Describe the distinction between conventional and unconventional oil and gas, and give examples of the unconventional varieties

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Conventional oil and gas are found in large pools that can be extracted using traditional drilling and pumping. Unconventional oil and gas, including tar sands, oil shale, and shale gas, require far more effort and energy to extract and are thus less profitable sources of energy. Tar sands are a mixture of heavy oils and sand grains, with the oil and sand needing to be separated. Oil shale contains solid rather than liquid hydrocarbons and requires heating in order to release the oil. Shale gas, found in small cracks in seams of shale, needs to be hydrofractured (fracked) using high-pressure fluids in order to be released and extracted.

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

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Of the 230,000 known species that inhabit the marine environment, about how many live in or on the ocean floor?

A) 145,000 B) 165,000 C) 185,000 D) 205,000 E) 225,000

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How does the linguistic and religious complexity of the Caucasus Region influence the politics of the region? 176)


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Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

Explain why it is much more difficult to measure snowfall amounts than rainfall amounts, and describe the instruments commonly used to measure snowfall amounts

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Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

The process of fracking involves

A) using underground explosives to break up gas-rich shale deposits. B) processes that are under the regulation of the 2005 Safe Drinking Water Act. C) using coal and petroleum as a chemical basis for producing natural gas. D) using high-pressure fluids to fracture gas-rich shale deposits far underground.

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences