KNOWLEDGE UNLIMITED NEWS Matters Energy: How Bright Is Our Future? Vol. 4 No. 5 ABOUT NEWSMatters Energy: How Bright Is Our Future? is one in a series of five NewsMatters programs for the 2000-2001 school year. Each 15 to 20-minute video in the series examines an issue or topic in the news. The video is supported by a poster and a teacher s guide. The NewsMatters program is designed to promote discussion and critical thinking in the classroom. NewsMatters videos will rarely, if ever, provide clear-cut conclusions about an issue. Rather, each video s goal is to leave more questions in viewers minds than answers. The supplementary materials are designed to help focus and direct these questions and to generate thought and debate about the topic. These materials are flexible. You can control the pace and length of each lesson, and you can use any, all, or none of these materials. NEWSMatters Teacher s Guide for Energy: How Bright Is Our Future? Recent power shortages in California have reminded Americans how dependent our economy and everyday comforts are on electricity and on other forms of energy that are often taken for granted. Energy: How Bright Is Our Future? looks at the energy situation in the United States, focusing on how power is produced and the problems associated with each means of production. The video considers these questions: Can energy shortages be averted? Must the nation accept environmental damage to ensure an adequate energy supply? What renewable resources can be better exploited? The following activities will guide students as they research and try to answer these important questions. Ten of the activities can be reproduced. Your students can organize and complete nine of the exercises on their own. The other activities are designed for classroom participation and teacher presentation. NEWSMatters is produced by Knowledge Unlimited, Inc. Copyright 2001 by Knowledge Unlimited, Inc., all rights reserved. ISBN 1-55933-294-8 KNOWLEDGE UNLIMITED NEWSMatters, P.O. Box 52, Madison, WI 53701 knowledgeunlimited.com Readiness Activity (An activity to be done before viewing the video) This activity will help your students become familiar with some of the important terms and themes in Energy: How Bright Is Our Future? before they watch the video. Divide the class into five groups. Assign each group three of the terms listed below. One member of each group should record an agreed-upon definition or description for each term and then present these definitions to the class for discussion. blackout carbon dioxide crude oil electricity fossil fuel kilowatt nuclear power OPEC petroleum radioactivity solar Strategic Petroleum Reserve turbine uranium utility Energy: How Bright Is Our Future?
Discussion Questions These questions will help you and your class review important points made in the video. The questions will also give some structure to your discussion about Energy: How Bright Is Our Future? After your students view the video, ask them to comment on these questions. Some questions have specific answers and others are more open-ended. You may wish to use these questions as a springboard for further discussion. Do you think Americans take their energy supply for granted? Why or why not? Why is the energy crunch worse in California than in other parts of the United States? What do you think happens to the price of electricity if the price is determined only by the free market? How might high prices of electricity generated by fossil fuels help the development of alternative sources of energy? Was President Clinton right to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve when it appeared that there would be a heating oil shortage? Why or why not? Why did President George W. Bush retreat from a campaign promise to set carbon dioxide emission standards for industries? Was he right to do this? Why or why not? What are some different kinds of power plants? Why are fossil fuels nonrenewable? Besides being nonrenewable, what are the problems caused by using fossil fuels as an energy source? What are some renewable energy sources? What are the problems with these sources? How did America's booming economy increase its energy usage? What role should state and federal governments play in ensuring a reliable power source for the nation? How important is it for the federal government to fund research and development of renewable energy? Should the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge be opened for oil exploration and drilling? Why or why not? ANSWERS FOR PAGE 5 1-b, 2-a, 3-c, 4-c, 5-c, 6-b, 7-c, 8-a ANSWERS FOR PAGE 6 1-400, 2-$600, 3-333.33, 4-$499.995, or round to $500, 5-$800, $666.67 6-400,000,000 $600,000,000 333,333,333.33 $499,995,000 $800,000,000 $666,666,666.67 2 Energy: How Bright Is Our Future? 2001 by Knowledge Unlimited, Inc.
