Students design and construct electromagnets that must pick up 10 staples. They begin with only minimal guidance, and after the basic concept is understood, are informed of the properties that affect the strength of that magnet. They conclude by designing their own electromagnets to complete the challenge of separating scrap steel from scrap aluminum for recycling, and share it with the class.

The present report was made in the first person, according to the author's experience.
Providing all the step-by-step on how this project was carried out in partnership with the college, since the meeting with the high school board, until the analysis of the quality standards of the compost generated. The work also has some suggestions to assist other teachers in the process of implanting a composter as an educational product at their educational institution.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"People can learn a lot from clinical trials -- like whether a new treatment works, whether it has serious side effects, or whether it would be cost-effective. How much a trial tells us, though, depends on what the researchers looked for and how they measured those outcomes. Unfortunately, people doing trials often don’t consult with patients -- or even with other researchers -- about what outcomes to focus on. With each researcher choosing their own outcomes to measure, comparisons between trials are difficult, and without input from patients, the most relevant ones are sometimes missed. It’s increasingly clear that selecting relevant outcomes is an important part of trial design, and that standardization could get more out of each trial, reduce waste in research, and move science and health care forward faster. To help, the COMET Initiative has written a new handbook on how to choose the most important outcomes..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

Students are asked to design and conduct an archaeological survey of the modern college campus, focusing on the provenience of litter and other trash, which is collected, sorted, and analyzed. Students develop a research question about college culture, waste management practices, and/or sustainability more generally and prepare an academic poster presenting their results.

As we live on this earth we create an impact. The energy that we use in our day to day lives affects the earth. In this seminar, you will learn about the carbon emissions humans produce and what a carbon footprint is. By the end of this seminar, you will be able to use deductive reasoning skills to determine how you can reduce your carbon footprint. You will be able to think reflectively about your impact on the environment.Standards3.4.5.B2Describe how waste may be appropriately recycled or disposed of to prevent unnecessary harm to the environment.

Compiled and modified for instructional use by: Kate Darby, Western Washington University
In 1887, Robert Towne built a metals smelter two and a half miles northwest of El Paso, Texas, across the river from Ciudad Juarez in Mexico and across the state border from several small towns in New Mexico. The smelter, which processed metal ore from regional mines, was quickly acquired by ASARCO (American Smelting and Refining Company) and became an important visual and economic institution in the region. In 1967, following the mantra of environmental regulation at the time—"the solution to pollution is dilution"—ASARCO erected what was then the tallest smokestack in the world: an 828-foot structure visible from much of the region. While the facility provided jobs to many in the region and produced metals important for a range of manufacturing and consumer products, by the 1970s, residents and scientists began to question the other products from the smelter—especially heavy metals pollution.

This case study includes discussion questions and data sources for further information.

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Compiled and modified for instructional use by: Lisa Phillips, Illinois State University, llphill@ilstu.edu
On September 10, 2012, several million southern California residents reacted with alarm to an unfamiliar noxious scent. The Air Quality Management District officials in the Los Angeles region were initially at a loss to determine the odor's source. Investigators from Ventura to Palm Springs looked for toxic spills, sewage plant leaks, and gas line breaks—all for naught.

The smell's origin was the Salton Sea more than 150 miles away and not usually upwind. The smell of an algal bloom and subsequent massive fish kill released odor molecules redolent with the stench of environmental decay.

This case study includes discussion questions and data sources for further information.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

This case study is an examination of the chemical and sensory impacts of a variety of environmental issues including sand mining, leaking underground gasoline storage tanks (LUSTs), and a railroad.

Wedron is a small, unincorporated town of approximately 100 residents in north central Illinois. A large sand mine has been in operation on the south and west sides of the town for many decades, and the mine property includes several abandoned and active pits, a processing plant, and a train car loading facility. Railroad tracks are located along the east side of town as is a grain elevator (storage and loading facility).

