ENVS 1000U Lecture Notes - Lecture 19: Open-Pit Mining, Surface Mining, Gangue
28 Mar 2016
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Document Summary
Include hydroelectricity, nuclear, renewables and fossils fuels. Fossil fuels - highly substances formed from remains of dead organisms combustible. Main source of energy are fossil fuels because of high-energy content which makes them efficient to burn, ship, and store. Fossil fuels have driven the industrial revolution. Productivity of developed world based on accessible and cheap reserves of fossil fuels. Increasing concerns with dependence on fossil fuels due to limited reserves, environmental impacts (air, land, water) Fossil fuels used today were formed from tissues of organisms that lived 100-500 million years ago. Organic material is broken down in an anaerobic environment (in absence of oxygen: bottoms of deep lakes, swamps, and shallow seas. Organic matter is eventually converted into crude oil, natural gas, or coal (under pressure) Major types of fossil fuels: each type of fossil fuel has unique extraction processes and environmental impacts, types, coal, oil, natural gas, others.