Vocabulary reproducible activity As you are doing research for the following activities related to energy, you may come across terms that are new to you. Knowing their definitions ahead of time will help you to better understand your research. Look up each word and write a brief definition for each term in the space provided. Clean Air Act cogeneration conservation Department of Energy Department of the Interior deregulation Environmental Protection Agency ethanol heavy water hydroelectric insulation megawatt national monument nuclear meltdown power grid transmission lines 2001 by Knowledge Unlimited, Inc. Energy: How Bright Is Our Future? 3
The California Crisis reproducible activity California began experiencing severe electricity shortages in late 2000. Experts blamed the shortage on a number of things, including increased usage, environmental restrictions that prevented the building of new power plants, and deregulation. Deregulation refers to opening the utility companies to competition. This is done by allowing independent energy producers to use the utilities' transmission lines, thus giving consumers a choice of power producers. Using newspaper, magazines, and the Internet, research the energy situation in California and then complete the following activities and answer the following questions. Use a separate sheet or sheets of paper for your answers. Make a list of the headlines about California's energy crisis that ran in your newspaper in one week. Record the issue or issues that each newspaper story reported on. What issue did the newspaper focus on most often? Overall, do you think the news coverage of the energy problems in California was fair? Do you think it blamed utilities, the state government, or consumers unfairly for the electricity shortage? Explain why you feel this way. Do you think California's energy crisis is important to the rest of the nation? If so, in what way might it affect other regions of the United States? If not, why not? About half of the states have started deregulation of electrical utilities. Is your state one of these? If so, has it had any problems with deregulation? Aside from California, has any state with deregulation been in the news because of power shortages? Do you think deregulation of electrical utility companies is or is not a good idea? Why? 4 Energy: How Bright Is Our Future? 2001 by Knowledge Unlimited, Inc.
Fossil Fuels: Petroleum reproducible activity The United States relies heavily on fossil fuels as an energy source. Petroleum, or oil, is the most important of these fossil fuels. Petroleum is refined into gasoline, diesel fuel, and heating oil. About 20 percent of the nation's total energy is generated from petroleum, mainly because of the use of gasoline. Gasoline's chief use is not to produce electricity, but as fuel for cars and trucks. Shortages of petroleum can hurt America's economy as much as electricity shortages can. Most products have to be moved from place to place, and people have to get to work. Research petroleum and then choose the correct answer for each question. 1. Most of the world's crude oil reserves are in..?... a-africa b-the Middle East c-russia 2. The United States has about..?.. percent of the world's oil reserves and uses..?.. of the total oil output. a-2 percent, one-fourth b-5 percent, half c-10 percent, one-third 3. The price of a barrel of oil is set by..? a-the Department of Energy b-the oil companies c-the world market 4. Burning gasoline releases..?.. into the air. a-sulfur b-volatile organic compounds c-a and b 5. One of the dangerous materials that has been phased out of gasoline is..?... a-arsenic b-cyanide c-lead 6. A product made from corn and added to gasoline is called..? a-benzene b-ethanol b-methanol 7. It takes..?.. of years for petroleum to be made by nature. a-hundreds b-thousands c-millions 8. The United States has experienced severe gasoline shortages when..?.. has cut back on oil sales to the West. a-opec b-asean c-nato Answers on page 2 2001 by Knowledge Unlimited, Inc. 5 Energy: How Bright Is Our Future?
