THE END OF EASY OIL

THE END OF EASY OIL

THE ALBERTA OIL SANDS: ECONOMICS vs ECOLOGY

 

1. Read the article “The End of Easy Oil” published in Discover Magazine (Dec. 2010) and answer the following questions.

(a) What are oil sands?

 
(b) What is bitumen?

 

 

(c) What concerns have been raised in a recent study by the freshwater ecologist Dr. David Schindler?

 

 

2. Watch the video “The Alberta Oil Sands” from the TV program “60 Minutes” and answer the following questions from the perspective of the American news media.

(a) Why does it make sense to develop the Alberta oil sands now?

 
(b) What arguments do the industry representatives offer to Americans to convince them of the benefits of Alberta oil sands development?

1.
2.

(c) What is one limiting the increased development of this oil reserve?

 
3. Watch the videos “Alberta Oil Sands” from the TV program “People and Power” and “Stop Tar Sands”. Answer the following questions from the perspective of the international news media looking at both economic and environmental concerns.

(a) What countries are interested in the Alberta oil sands?

 
(b) What are 2 benefits given by residents of the Fort McMurray community near the oil sands?

1.
2.

(c) What are three concerns mentioned by members of the aboriginal communities living near the Alberta oil sands?

1.
2.
3.
(d) What are four of the concerns outlined by members of environmental groups that are speaking out against further development of the Alberta oil sands?

1.
2.
3.
4.
(e) How much greenhouse gas is produced from the Alberta oil sands each year?

 

(f) Why are the greenhouse gas emissions so high in the Alberta tar sands?

 

 

 
Part 2: IMPACTS OF EXTRACTIVE TECHNIQUES

4. Watch the videos “Animation of Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking)” and “Facts about Fracking”. Answer the following questions from the perspective of both economic and environmental concerns.

(a) What is fracking? Briefly describe how fracking differs from traditional drilling technologies.

 

 

 

(b) What is the difference between fracking and injection well drilling?

 

 
(c) What are three concerns about fracking?

1.
2.
3.
PLACE THIS ORDER OR A SIMILAR ORDER WITH US TODAY AND GET AN AMAZING DISCOUNT 🙂

41
Dispersion of Pollutants

1- Most equations for predicting plume rise contain two terms that account for different physical reasons for the rise. What is the nature of these two terms?
2- Is it justifiable to use a constant value for the effective plume rise for a given situation, or should one in reality, adjust for the distance downwind from the stack? Discuss.
3- Sulfur dioxide is being emitted in a rural area at a rate of 0.90 kg/s from a stack with an effective stack height of 220m. The average wind speed at stack height is 4.8 m/s and the stability category is B. Determine the short-time period, downwind, center-line concentration in micrograms per cubic meter at ground-level distances of 1.0, 2.0 and 4.0 km.
4- What is the expected short-term period ground-level concentration at 150 and 250 m away from the downwind center line for the conditions given in Problem 3?
PLACE THIS ORDER OR A SIMILAR ORDER WITH US TODAY AND GET AN AMAZING DISCOUNT 🙂