Learn about the effects of a changing climate on the Arctic ecosystem and four of its well-known mammals: the polar bear, the walrus, the Arctic fox and the beluga whale.
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.
Climate change has been a hot topic lately. Scientists have been studying changes in the Earth’s climate over time. In this seminar you will learn about how and why Earth’s climate is changing. By the end of this seminar, you will be able to think reflectively about ways you can help lessen the changes in Earth’s climate.Standards3.3.4.A5Describe basic weather elements. Identify weather patterns over time.
While the creation of a dam provides many benefits, it can have negative impacts on local ecosystems. Students learn about the major environmental impacts of dams and the engineering solutions used to address them.
The purpose of this resource is to use a land cover type map to make environmentally sound decisions.
This activity includes a multiple-day lesson plan to engage students in awareness of their own ecological footprint, what simple actions young people are engaging in to minimize their imprint and how to makes steps towards living the ideal zero waste life.
This activity includes a multiple-day lesson plan to engage students in awareness of their own ecological footprint, what simple actions young people are engaging in to minimize their imprint and how to makes steps towards living the ideal zero waste life.
In this activity students will practice discussing environmental issues and their own ecological footprint. They will also practice sharing ways in which they can reduce their environmental impact.
This course covers fundamentals of thermodynamics, chemistry, and transport applied to energy systems. Topics include analysis of energy conversion and storage in thermal, mechanical, chemical, and electrochemical processes in power and transportation systems, with emphasis on efficiency, performance, and environmental impact. Applications include fuel reforming and alternative fuels, hydrogen, fuel cells and batteries, combustion, catalysis, combined and hybrid power cycles using fossil, nuclear and renewable resources.
This course studies the fundamentals of how the design and operation of internal combustion engines affect their performance, efficiency, fuel requirements, and environmental impact. Topics include fluid flow, thermodynamics, combustion, heat transfer and friction phenomena, and fuel properties, with reference to engine power, efficiency, and emissions. Students examine the design features and operating characteristics of different types of internal combustion engines: spark-ignition, diesel, stratified-charge, and mixed-cycle engines. The class includes lab project in the Engine Laboratory.
Students learn about life-cycle assessment and how engineers use this technique to determine the environmental impact of everyday products and processes. As they examine what’s involved in making and consuming cupcakes, a snack enjoyed by millions of people every year, students learn about the production, use and disposal phases of an object’s life cycle. With the class organized into six teams, students calculate data for each phase of a cupcake’s life cycle—wet ingredients, dry ingredients, baking materials, oven baking, frosting, liner disposal—and calculate energy usage and greenhouse gases emitted from making one cupcake. They use ratios and fractions, and compare options for some of the life-cycle stages, such as different paper wrapper endings (disposal to landfills or composting) in order to make a life-cycle plan with a lower environmental impact. This activity opens students’ eyes to see the energy use in the cradle-to-grave lives of everyday products. Pre/post-quizzes, worksheets, activity cards, Excel® workbook and visual aids are provided.
Students are introduced to the growing worldwide environmental problems that stem from plastic waste. What they learn about microplastics and the typical components of the U.S. water treatment process prepares them to conduct three engaging associated activities. During the lesson, students become more aware of the pervasiveness and value of plastic as well as the downstream pollution and health dangers. They learn how plastic materials don’t go away, but become microplastic pollution that accumulates in water resources as well as human and other animal bodies. They examine their own plastic use, focusing on what they discard daily, and think about better ways to produce or package those items to eliminate or reduce their likelihood of ending up as microplastic pollution. A concluding writing assignment reveals their depth of comprehension. The lesson is enhanced by arranging for a local water treatment plant representative to visit the class for Qs and As. In three associated activities, students design/test microplastic particle filtering methods for commercial products, create mini wastewater treatment plant working models that remove waste and reclaim resources from simulated wastewater, and design experiments to identify the impact of microplastics on micro-invertebrates.
In this project, you will explore a real-world problem, and then work through a series of steps to analyze that problem, research ways the problem could be solved, then propose a possible solution to that problem. Often, there are no specific right or wrong solutions, but sometimes one particular solution may be better than others. The key is making sure you fully understand the problem, have researched some possible solutions, and have proposed the solution that you can support with information / evidence.Begin by reading the problem statement in Step 1. Take the time to review all the information provided in the statement, including exploring the websites, videos and / or articles that are linked. Then work on steps 2 through 8 to complete this problem-based learning experience.
Students investigate the life cycles of engineered products and how they impact the environment. They use a basic life cycle assessment method that assigns fictional numerical values for different steps in the life cycle. Then they use their analyses to compare the impacts of their products to other products, and suggest ways to reduce environmental impact based on their analyses.
Pioneering 5th grade science teacher Connie Prewitt engages her students to learn some challenging life science lessons through a fun and elaborate role-play. Project Earth is a 100% immersive experience where students learn the impact of their decisions on individuals, communities, and the Earth.
This unit includes four lessons that culminate in students crafting a letter, video or article expressing their viewpoint on a business’s responsibilities towards the citizens and the environment.
Using inquiry-focused reading, students will explore an anchor text, additional resources, then develop their own essential and supporting questions to guide their research.
Over the course of the unit, students will explore a variety of texts and grow in their knowledge of governmental and small business economic practices, the legal rights of citizens, the interdependencies within an ecosystem and the uses of renewable and nonrenewable energy sources.
This unit includes three lessons that culminate in students crafting a letter, video or article expressing their viewpoint on a business’s responsibilities towards the citizens and the environment.
Using inquiry-focused reading, students will explore an anchor text, additional resources, then develop their own essential and supporting questions to guide their research.
Over the course of the unit, students will explore a variety of texts and grow in their knowledge of governmental and small business economic practices, the legal rights of citizens, the inter-dependencies within an ecosystem and the uses of renewable and nonrenewable energy sources.
Students learn how the innovative engineering of photovoltaics enables us to transform the sun’s energy into usable power—electricity—through the use of photovoltaic cells. Watching a short video clip from “The Martian” movie shows the importance of photovoltaics in powering space exploration at extreme distances from the Earth. Then students learn that the photovoltaic technologies designed to excel in the harsh environment of space have the potential to be just as beneficial on Earth—providing electricity-generating systems based on renewable energy sources is important for our electricity-gobbling society. Two student journaling sheets assist with vocabulary and concepts.
The primary goal of this course is to provide a toolset for characterizing and strategizing how nonmarket forces can shape current and future renewable energy markets. The course approaches the exploration and explanation of key concepts in renewable energy and sustainability nonmarket strategies through evidence-based examples. Main topics for the course include: a sociological approach to markets, renewable energy markets, nonmarket conditions, complex systems analysis, and renewable energy technology and business environments. Because renewable energy costs are higher than fossil fuel cost per unit of energy, the main arguments in support of renewable energy, thus far, are functionally nonmarket in character, i.e., environmental (e.g., climate change), political (e.g., energy independence), and/ or social (e.g., good stewardship).
EME 807 overviews a wide range of contemporary technologies in the context of sustainability and examines metrics for their assessment. The course explores the main principles that guide modern science and technology towards sustainable solutions. It covers such topics as resource management technologies, waste and wastewater treatment, renewable energy technologies, high performance buildings and transportation systems, application of informatics and feedback to sustainable systems, and more. Learning in EME 807 heavily relies on real-life examples and taps into current practices of technology analysis. This course goes beyond understanding the background, fostering critical thinking and challenging the students to draw connections between social, environmental, and economic aspects of sustainable technologies.