Sustainability+Energy

The Essential Question What is the impact of my fossil fuel consumption?

Overview Eighty five percent of U.S. energy consumption is of fossil fuels. They also play a part in a wide variety of other products we use daily. Any way you look at it, dependence on fossil fuels is problematic. They are a finite resource, the source of considerable pollution, and supply cannot meet worldwide demand. So what can you do to reduce your family’s consumption? You first need to discover all of the ways that you use fossil fuels in your everyday life—not just the car trip to the mall or school but all of their more hidden uses. Then you need to act.

The Challenge Reduce your family’s use of fossil fuels.

Guiding Questions Guiding questions direct the research of the challenge topic.

Examples • What is a fossil fuel? • Where does my family use fossil fuels? • How much fossil fuel does it take to heat or cool my house? • What is made from fossil fuels? • How much gas does my family use in one week? • How much oil does it take to make a gallon of gas? • What are the alternatives to fossil fuels?

Guiding Activities These activities assist students with answering the guiding questions and set the foundation for them to develop insightful and realistic solutions. They can be student or teacher directed. The student teams may begin with these activities but will need to seek out new ones to answer their questions. The goal is not to create a prescribed path to a solution but to provide guidance when needed.

Examples • Learn About Fossil Fuels Students research and develop a clear definition of fossil fuels.

• Oil Scavenger Hunt Students examine all of the things they use in a normal day and do research to learn if they contain or use oil. They try to quantify the amount of oil each item represents.

• How Much Fossil Fuel Do You Own? Students create a list of products that have fossil fuels in them. They do an inventory of all the items in their homes that contain fossil fuel and investigate alternatives to these items.

• Transportation Students calculate the amount of gas used during the week to transport members of their family. They then identify alternatives.

• How Much Fossil Fuel Is in a Plastic Bag? Students calculate the amount of fossil fuels needed to create plastic bags. They record how many plastic bags their family uses in a week. They then determine how much energy they can save by not using plastic bags.

• Finding Alternatives Students research providers of alternative energy sources in their community. They interview the providers and identify pros and cons of the options.

Guiding Resources This is focused content that supports the activities and assists students with developing a solution. The ingredients include websites, videos, podcasts, experts, and other resources.

Examples • Energy Story: Fossil Fuels—Coal, Oil and Natural Gas The California Energy Commission provides an overview of fossil fuels. www.energyquest.ca.gov/story/chapter08.html

• Fossil Fuels This site from the Institute for Energy Research includes an overview of fossil fuels. www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/energy-overview/fossil-fuels

• Energy Efficiency The Energy Information Administration provides information for students about energy consumption and efficiency. www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/saving/efficiency/savingenergy_secondary.html

• Official Energy Statistics from the U.S. Government This site includes a large collection of raw data to use for analysis from the Energy Information Administration. www.eia.doe.gov

• Personal Impact Calculator This global warming calculator, from the AOL Research and Learn site, can be used to measure a household’s greenhouse gas emissions and learn how to reduce them. This calculator was updated in December 2006 with data from the EPA. http://reference.aol.com/planet-earth/global-warming/calculator

• AAA Fuel Cost Calculator This site provides a tool for estimating the fuel cost of trips using the starting location and destination and vehicle manufacturer, year, and model. www.fuelcostcalculator.com

• Smart Energy This podcast from Stanford professor Margo Gerritson explores technologies and ideas to power the world safely and efficiently. http://deimos3.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browse/itunes.stanford. edu.1380022380

• Stanford University Woods Energy Seminar This interdisciplinary series of talks primarily by Stanford experts covers a broad range of energy issues. http://deimos3.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browse/itunes.stanford.edu.1635890187

• Inside Renewable Energy This overview of the renewable energy industry includes interviews, news, events, product information, and more. http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=135363982

Solution/Action The challenges are stated broadly enough to allow for a variety of solutions. Each group of students will base its solution on what students learned as they moved through the guiding activities. Any solution must be concrete and actionable.

Example Students researched different ways that their families utilized fossil fuels. They determined that the use of plastic grocery bags was one area where they could reduce the amount of fossil fuels used. Students first did an inventory of how many bags each team member’s family used during a normal month. They calculated the amount of fossil fuels that these bags represented. They then designed and implemented a green bag campaign that acted both as a fundraiser for the school and measurably reduced the number of plastic bags their families used monthly. The green bag campaign included designing creative bags that would be attractive to consumers, determining the cost of production, developing a marketing plan, and selling the bags. A final comparison showed that the footprint of the bags was less than the plastic bag consumption.