President Biden authorized the release of 180 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to lower gasoline prices amid the Russia-Ukraine War. While previous releases had modest effects, the magnitude of this release is significant. Estimates suggest a reduction of $0.15 to $0.38 per gallon at the pump.

In the exploration of ways to use solar energy, students investigate the thermal energy storage capacities of different test materials to determine which to use in passive solar building design.

In this learning activity, students use a web-based carbon calculator to determine their carbon footprint on the basis of their personal and household habits and choices. Students identify which personal activities and household choices produce the most CO2 emissions, compare their carbon footprint to the U.S. and global averages, and identify lifestyle changes they can make to reduce their footprint.

This video features a short animated sequence that illustrates the difference between young and old carbon released into the atmosphere from the consumption of food (young carbon) and the burning of fossil fuels (old carbon).

Students are introduced to the concept of energy cycles by learning about the carbon cycle. They will learn how carbon atoms travel through the geological (ancient) carbon cycle and the biological/physical carbon cycle. Students will consider how human activities have disturbed the carbon cycle by emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. They will discuss how engineers and scientists are working to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Lastly, students will consider how they can help the world through simple energy conservation measures.

In this seminar you will examine the path of carbon as it transforms from one molecule to the next in the processes of photosynthesis and cell respiration. You will accurately create the chemical equations of photosynthesis and cell respiration and further your practice by using comparison and contrast skills to explore the different types of respiration.StandardsBIO.A.3.1.1 Describe the fundamental roles of plastids (e.g., chloroplasts) and mitochondria in energy transformations.BIO.A.3.2.1 Compare and contrast the basic transformation of energy during photosynthesis and cellular respiration.BIO.A.3.2.2 Describe the role of ATP in biochemical reactions

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.

Step 1. Students are asked to keep track of their energy use from a variety of sources (heating/cooling, electricity, transportation, secondary emissions, etc) during the 9 days of Thanksgiving break, when many of them are likely to travel. They use the total for the 9 days that they calculated using an online calculator to estimate their yearly footprint and compare it to US and world averages. For most of them, the amount of carbon emitted during those 9 days is quite large because of airplane travel or long-distance driving. However, using a week of break when many students will travel allows them to become aware of the significance of transportation in carbon emissions. We provided a table with electricity and heating/cooling bills for various residence halls for students who stay on campus during the break.

Step 2. Students complete an online survey where they are asked to enter the values that they have obtained for the various components of the calculator, perform some simple calculations and compare their annual footprint to the U.S. average. We used SurveyGizmo for the survey because it allows to download the data in a spreadsheet format and has some limited plotting features. The free version allows a maximum of 250 submissions, the Basic version ($19 per month, can be canceled at any time) has unlimited submissions.
Step 3. Students write an essay through BlackBoard/WebCT (Assignment). A few guiding questions are provided for this essay where students reflect on the results of their impact on the global carbon budget, what they found surprising, and if they plan to make any changes to their lifestyle to limit their impact. No length limit is set for the essay.

The guidelines and components of this assignment are available on a wiki page. The three steps can be implemented in BlackBoard/WebCT as a Lesson Plan with links to the online calculator (step 1), to the survey (step 2), and to the Assignment/essay (step 3).

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Carbon pricing, including cap-and-trade and carbon taxes, is one tool in the toolbox governments have to reduce the impacts of climate change. What kind of a tool is it? After an introduction to carbon pricing, students use an online simulator to investigate multiple pathways to a cooler future.

This Guide for Educators was developed by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative as an extension of our TILclimate (Today I Learned: Climate) podcast, to make it easier for you to teach climate change, earth science, and energy topics in the classroom. It is an extension of the TILclimate episode "TIL about carbon pricing."

What is carbon? A hot topic in agriculture. Attend to preview new Nebraska-specific lesson plans aligned to Nebraska AFNR standards, that highlight the advantages and disadvantages of carbon.Explore answers to questions such as: What is the carbon cycle? How are agriculture and carbon connected? What steps are farmers and ranchers taking to reduce their carbon footprint?  Thee lesson plans and worksheets are included.  Curriculum developed by Rebecca Wulf.Sponsored by TallGrass, Leading Energy Solutions and the Nebraska FFA Foundation.

