6. Video, Coal Mining in West Virginia:
http://planetgreen.discovery.com/videos/30-days-working-in-a-coal-mine.html
7.
8. Some Interesting Facts about coal:
1. American Electric Power (AEP) is the largest consumer of coal in USA
2. The USA has 100-250 years of coal at current consumption rate
3. The USA has the largest coal resources on Earth
4. A typical 500-Megawatt coal-fired electricity plant supplies enough power to
run 500,000 homes and produces as much greenhouse gas emissions
annually as 750,000 cars (Source: Royal Dutch Shell).
5. This same plant uses 2.2 billion gallons of water per year
6. Current coal-fired power plants are only ~33% efficient at converting coal
into electricity, other 67% is waste heat. The efficiency is largely by steam
turbines.
7. Capture heat waste = increased efficiency = less greenhouse gas emission
15. The United Nations
Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC)
provides scientific
direction about global
warming. In 2001
Eruption of Mt.
projected a 1.4oC to
Pinatubo, SE Asia
5.8oC increase in
global temp. by year
2100.
24. Cars and light trucks fuel-efficiency standard raised from 27.5 mpg (1985) to 35.5
mpg by 2016, which would cut auto emissions of greenhouse gases by 30%
Rules will begin to take effect
in 2012
U.S. auto industry welcomes
changes, which is an about-
face for an industry that has
battled in Congress and
courts to prevent this for over
20 years
Automakers back it largely
because they need the billions
of dollars in federal bailout
funds and they need to make
products for the future that will
allow them to survive.
25. Exposure to ultraviolet (uv) solar radiation = skin cancer
(example of Australian man who worked outdoors and had to
have an artificial nose after doctors removed his nose due to
skin cancer).
26. •
•
•
The hole occurs over Antarctica because
strong westerly winds circulate around
the continent and create a polar vortex.
30. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
Older CFCs Newer CFCs
have chlorine, do NOT have
which destroys chlorine, but
ozone. have fluorine
Bromine also instead, which
destroys is NOT
ozone. These believed to
molecules are destroy ozone.
no longer However, these
produced or molecules are
used in many potent
countries. greenhouse
gases.
