Climate Change Resilience: Preparing for Power Loss
Videos
Grades6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12Engineering
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Provided by American Museum of Natural History
What it is
- This short video from the American Museum of Natural History highlights a no-energy solution to indoor lighting in Rockaway, New York, where businesses and homes were impacted by Superstorm Sandy.
- Students will learn about "day-lighting," a creative solution that uses reflected sunlight during the day to light buildings, which creates less strain on the power grid and provides more security during power outages.
Teaching tips
Positives
- This video is short and sweet, giving a good example of how engineering can help us adapt as the world faces more frequent and intense storms, more heat waves, and the potential loss of electricity associated with those events.
Prerequisites
- Students should know something about electricity, power grids, and blackouts.
- Students should be familiar with Superstorm Sandy.
Differentiation & Implementation
- Science, and physics classes can use this video when discussing the properties of light, reflection, and refraction.
- This video can help spur student ideas for helping us mitigate and adapt to climate change without using complicated new technologies.
- Students can also check out this other video by the AMNH.
From the scientist review
The video presents an initiative that helps to build climate resilience to respond to shocks arising from natural disasters by day-lighting people's businesses. The structural design of the equipment could be replicated anywhere around the world. Although this is a short video, it is recommended for teaching.
Ready to use it?
Hosted on youtube.com
Want this to fit your class?
Add your location for local examples, questions, and action ideas.
