What's in a Bike
Electric Car Batteries
China Coal
Solar Panels
Technology
100
Why are bikes not made of hemp, dried banana peels or bamboo?
Bikes are entirely made of metals that involve multiple combinations to create a basic bike. Speciality metals such carbon fibre are especially energy intensive.
100
How many electric cars or hybrid vehicles will exist on the roads by 2020? Give a percentage.
By 2020 more than 7% of the global transportation market will be electric or hybrid vehicles.
100
Which countries are the top users of coal?
China, USA, India
100
What makes people generally think solar panels are "Green"?
quiet, just collecting sun rays, no moving parts, no smoke coming out of a stack,
100
In 2014 alone, what are the top 6 applications used to communicate over the internet?
whatsapp, email, facebook, instagram, google, twitter
200
Name 5 countries are where most of the metals mined that make up your bike?
China, Canada, USA, Australia, South Africa, Germany, brazil, India
200
Where in the world are the Li-ion battery recycling plants located?
There is currently no main recycling infrastructure in the world that treats only automotive Li-ion batteries.
200
Why do China, USA and India use coal as one of there main sources of electricity?
abundant coal reserves, well proven technology to process the coal, a lack of other sources such as hydro electric, uranium, its a cheap source of power
200
what is the main ingredient and its melting temperature in the creation of solar panels?
The melting requires electricity to fire ovens to a temperature of about 1,650 degrees Celsius!
200
What types of equipment are classified as electronic waste in solar panels?
Solar panels are mostly electronic waste – a mix of semiconductors, wiring and power electronics.
300
What countries produce the majority of the bikes in the world?
China, India, the European Union, Taiwan, and Japan - are responsible for 87% of global production.
300
Why is lithium currently not recycled?
Lithium is 100% recyclable, currently economics do not add up to recycle it. Recycled lithium is as much as five times the cost of raw lithium. Currently there is a lack of standardisation in battery chemistries which make it difficult for recyclers.
300
How many new coal plants are planned to be built in the world, China and India in the next few years?
1200 in the world in 59 countries, with India planning 455 new plants compared to 363 in China,
300
what country produces the most solar panels and why is their carbon foot print much larger than solar panels produced in other countries?
China, coal is the main source of electricity
300
What resources are used to allow you to download your favorite music?
Fibre optic uses silicon, metals (gold, copper), oil, natural gas, steel for the towers, metals for the servers,
400
What metals are specifically used in e bikes (Electric bikes) that are currently not recycled?
Electric bikes generally use one of three types of batteries: lead acid batteries, nickel metal hydride batteries, or lithium ion batteries. More modern electric bikes use either the NiMH or Lithium batteries. Some models of bikes let you pick between one or the other, while others require a very specific battery
400
Why are electric batteries even dirtier than making solar panels?
Currently there is a lack of standardisation in battery chemistries which make it difficult for recyclers. no recycling of lithium due to more cost to recycle compared to directly mining lithium through brines, deposits, etc Each electric car contains about 50 kilograms (110 pounds) of graphite. Hybrid cars use about 10 kilograms, ebikes 1 kilogram, laptops about 100 grams and mobile phones about 15 grams!
400
What are the main sources of electricity in Canada and who uses the most coal in Canada to create electricity?
Hydro, Nuclear, coal, natural gas,
400
Why and how much has the solar panel industry ran an energy deficit from the year 2000 until now?
Majority of the solar panels are made in China and the power required uses coal as its main source of electrical power. The Solar Panel industry (PV) ran an energy deficit from 2000 to now, consuming 75 percent more energy than it produced in the past five years.
400
IN 2015 what are the top 5 countries (out of top 10) devices that are online? Where does Canada rank and how many users in the developed world and undeveloped world are using the internet?
South Korea, Denmark, USA, Switzerland, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Spain, France, Portugal 78% develop and 32% undevelop
500
If China alone produces 58 percent of the global market for bikes, would these bikes have a large carbon foot print (CO2) or small? explain your answer
Large, China uses mostly coal to power the equipment to build bikes
500
Why do the Chinese folk have their crops, air and water ruined by graphite rain?
very little pollution controls are currently installed in Chinese factories. there are recent examples of chemicals are directly poured into local rivers.
500
What is the current percentage of the top coal and oil companies that can be burned to keep the global temperature rise to the internationally agreed limit of 2C?
20% of the reserves of the top 100 coal and top 100 oil and gas companies
500
Who is the number one country using solar panels in the world and how long do you think it will take this country to not run an energy deficit?
Energy payback time can be reduced by installing PV panels in locations with high quality solar resources, like the desert Southwest in the United States and places like the Middle East or Canadian Prairies. Germany makes up about 40 percent of the installed market, but sunshine in Germany isn't that great compared to a desert.
500
How much e-waste in your smartphone consists of lithium, graphite and silicon?
iPhones and iPads sold globally to date, keeping in mind that as e-waste a single solar panel weighs 600 times more than a typical smart phone! Each electric car contains about 50 kilograms (110 pounds) of graphite. Hybrid cars use about 10 kilograms, ebikes 1 kilogram, laptops about 100 grams and mobile phones about 15 grams!
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