The following information was obtained from the US EPA web site about Wedron, personal visits to the town, and published news articles.

This case study includes discussion questions and data sources for further information.

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This is a 'citizen science' research project where students to apply their knowledge of landslide processes in an investigation of the natural and anthropogenic causes of a real-world landslide catastrophe. Students produce a 'magazine' article discussing the Zhouqu, China, August 8, 2010 landslide catastrophe.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Every cell in your body needs to take in nutrients, oxygen, and raw materials and export wastes and other substances—but it’s not just a random traffic jam! A cell membrane (also called a plasma membrane) regulates what comes in and what goes out. Explore the properties of soap films and relate them to the properties of plasma membranes and the mechanics of transport across membranes.

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) surrounds the brain as well as the central canal of the spinal cord. It helps cushion the central nervous system (CNS), acting in a similar manner to a shock absorber. It also acts as a chemical buffer providing immunological protection and a transport system for waste products and nutrients. The CSF also provides buoyancy to the soft neural tissues which effectively allows the neural tissue to "float" in the CSF. This prevents the brain tissue from becoming deformed under its own weight. It acts as a diffusion medium for the transport of neurotransmitters and neuroendocrine substances.

From the scientific viewpoint, this evaluation will help the students see a process instead of just a data collection event, and they will get to practice estimating amounts. They will also need to determine the products of any reactions performed during the experiment. From the standpoint of sustainability, this evaluation is intended to help the student recognize the environmental "cost" of an experiment-in consumables used and in waste products generated.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students use chemical reactions that occur in landfills and composting as a vehicle to learn about chemical changes found in their daily lives.

SCIENTIST NOTES: Students learn how to distinguish between physical and chemical changes in matter through this lesson. They can comprehend the chemical makeup, interactions, and changes that take place in landfills and other waste disposal facilities thanks to the films, articles, and class activity. Disastrous gases like methane are emitted into the atmosphere after the breakdown of various products and materials at waste disposal facilities due to their distinctive chemical properties. The environment and human health are likely to suffer as a result. So, it's crucial to separate these wastes since some of them can be reused or recycled to lower the amount of methane in the environment. Above all, students will be able to create a model for trash management, promote sustainably managed waste, and present solutions to local communities. To prevent injuries in the classroom, the teacher should oversee the balloon activity that involves using objects like banana peels and balloons on bottle mouths, among others. The lesson, including all accompanying materials and videos, has all been fact-checked, and it is appropriate for use in a classroom.

POSITIVES:
-Students work collaboratively in groups and with partners to share diverse ideas and perspectives.
-Students participate in hands-on learning to aid in understanding and participation.
-Students learn through a variety of pathways including kinesthetic, auditory, and visual learning to reach diverse and unique individuals.
-Students are given a variety of optional extensions to create the most meaningful change in their communities.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-Teachers can use this as a multi-day lesson in two to three parts. Each of the Inquire, Investigate, and Inspire sections can be completed on a separate day.
-Teachers can cut the chemical or physical change sorting game cards out prior to teaching the lesson.
-Materials required for the hands-on landfill activity include the following:
-Clear plastic tub (~12-in long × 6-in wide × 5-in deep) (~30-cm x 15-cm x 13-cm) with about 1 inch (2.54 cm) of sand in the bottom
-Clay (~750 cubic cm); this clay does not need to be the high-quality type used for modeling; clayey or silty soil from your backyard works fine
-Sand (~1500 cubic cm) (available at home and garden stores)
-Gravel (~100 cubic cm) (available at home and garden stores)
-~15 cotton balls
-(Optional) Tiny houses and buildings (such as Monopoly game houses and hotels), or any other simple representation to simulate the presence of a town sitting on the sand base
-Materials required for the balloon activity:
-Plastic (or glass) bottles
-Balloons
-Food scraps
-Tape (for securing the balloon around the top of the bottle)

DIFFERENTIATION:
-All hands-on activities can be taught as demonstrations.
-Lab groups may be created with students of mixed abilities.
-Articles may be read in small groups, whole groups, or individually based on students’ needs.
-Students can do the optional activity listed in the Inspire section and complete another balloon activity with food waste.
-Students can explore deeper the differences between methane and carbon dioxide outputs as greenhouse gases in landfills versus composting.

