Name______Date______Period______
Fossil Fuel Articles Questions
Mountaintop Removal Mining: EPA Says Yes, Scientists Say No:
Scientific American (1/8/2010)
1. Name at least three of the concerns scientists have about mountaintop removal mining.
2. What percentage of coal comes from mountaintop removal mining? ______
3. The coal industry plants trees in an attempt to mitigate the damage done through mountaintop removal. Why might this practice be unsuccessful?
4. How has the mountaintop mining practice affected the employment rates in West Virginia?
5. What is the average fatality rate for coal workers? ______
Baffled about Fracking? You’re not Alone: New York Times (5/13/2011)
1. What is the full name of fracking? ______
2. Describe the process of fracking in natural gas production.
3. Why do people commonly lump together the fracking with drilling?
4. How might methane gas leaks into drinking water occur?
5. What caused contamination of fracturing fluid in surface water in Pennsylvania?
6. Why do environmentalists argue that the distinction between drilling and fracturing allow the gas companies to distort the truth?
7. Which part(s) of the fracking process fall under existing state and federal regulation?
8. Which part(s) of the fracking process do not fall under existing state and federal regulation?
9. Name one of the additives in fracturing fluid. ______
10. Why might fracking create more leaks than traditional drilling?
The Dirty Truth About Clean Diesel: New York Times (1/3/2016)
1. What is a defeat device? How does it fool emissions tests?
2. How many times higher were VW’s emissions compared to the level permitted by the US? ______
3. What are the two main air pollutants (besides CO2) that are emitted from diesel engines? ______
4. What are three negative health effects that they are seeing in Europe due to the increase in diesel powered cars and buses?
5. What is PM2.5?
6. What are two ways in which diesel combustion is different than traditional gasoline combustion?
7. What percentage of cars in Europe are now diesel cars? ______
8. How is it that diesel engines can be marketed as green?
9. What is diesel’s fatal flaw, which keeps it from being efficient and a clean source of fuel?
10. What percentage of cars in the US are diesel cars? ______
11. What makes diesel fuel potentially worse for global warming than gasoline?
12. What steps are cities in around the world taking to combat their diesel air pollution problem?
AustraliaApproves Coal Port Expansion Near Barrier Reef: Phys.org, 12/22/2015
1. What is “spoil?” (Note: Google “mining spoil definition”)
2. How much coal will the new port near the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) be able to handle? ______
3. Why does the port need dredging, if spoil will not be disposed of in the water?
4. How does Environment Minister Hunt justify the expansion of Australian coal for exportation to India?
5. Hunt argues that the coal port at Abbot Point is 20 miles from the GBR and will not affect it. Environmentalists disagree, due to the location of Abbot Point in the center of the coastline where the offshore GBR exists (see map). What is your opinion of the proposed coal port expansion, given the potential pros and cons to the project? Justify your answer.
Green Groups Say Another Coal Ash Spill Remains Likely, One Year After North Carolina Accident: Vice.com, 2/18/2015
1. How much contaminated water was dumped into the Dan River from the Duke Energy coal ash spill in 2014?
2. How much coal ash is produced each year in the US? ______
3. What heavy metals does coal ash contain? ______
4. What has been the history/progression of coal ash disposal, and what is the current method for disposal?
5. Where and when was the other large coal ash impoundment failure? ______
6. Even if there is no catastrophic failure of an ash impoundment, what often happens that contaminates surrounding rivers and groundwater?
7. What do environmental groups complain are the problems with new regulations meant to stop coal ash contamination?
California Methane Leak ‘Largest in US History’:BBC News, 2/26/16
1. How much methane was vented from the Aliso Canyon blowout? ______
How does this impact on climate compare to emissions from cars? ______
2. How long did it take to seal the leak of methane from the storage facility? ______
3. How many residents had to be evacuated? ______
4. Why was this methane leak more damaging to the climate than the larger methane leak in Texas in 2004?
5. How much more potent a greenhouse gas is methane compared to CO2? ______
6. What other harmful chemicals were released along with the methane?
7. What do scientists who analyzed the leak recommend as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are created by these leaks?
Oil Sands and the Environment: Why Keystone Counts: Bloomberg Review, 11/6/2015
1. How many years was the Keystone XL Pipeline debated in the US? ______What was the final decision by the Obama Administration?
2. Why are tar sands considered more harmful to the climate than conventional oil, even though they make up a small percentage of the total world oil supply?
3. Explain the two sides (pros vs. cons) of the Keystone Pipeline Project.