What is "Energy and the Environment"?
Students are challenged to think big and toward the future as they explore sustainable solutions to our energy needs and investigate the impact of energy on our lives and the world. They design and model alternative energy sources and evaluate options for reducing energy consumption.
Course Outline
Unit 1
1.1 WHAT IS ENGINEERING
In this lesson students will learn about STEM careers and how they impact the past, present, and future
1.2 DESIGN PROCESS
This lesson focuses on the tools that engineers use to solve problems. Students will study the Design Process and will use it to guide their actions. In this lesson students will be introduced to the idea that there are many design processes and no single design process is better or more useful than another. They will learn that the selected design process will be built upon in the high school Pathway to Engineering courses. Students will encounter each step in more detail as they gain knowledge and experience throughout the course.
3.1 Investigating Energy
The use and production of energy is important in everyone’s life, as shown in the graph to the right. It is also important to consider ways to reduce our impact on the environment when using energy to heat our buildings, for transportation, or to operate electrical appliances. When power is produced by burning fuels that were once living things carbon dioxide (CO2) is produced. CO2 is a greenhouse gas. Greenhouse gases allow the sun’s energy to enter the Earth’s atmosphere and then trap some of this heat causing the Earth’s temperature to rise. Without greenhouse gases the Earth would be too cold for human life, but in recent years the amount of green house gases in the atmosphere has been increasing and the temperature of the Earth is rising. Scientists are concerned about these increases.
The generation of electricity has primarily occurred through the use of exhaustible fossil fuels; oil, coal, and gas. Nuclear power is a method of generating energy with zero carbon emissions, but the disposal of the radioactive spent fuel is of major concern.
The development of alternative energy systems is a recent innovation where energy is generated from inexhaustible energy sources like wind, solar, geothermal, and hydropower, and renewable energy sources like biomass. These systems have the advantage of generating power with virtually zero carbon emissions. The challenge we face is economically harnessing, storing, and delivering these sources of energy.
3.2 Sustainable Energy
Many events across the globe over the last several years have reinforced the need to restructure both our use of energy and the source of our energy on a global basis. Stop and consider the effects on energy that these events have caused: population growth, economic growth in China and India, conflicts in the Middle East, global climate change, and natural disasters. We must implement innovative solutions to promote energy security and alternatives to fossil fuels. While meeting the increasing demand for energy, we also need to consider minimizing the environmental impact.
Sustainable energy is an important topic to research and develop. Everyone needs to get involved in issues of sustainability, whether it is investing in energy systems that reduce our carbon footprint and our dependence on fossil fuels or recycling and reducing wastes.
3.3 Making an Impact
Energy saved is energy gained for another day. Saving energy will cut down on pollution and help our fossil fuels last longer, hopefully until renewable energy sources become more practical.
Energy conservation, temporary reductions in energy use, is the least expensive source of energy available today. Every bit of electricity that is not used to light a room could be used to operate a computer. Power companies have found that mining this kind of wasted energy is often more beneficial than generating more energy. The utility must have enough energy available to satisfy the needs of all users 24 hours a day, even during peak hours when energy demand is very high. This often means building an entire power plant just to cover the demand for just a few hours of the day. When everyone conserves energy, especially during peak hours, the utility can meet peak demand without a new plant, and additional building and maintenance expenses are avoided.
Finding a way to do more with less is a benefit to everyone. Students can actively participate in energy conservation through a variety of measures including turning off lights when you leave a room, turning up the thermostat a few degrees on very hot days, turning down the thermostat on cold days, closing windows and doors during temperature extremes, reducing water usage and ensuring that plug-in chargers are unplugged when not in use. Many utilities offer on-line energy auditing software that students can use to audit their own homes. Students can select (in consultation with their parents) which recommendations to implement in their homes.
Students can also be actively involved in energy efficiency, reducing energy use by installing more efficient energy-using equipment and appliances. One of the easiest energy efficiency measures a student can perform is to replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs. Additional energy efficiency measures would require adult supervision or contractors, such as replacing inefficient windows with efficient windows, replacing old, inefficient air conditioners with high efficiency air conditioners, installing weather stripping and caulking around windows and doors, and installing low flow shower heads.
Because much of the potable and waste water used in the United States is pumped by electricity, gas or diesel powered motors, the use of water and waste water are tied to energy. Additionally, most of the products that we use require manufacturing powered by some form of energy and transportation powered by fossil fuels.
Students need to realize that each and every one of us does make a difference. The solution to energy problems will be solved by individuals. We are the ones who need to practice using resources wisely, pass laws and quit polluting. It will be individuals who will write letters to, and cast votes for, future lawmakers. Likewise it will be individuals who will decide to ride the bus or a bike instead of driving cars. The sum of our individual, daily decisions determines the net outcome of the world’s energy use. We want students to realize that individually they can impact energy usage trends.