An interactive illustration about the Chernobyl Disaster which covers when and where did it occur, about the power plant, the death toll, the series of events, causes, compensation to the people, impact on people and environment, legislation passed on nuclear power plants and waste disposal in power plants, safety precautions passed after the disaster and the present scenario in Chernobyl and the areas around the reactor. It was made using the Mindomo app 

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Most microbial biomass in the ocean is found in the deep sea. Deep-sea microbes are important agents for organic matter (OM) recycling and storage, but it’s unclear how these organisms cope with the fluctuating OM supply in the deep ocean, especially in the deepest areas: the hadal trenches. To learn more, a new study examined the metabolic potential of microbes in the phylum Chloroflexi using sediment samples from the Mariana Trench. Metagenomic sequencing revealed 6 novel species, 4 novel genera, 1 novel family, and 1 novel order of Chloroflexi in the sediment. Based on the sequences, the associated microbes were primarily OM consumers that could degrade various organic carbon (OC), sulfur, and halogenated compounds and could even metabolize degradation-resistant types of OM, such as polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

Chompers is a trio of abstract coyotes with levers to lift and lower their heads and open their mouths so that they can appear to be howling at the moon. They were built by the artists at Opera-Matic, a neighborhood art group from Chicago that specializes in community engagement. Opera-Matic was invited to bring Chompers to the BLINK festival in Cincinnati. The BLINK festival was a celebration of light and art with a focus on interactivity. The “coyotes” were a big hit with festival-goers, especially children. They are mounted on recycled ice cream bikes for easy mobility in parades.

In an upper-level seminar course, students bear significant responsibility for their learning. This activity provides the framework to help them identify the exact topics that they will discuss throughout a course in Environmental Analysis. The students are given constraints so that they don't either wander completely aimlessly through the environmental literature or pick only papers on their favorite topic. They are instead asked to dip into the literature to find papers that deal with analysis of pollutants in air, water, and solid matrices, and to have at least one that is relevant to climate change.

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Our global society is not sustainable. We all know about the challenges we’re facing: waste, climate change, resource scarcity, loss of biodiversity. At the same time, we want to sustain our economies and offer opportunities for a growing world population. This course is about providing solutions we really believe in: a Circular Economy.

In this course we explore the Circular Economy: how businesses can create value by reusing and recycling products, how designers can come up with amazingly clever solutions, and how you can contribute to make the Circular Economy happen.

Building construction is one of the most waste producing sectors. In the European Union, construction alone accounts for approximately 30% of the raw material input. In addition, the different life-cycle stages of buildings, from construction to end-of-life, cause a significant environmental impact related to energy consumption, waste generation and direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions.

The Circular Economy model offers guidelines and principles for promoting more sustainable building construction and reducing the impact on our environment. If you are interested in taking your first steps in transitioning to a more sustainable manner of construction, then this course is for you!

In this course you will become familiar with circularity as a systemic, multi-disciplinary approach, concerned with the different scales, from material to product, building, city, and region.

Some aspects of circularity that will be included in this course are maximizing reuse and recycle levels by closing the material loops. You will also learn how the Circular Economy can help to realign business incentives in supply chains, and how consumers can be engaged and contribute to the transition through new business models enabling circular design, reuse, repair, remanufacturing and recycling of building components.

In addition, you will learn how architecture and urban design can be adapted according to the principles of the Circular Economy and ensure that construction is more sustainable. You will also learn from case studies how companies already profitably incorporate this new theory into the design, construction and operation of the built environment.