Students collect and analyze geological and biological materials for carbon content in order to investigate carbon through time. Implications for energy production now and in the future are explored in the context of carbon cycling in the oceans, the atmosphere, and the geosphere.

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:

"For decades they’ve taken a backseat to their mineral counterparts. But today, organic materials are booming—not least of all for their applications in lithium-ion batteries. A new review article published in the journal ChemPlusChem discusses how one class of organics in particular is poised to yield high performance from a tiny but versatile package: carbonyl-based π-conjugated compounds. Like other organic materials, carbonyl-based π-conjugated materials present a unique and much-needed solution to the global energy crisis. Flexible, light, and naturally abundant, these compounds offer the prospect of nimble energy-storage systems with energy and power densities comparable to inorganic systems. What sets carbonyl-based π-conjugated materials apart from other organics is highly tunable electrochemical performance stemming from a versatile starting structure. The redox mechanism of carbonyls proceeds by a reversible one-electron reduction to form a radical mono-anion and the reverse reaction..."

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

In this activity, student teams research and develop a proposal to decrease the carbon footprint of their city's/town's public transportation system and then prepare a report that explains why their transportation plan is the best for their community.

Students learn how the aerodynamics and rolling resistance of a car affect its energy efficiency through designing and constructing model cars out of simple materials. As the little cars are raced down a tilted track (powered by gravity) and propelled off a ramp, students come to understand the need to maximize the energy efficiency of their cars. The most energy-efficient cars roll down the track the fastest and the most aerodynamic cars jump the farthest. Students also work with variables and plot how a car's speed changes with the track angle.

Working in teams of three, students perform quantitative observational experiments on the motion of LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robotic vehicles powered by the stored potential energy of rubber bands. They experiment with different vehicle modifications (such as wheel type, payload, rubber band type and lubrication) and monitor the effects on vehicle performance. The main point of the activity, however, is for students to understand that through the manipulation of mechanics, a rubber band can be used in a rather non-traditional configuration to power a vehicle. In addition, this activity reinforces the idea that elastic energy can be stored as potential energy.

Students learn about power generation using river currents. A white paper is a focused analysis often used to describe how a technology solves a problem. In this literacy activity, students write a simplified version of a white paper on an alternative electrical power generation technology. In the process, they develop their critical thinking skills and become aware of the challenge and promise of technological innovation that engineers help to make possible. This activity is geared towards fifth grade and older students and computer capabilities are required. Some portions of the activity may be appropriate with younger students. CAPTION: Upper Left: Trey Taylor, President of Verdant Power, talks about green power with a New York City sixth-grade class. Lower Left: Verdant Power logo. Center: Verdant Power's turbine evaluation vessel in New York's East River. In the background is a conventional power plant. Upper Right: The propeller-like turbine can be raised and lowered from the platform of the turbine evaluation vessel. Lower Right: Near the East River, Mr. Taylor explains to the class how water currents can generate electric power.

There are two types of catalysis reactions: homogeneous and heterogeneous. In a homogeneous reaction, the catalyst is in the same phase as the reactants. In a heterogeneous reaction, the catalyst is in a different phase from the reactants. This activity addresses homogeneous catalysis.

This video lesson aims to motivate students about chemistry and to raise their awareness about how chemistry helps in solving certain environmental problems. In this lesson, the air pollution problem created by cars and other vehicles is presented. The lesson will highlight causes of this problem, harmful products from it and possible solutions. There will also be discussion of ways to convert the pollutants produced by burning oil in vehicles into more friendly products.

This resource was created by Jennifer Trenhaile, in collaboration with Dawn DeTurk, Hannah Blomstedt, and Julie Albrecht, as part of ESU2's Integrating the Arts project. This project is a four year initiative focused on integrating arts into the core curriculum through teacher education, practice, and coaching.