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Answers To Review Questions
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  1. The sun was able to provide all energy requirements before the Industrial Revolution because animals furnished transportation, farming, and food and wood was a source of fuel for heating and cooking, and provided building materials. The ultimate source of the energy in wood and animals is the sun.


  2. A civilization requires energy for heating, cooking, transportation, and industry.


  3. Nations that did not have a source of fossil fuel, specifically coal, did not participate in the Industrial Revolution.


  4. The shift from wood to coal was caused by a decline in the local supplies of wood, mainly in Europe and North America. Also, coal has more energy per unit weight and was more easily transported.


  5. World War II greatly increased the energy demand for manufacturing and transportation, resulting in the construction of federally financed oil pipelines from refineries in the southwest to factories in the east. After the war, the pipelines were sold to private companies which converted them for the transport of natural gas.


  6. The government encourages the consumption of gas and oil by subsidizing transportation and storage facilities and by regulating prices.


  7. Initially, 90 percent of the natural gas produced from oil wells was burned off as waste because there was little demand for the product and a lack of transportation and storage facilities.


  8. The initial use of oil was to make kerosene or lamp oil. The automobile dramatically increased the demand.


  9. Civilization uses energy for residential and commercial uses, transportation, and industry.


  10. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) controls over 75% of the world's oil reserves. They have the power to fix production and prices according to their economic and political needs. As the demand for foreign oil has decreased, OPEC nations have been unable to repay loans to western banks, thereby causing financial loss to the lending institutions which in turn "trickles down" through the economy.


  11. The taxes paid on gasoline are low in the United States compared to other countries. Therefore, gasoline usage is higher in the United States. OPEC countries control much of the world’s oil and therefore, have the ability to determine oil prices. Political pressures have been brought to bear on OPEC to increase production when oil prices rise.
    Economic downturns result in less energy use and prices fall.









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