Saving Gasoline and $$$ reproducible activity Because there are so many vehicles on the road, even small changes that increase gas mileage can greatly reduce the amount of gasoline used. Do the arithmetic necessary to answer the following questions and you will have a better idea of how efficient engines save fuel. 1. If the average car travels 10,000 miles a year and gets 25 miles per gallon of gas. how many gallons would it use in one year? 2. At $1.50 a gallon, how much would the gasoline used by the car in problem 1 cost? 3. Suppose that the mileage per gallon of gas could be increased to 30 miles per gallon. How many gallons would a car use to travel 10,000 miles? 4. How much would the gas cost at $1.50 a gallon? 5. Suppose the price of gasoline increases to $2.00 a gallon. Figure problem 2 and 4 using the price of $2.00 a gallon. 6. Figure the gas mileage and cost for 1,000,000 cars using the figures provided in the above problems. Answers on page 2 CLASS DISCUSSION: Share ideas about how you and your classmates can use cars less. For example, are there places you could walk or ride your bike to instead of riding in a car? How hard would it be to get places without using a car? 6 Energy: How Bright Is Our Future? 2001 by Knowledge Unlimited, Inc.
Fossil Fuels: Coal reproducible activity About 40 percent of the electricity in the United States is generated by coal. Coal is plentiful, and experts estimate that the U.S. has enough coal in the ground to last for more than 100 years. Research the mining and use of coal in America and then write a brief essay based on one of the statements below. Use a separate sheet of paper if necessary. It is important to develop our coal resources to the fullest. The United States should stop using coal as a power source as soon as possible. 2001 by Knowledge Unlimited, Inc. 7 Energy: How Bright Is Our Future?
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge reproducible class activity The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), a federally protected area in Alaska, has become the center of a controversy between environmentalists and oil developers. Research the ANWR so that you know where it is located, what the refuge is like, and what wildlife can be found there. As a class, discuss and then take a poll about whether the ANWR should be opened up for oil exploration and drilling. You can use this page as a ballot, or vote using a show of hands. The ANWR should be opened for oil drilling. The ANWR should be left untouched. FURTHER CLASS DISCUSSION: Are there any national parks, reserves, or other government-protected areas in your state that can or have been opened to oil or natural gas drilling or mining? If so, do you think it is or was a good idea to open these areas? Why or why not? 8 Energy: How Bright Is Our Future? 2001 by Knowledge Unlimited, Inc.
Nuclear Power reproducible activity Nuclear power generates about 12 percent of electricity nationally and as much as 20 percent of the electricity in some states. Research this important power source and then do the following exercises. Draw a simple diagram of a nuclear power plant and label the different parts.. List three advantages of using nuclear power as an energy source. 1. 2. 3. List three problems associated with nuclear energy 1. 2. 3. CLASS DISCUSSION: Do you think building more nuclear power plants would or would not be a good way to avoid future energy shortages? Why? 2001 by Knowledge Unlimited, Inc. Energy: How Bright Is Our Future? 9
New Ideas reproducible activity Study newspapers and news and science magazines for new devices that use less energy or that are powered by something other than fossil fuels. Solar or electrically powered cars and fuel cells are examples. Find out more about one such device or vehicle. Draw a diagram of it and explain how it works, what it does, and why it is or is not practical at this time. 10 Energy: How Bright Is Our Future? 2001 by Knowledge Unlimited, Inc.
Cartoons reproducible activity Cartoons are a good way to look at an issue. Sometimes they are funny, but mostly they sum up the issue quickly with a simple drawing and few words. The two cartoons below are about the environment. Use the space below each cartoon to explain the point the cartoon is trying to make. Do you think the cartoonists make their points effectively? Why or why not? What do these cartoons say about energy and the electricity crisis? _ CLASS DISCUSSION: Of these two cartoons, which one do you think makes the most important point about energy shortages? Why? 2001 by Knowledge Unlimited, Inc. 11 Energy: How Bright Is Our Future?
Saving Energy Begins at Home reproducible activity Power usage would have increased much more over the last 20 years if Americans had not found so many ways to save energy. Buildings are better insulated today than ever before. New appliances use energy more efficiently. If you looked around, you probably would find ways that you and your family could also cut down on your energy use even more. List ten things you could do to save electricity or heat. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. CLASS DISCUSSION: Share your list with the class and discuss all the ideas that you and your classmates came up with. Do you think any of these things would be too hard to do? 12 Energy: How Bright Is Our Future? 2001 by Knowledge Unlimited, Inc.