Energy Challenges in the Face of Climate Change
Articles/Websites
Grades9, 10, 11, 12, APPhysics, Engineering
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Provided by Council on Foreign Relations
What it is
- In this series of articles from Council on Foreign Relations, students will understand the nuances of energy production, waste, and usage and how these aspects will need to change in order to reduce climate change.
- Students will read about the importance of renewable energy sources, the need for electrifying energy, the implications of energy storage and mining for materials for energy technologies, the necessity of a resilient grid, and actions people and governments can take to change energy consumption.
Teaching tips
Positives
- With the embedded glossary feature, students can easily click on unknown vocabulary words to see a definition.
- The articles mix in graphs, videos, and images to support student comprehension.
Prerequisites
- Students should understand how burning fossil fuels causes climate change.
Differentiation & Implementation
- The lesson Supply Chains and Climate Change can help extend ideas discussed in the section How Earth’s Minerals Are Helping the World Meet Its Climate Goals, with a focus on protecting the environment and people as we develop and mine materials for clean energy technology.
- Social studies classes can read under the heading What Governments Can Do in the section How Energy Conservation Can Help Fight Climate Change and evaluate the government response to climate change and energy.
- After reading the section Why Electric Grids Need to Be More Resilient, students may benefit from the video Attribution Science: Linking Climate Change to Extreme Weather to further understand why extreme weather events that threaten the electricity grid will become more common and severe due to climate change.
- Teachers can assign sections of this reading to different groups of students, having them read and share using the jigsaw method.
- After reading the section on energy conservation, students can brainstorm and discuss ways to reduce their energy consumption while at school and at home.
From the scientist review
This resource provides a nuanced analysis of how energy and climate change are linked. The text is clear, and all figures and images are well-cited. All terms are clearly defined. Throughout, a clear balance is struck between how to meet society’s energy needs while mitigating climate change. This resource is recommended for teaching.
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