

Answer 3

heavily subsidized by the government.

Question 4

When compared with wind power,solar power is:

A)constant and does not vary.
B)a better way to deliver electricity to rural villagers because it does not require constructing a huge power grid.
C)less plentiful.
D)a and c only

Question 5

The most threatening product of coal-burning power plants is:

A)cadmium.
B)lead.
C)carbon dioxide.
D)mercury.

Question 6

Armory Lovins' "soft path" energy path refers to:

A)centralized fossil fuel production.
B)decentralized fossil fuel production.
C)centralized renewable wind and solar power production.
D)decentralized renewable wind and solar power production.

Question 7

Three Mile Island is best known for:

A)being the site of a nuclear accident.
B)its strip coal mining facility.
C)its large natural gas deposits.
D)being the site of a large oil spill in the 1980s.

Question 8

Increased global consumption of petroleum has resulted in:

A)increased MDC dependence on LDCs for oil.
B)several oil crises.
C)conservation and national security efforts.
D)all of the above
E)none of the above

Question 9

Which of the following are barriers to creating a new energy system?

A)sunk costs in the current system
B)fewer tax breaks and subsidies for renewable energies than for fossil fuels
C)an issue-attention cycle
D)all of the above
E)none of the above

Question 10

Microlevel studies of personal and household energy use consumption found that:

A)attempts to encourage voluntary behavioral changes in energy usage were very successful.
B)reengineering of cars had a significant effect on fuel efficiency.
C)reengineering of homes and appliances significantly reduced energy consumption.
D)b and c
E)a and c

Question 11

The primary advantages of fossil fuels are:

A)technical.
B)economic.
C)political.
D)all of the above
E)none of the above

Question 12

Which of the following statements about energy consumption in different types of societies is true?

A)Advanced agricultural societies consumed more kilocalories per day per person than did industrial societies.
B)Most growth in energy consumption is now accounted for by the LDCs.
C)The aggregate energy consumption of the world has slowly declined over the past 50 years.
D)The U.S.uses more energy than the other MDCs.

Question 13

Which of the following is not one of the four interacting dimensions of our energy predicament?

A)energy resource supplies
B)population and economic growth
C)efficient advocacy
D)sink problems having to do with energy by-products

Question 14

According to Harper,economic incentives for energy conservation are likely to be most effective when they:

A)force the poor to make a choice between heating their home and buying food.
B)are combined with other influence techniques such as curbside recycling.
C)provide accurate feedback about how much energy people actually used in a month.
D)none of the above

Question 15

By the 1990s,energy consumption had begun to increase because:

A)U.S.automakers began to market SUVs and pickup trucks that got poor gas mileage.
B)energy policies encouraged low prices.
C)energy policies encouraged high prices.
D)a and b
E)a and c

Question 16

Drawbacks to natural gas include:

A)its limited availability.
B)the difficulties associated with transporting it across oceans.
C)the large amount of particulate matter it produces when burned.
D)the difficulties associated with processing it.

Question 17

Which two countries control most of the world's ethanol?

A)Brazil and Canada
B)Canada and the U.S.
C)the U.S.and China
D)the U.S.and Brazil

Question 18

Which of the following are problems associated with ethanol?

A)Rising ethanol prices for fuel have the unintended effect of increasing food costs.
B)When combined with petroleum,ethanol increases greenhouse emissions quite dramatically.
C)Farmers reap fewer profits when ethanol is used for fuel.
D)all of the above

Question 19

Most of the world's present energy needs are supplied by which three energy sources?

A)coal,oil,and nuclear power
B)oil,nuclear,and solar power
C)coal,oil,and nuclear power.
D)oil,coal,and natural gas

Question 20

The most toxic fuel to burn is:

A)coal.
B)oil.
C)kerosene.
D)gasoline.

Question 21

The U.S.remains strategically interested in the Persian Gulf because it imports most of its oil from that region.

Question 22

Energy regimes are supported by political and social interactions.

Question 23

Recent energy policies in the U.S.have favored supply-side policies that attempt to create low prices for energy.

Question 24

The Princeton University Twin Towers Research Project found that the size of an apartment unit was the best predictor of the amount of energy consumers used.

Question 25

While natural gas burns more cleanly than oil or coal,methane leakage and incomplete combustion associated with its production actually produces greenhouse gases more potent than CO2.

Question 26

Attitude-behavior studies of household energy consumption found that Americans are more receptive to messages that are framed in terms of conservation than efficiency.

Question 27

The main obstacles to the spread of PVE technology are costs per megawatt and expense associated with building an infrastructure of solar panels.

Question 28

Research on household energy consumption shows that consumers quickly respond to price changes in the cost of energy.

Question 29

Energy,like matter,can be recycled without a loss of efficiency.

Question 30

Macrolevel studies of energy use in the MDCs shows that shifting to service sectors and technologies that are more efficient can produce economic growth with decreasing energy intensity.

Question 31

Biomass fuels continue to be the main source of heating and cooking for about half the world's population.

Question 32

Energy analysts agree that in the immediate future,the earth's supply of fossil fuels will dwindle very rapidly at present consumption rates.

Question 33

Increased fuel efficiency was one outcome of the energy crises of the 1970s.

Question 34

Oil reserves under Alaska's North Slope would meet world demand for only six months at present rates of consumption.

Question 35

The advantage of wind power is that it generates much more energy per unit than does coal or oil.

Question 36

If left unattended,energy predicaments can lead to energy crises.

Question 37

Attitude-behavior studies of household energy consumption found discrepancies between consumers' attitudes and their behaviors.

Question 38

Experts estimate that most oil reaching the ocean comes from oil tanker accidents and pipeline breaks.

Question 39

CHP (combined heat and power) is an example of a mining efficiency technique.

Question 40

Burning coal releases more radioactive particles into the atmosphere per unit of energy than does a normally operating nuclear plant.

Question 41

Identify and then discuss two of the four dimensions of our current energy predicament.

Question 42

Summarize the key findings from research on personal and household energy consumption.Overall,why have efforts at reducing this type of energy consumption not been more successful?

Question 43

Identify and discuss three renewable energy sources.Be sure to discuss the pros and cons of each source,and then indicate which source you think is most promising and why.

Question 44

Compare and contrast high and low energy societies.Be sure to address how energy consumption relates to both economic development and environmental issues.

Question 45

Explain why it is so hard to move from one energy regime to another-for example,what barriers currently impede our transition to a new energy regime? Give specific examples to justify your argument.