1.
What is biomass?
It is energy that comes from wood, agriculture residues, forestry residues, animal dung, and human waste.
What are biofuels?
Fuels produced from biomass
How is methane formed?
It is formed out of fermenting organic wastes and residues.
Ethanol (called alcohol) in Brazil is produced from?
Sugarcane
Ethanol in the US is made of
Corn
What does carbon neutral mean?
The same amount of carbo dioxide or CO2 that is released into the atmosphere by a biomass plant is absorbed by the crops or trees/plants that are grown.
What is hydropower?
It is the energy that is generated from the movement of water in rivers or waterfalls.
Explain the process of how hydropower is generated?
A dam is built in the middle of a river, and the water goes into a channel that moves a turbine where the spinning of the turbine generates the electricity.
What is a designer flow?
It resembles or imitates the flow of a river during rainy season and dry season to avoid changing or damaging ecosystems.
What are salmon cannons?
They are wetted tubes that help salmons fly through the other side of the dam, so salmons can continue their way in the river.
What is a fish ladder?
It is a series of pools that allows the fish to jump up and then over the dam.
What are Bristol ramps?
They are plastic bristles, so eels can squiggle their way through the dam and back into the river.
What is a sediment bypass?
It is a sand tunnel that carries sand to other side of the dam avoiding sand boxes that are bad for fish.
How many of the world's rivers are already dammed?
2/3
How much of the world's energy comes from hydropower?
16%
How much of Guatemala's energy comes from hydropower?
40%
Which are the 3 top hydropower producers in the world?
China, Brazil, and the United States
Where do we find most of the dammed rivers in Guatemala?
Alta Verapaz
Name 5 advantages of hydropower.
1. Renewable, 2. Available, 3. low carbon emissions, 4. Big amounts of electricity to power entire cities, 5. It brings development to remote communities.
Name 5 negative aspects of hydropower.
1. It changes the quality of water, 2. It displaces people, 3. It can cause floods, 4. It damages insects populations around rivers, 5. It damages life in rivers and around rivers. 6. It can create sand bottoms that are not fitting for fish, 7. It changes the course of rivers.
Why some hydroelectric dam projects have been stopped from being constructed?
People in the communities don't want to be displaced and they don't want their natural surroundings to be changed or damaged.
What is the tradeoff of hydropower?
development vs disrrupting ecosystems
How do we obtain energy from biomass? Explain the process.
Biomass is burned, water is heated, the water steam moves a turbine. The spinning of he turbine generates electricity.
What are the 3 top producers of ethanol in the world?
1. The US
2. Brazil
3. China
Name 6 advantages of biomass.
1. it is carbon neutral. 2. Widely available, 3. renewable, 4. cheaper than fossil fuels, 5. Increase the revenue from other byproducts, 6. less garbage in landfills.