NAME OF GREEN NINJA VIDEO: College Confrontation MAIN TOPIC OF VIDEO: Making better choices in how we live and what we eat. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Frame: 1. What are some of the ways we use energy in our daily lives? 2. What are some of the ways we could save energy in our daily lives? 3. Do you think that what we eat or buy can change our climate? If so, how? Why? 4. This film is called Burrito Showdown. Predict what you think you will learn from watching it? Focus: 1. In what ways do the two guys waste energy? 2. How much of the food they bought was wrapped in plastic? 3. In what ways does the Green Ninja reduce the two guys energy usage? 4. How does Green Ninja travel to the two guys home? 5. How does the Green Ninja change what the two guys eat? Follow-up: 1. What changes could you make at home or school to cut back on energy usage? 2. How could you change what you eat to save energy? 3. What changes could you and your family make in how your food purchases are wrapped? 4. What happens to all of the wrapping materials? ANSWERS TO DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Frame: 1. What are some of the ways we use energy in our daily lives? Answers may include: a. We drive in cars, turn on lights, cook food, wash our clothes, etc. b. We eat food and food requires energy to produce 2. What are some of the ways we could save energy in our daily lives? Answers may include: a. We can drive less, turn off lights, etc. b. We can recycle paper, etc. 3. Do you think that what we eat or buy can change our climate? If so, how? Why Answers may include: a. Yes. Even though you re just one person, all of our choices make a difference.
b. We are all consumers of energy and we make a choice when we buy food and other things we need. Companies want to stay in business, so they will produce what we want to buy. We can decide to buy things only if they don t damage our world or add to climate change. c. All food that we (and any other animal) eat requires energy from the Sun, or solar energy. But humans have learned to use better technology machines to grow more food and to be able to transport that food huge distances from where it was grown or raised. Being able to eat all different kinds of food is healthy and pleasurable, but the machines we use to produce and deliver the food run on petroleum oil. When machines burn that fossil fuel, they release greenhouse gases, including Carbon Dioxide. Some food production adds many greenhouse gases to our world and we should choose not to buy those products. d. The more processed a food is like chips the more energy is required to make it. The carrot wasn t processed, but it still requires irrigation, maybe fertilizer, being picked by machines, transportation to our markets, stored in a refrigerated container, and then displayed in a climate controlled, lighted produce section in our local markets. etc. But suppose you buy a bag of potato chips. How many more steps that use energy are required? e. It matters what kind of meat we eat. Besides the health benefit of eating less red meat (which is high in animal fat), chicken takes a lot less energy to produce. 4. This film is called Burrito Showdown. Predict what you think you will learn from watching it? Answers may include: it s going to teach us about eating better burritos or food in general.it could be about a fight over a burrito Focus: 1. In what ways do the two guys waste energy? a. They used a Hummer (a large, gas-guzzling vehicle) to buy processed, packaged food from a food market. b. They turned on two regular lights, Christmas tree lights, and a fan on at home. c. They turned on a Nintendo play station and the television set, and weren t even playing it. d. They let the plastic food bag blow away, and didn t reuse it. 2. How much of the food they bought was wrapped in plastic? a. Almost all of it chips, candy, soda (in a paper cup, plastic top and straw), beef jerky. b. They brought it home in a plastic bag. 3. In what ways does the Green Ninja reduce the two guys energy usage? a. He turns off their two extra lights, the Nintendo game, and the fan b. He changes what they eat to less CO 2 - producing food. Raising beef creates a lot more greenhouse gases than does raising chickens
4. How does Green Ninja travel to and from the two guys home? a. He runs/walks b. He takes a light transit train c. He changes a Hummer to a bike at the end 5. How does the Green Ninja change what the two guys eat? a. The Green Ninja changes the beef burrito into a chicken burrito b. The Green Ninja changes the beef jerky into a carrot c. He changes the food in their shopping bags to fresh fruit and vegetables Follow-up: 1. What changes could you make at home or school to cut back on your energy usage? Answers may include: a. Ride a bike or walk more b. Don t drive big cars that use a lot of gas (like a Hummer!) c. Buy fewer electronics d. Turn off all electricity that you don t need e. Plan your driving trips so that you save on fuel 2. What changes could you make to reduce trash? Answers may include: a. Recycle and/or reuse any plastic food wrappings that you can b. Don t waste food. Compost as much kitchen scraps as you can c. Avoid over-wrapped foods, especially when you buy fast food 3. How could you change what you eat to save energy? Answers may include: a. Make better food choices. Cut down on beef and eat more chicken and sustainable other protein resources b. Avoid processed food that requires high energy to make c. Avoid prepared, plastic-wrapped food d. Eat as much natural locally grown food as you can e. Grow some of your own food f. Compost any leftover food that you can ADDITIONAL TOPICS AND LEARNING EXPERIENCES: 1. Before the Green Ninja visits them, how do the two guys throw away their trash? a. One guy drops his cup of soda and ice on the ground b. He spits his toothpick out onto the ground c. He lets plastic bag float off in the wind 2. How can we reduce trash here at school? 3. Make sure notice and discuss the Green Ninja Bike Signs. How can you explain what these mean to someone who hasn t watched the Green Ninja? I Honk for Bicycle Commuters
I (heart) Air No carbon footprint here 26 MPB -- = 26 miles per burrito Beef Burrito 8.4 pounds of CO2 Chicken Burrito 1.5 pounds of CO2 Make the right choice 4. How do these bumper stickers or signs apply to our life? What other bumper stickers can we design and put up to make sure that we all make better choices in what we eat and drive? Lesson extensions: Students design, draw or print their new bumper stickers or signs. Put them up in the classroom and/or school. Students create a new Green Ninja video message Write the script Perform it Compose music Draw a comic strip ADDITIONAL NOTES AND RESOURCES: When the video starts, four statements float in and around. They are: a. We have to alter our relationship with energy consumption or pay the consequences b. All food requires energy to make c. So what s on your menu? d. Global warming is real and important Suggestions: Is there one that you think is the most important message? Why? Choose one of them to discuss that you can act on Do you think that these messages are clear enough? If not, how could you rewrite them? What wakes up the Green Ninja from his peaceful meditation? How can we wake up and take action against global warming? Resources http://greenninja.info/energyefficientfood.html Food and Energy http://www.foodemissions.com/foodemissions/calculator.aspx
http://www.pbs.org/e2/movies/education/309_edex.mp4
Here is a still shot from the video. Identify the types of food he bought. Research and then report how each one was grown, processed, packaged, and delivered. Online Carbon Footprint Calculators for Students http://footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/gfn/page/calculators/ You can easily choose the most typical answers as a group; how many Earths do you need to sustain your life style?? Teachers Guide about energy and lesson plans the jokes are good! Including food to calorie energy http://www.eia.gov/kids/energy.cfm?page=teacher_guide http://www.eia.gov/kids/energy.cfm?page=about_energy_conversion_calculatorbasics#foodenergy Science background for teachers on the greenhouse effect http://www.ucar.edu/learn/1_3_1.htm Outstanding units on Energy in California, including movies, art http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/story/index.html#table http://energyquest.ca.gov/devoured/index.html Devoured by the Dark -- An online graphic novel would appeal to upper elementary/middle school kids; excellent source for integrating writing
http://www.aip.org/history/climate/index.htm A downloadable currently updated book on global warming One company s efforts to be green - discusses concerns we have the initial food, the packaging, distributing, recycling http://www.stonyfield.com/healthy-planet/our-practices-farm-table Credit: This teacher resource has been adapted from content originally developed by Beth Brooking.