fossil fuels 170 Industrial Revolution 170

On-line Flashcards
      With oil as the world's major energy source, it is nearly impossible to prevent oil spills when oil is transported by oil tankers or used as fuel in ships. Read about the status of-and what we have learned from-a famous 10 year-old spill and more recent spills in these stories: The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, Ten Years Later, Major Oil Spill, New Carissa Oil Spill on the Oregon Coast.
Review Questions
  1. Why was the sun able to provide all energy requirements for human needs before the Industrial Revolution?
  2. In addition to food, what energy requirements does a civilization have?
  3. Why were some countries unable to use the technologies developed during the Industrial Revolution?
  4. What factors caused a shift from wood to coal as a source of energy?
  5. How were energy needs in World War II responsible for the subsequent increased consumption of natural gas?

  1. What part does government regulation play in changing the consumption of natural gas and oil?
  2. Why was much of the natural gas that was first produced wasted?
  3. What was the initial use of oil? What single factor was responsible for a rapid increase in oil consumption?
  4. List the three purposes for which a civilization uses energy.
  5. Why is OPEC important in the world's economy?
Critical Thinking Questions
  1. Imagine you are an historian writing about the Industrial Revolution. Imagine that you also have your new knowledge of environmental science and its perspective. What kind of a story would you tell about the development of industry in Europe and the United States? Would it be a story of triumph or tragedy, or some other story? Why?
  2. What might be some of the effects of raising gasoline taxes in the United States to the rate that most Europeans pay for gasoline? Why? What do you think about this possibility?
  3. Some argue that the price of gasoline in the United States is artificially low because it does not take into account all of the costs of producing and using gasoline. If you were to figure out the "true" cost of gasoline, what kinds of factors would you want to take into account?
  1. How has the ubiquitous nature of automobiles changed the United States? Do you feel these changes are, in balance, positive or negative? What should the future look like regarding automobile use in the United States? How can this be accomplished?
  2. Some energy experts predict that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will control about 65 percent of the known oil reserves by the year 2010. What political and economic effects do you think this will this have? Will this have any effect on energy use?
  3. How do you think projected energy consumption will affect world politics and economics, given current concerns about global warming?