Wind power!

Deveronvale FC, Scotland, aims to be the first British football club to use wind energy to run its Princess Royal Park stadium’s floodlights.

A study has shown that 2 turbines could generate enough power for the floodlights and all the rest of the stadium's energy needs.

The cost would be £400,000 and this would be mostly met by green energy grants and a supermarket grant. When not being used for the football, local residents would use the energy.

Students can investigate the opinions of different groups involved in setting up wind turbines by carrying out the activity at the following link:

11–14s: The Power Generator

Help your students understand how turbines change the power of the wind into electricity by following the link below:

14–16s: Using energy

Source: news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/6959570.stm

Carbon footprint commitment

The Carbon Trust has announced that nine leading companies have committed to calculating the carbon footprint of selected products with the aim of reducing the carbon emissions produced. The companies include Cadbury Schweppes and Coca-Cola. Walkers Crisps was the first to print carbon footprint figures on its packaging and now provides the information on all 13 flavours of crisps.

Encourage your students to find out more about carbon emissions and to consider the consequences of not reducing them in the following activities.

Tackling the country's carbon emissions activity

Carbon emissions and you activity

Source: The Carbon Trust website, 19/9/07

Hot Rocks!

An Australian company is looking at drilling a 4.4km well down into the ground in South Australia to try and harness some of the country’s huge geothermal energy resource.

Dr Beardsmore, a geophysicist, says that the unique rocks beneath Australia are the hottest non-volcanic rocks in the world reaching 250^oC in Cooper Basin at a depth of 5km.

There is enough potential to generate 10% of the nation’s electricity needs.

The main interest in this form of energy is that it produces zero carbon emissions from the proposed 500 megawatt electricity generating plant.

Encourage your students to study the types of energy the UK needs in the future by carrying out the following activity:

11–14s: The Control Panel Activity

Your students can improve their understanding of the different renewable energy options available to different countries by undertaking the following activity:

14–16s: The Power Generator

Source:http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/09/03/2021970.htm?section=business

The Big Energy Blog

Do you know how much electricity you use in one day? Do you know how much you save?

We want 5–16 year olds across the UK to give us a snapshot of their energy use in a typical day by joining the Big Energy Blog.

In their own words, we want young people to tell us how they consume energy. For example, how many hours are spent watching TV, listening to MP3 players and using phones and computers?

It will also give us the chance to find out how much energy is saved through recycling or taking public transport to school.

Simply visit the Big Energy Blog website between 1 November and 14 November for more information and to upload your contribution.

Energy - voice of a generation

The E.ON schools' energy conference

On 27 November 2007, young people in the UK will have an exciting opportunity to put forward their views on what they think individuals, government and energy companies should do to ensure energy is created and consumed properly.

Students, aged 14–16, will be representing their schools at the E.ON energy conference at the National College for School Leadership in Nottingham. Throughout the day, they’ll take part in exciting activities, report on their own research findings, present ideas for energy-saving gadgets to a 'Dragons’ Den' style panel and question energy experts and policymakers.

Visit the E.ON Energy Experience website to find out more.

Brain Gym

In a large hall, play a version of ‘Corners’ where the four corners are types of energy (e.g. wind power, nuclear, fossil fuels, solar power). Choose one energy source and gradually build up the information that you give to the students about that energy source, making sure successive pieces of information become more obvious. For example: 'A renewable energy source … Often placed out at sea … Powered by huge turbines …' When students work out the energy source, they must run to the correct corner. The last three students and any who are in the wrong corner are 'out'. Continue until there is just one student remaining.

Students can learn more about different energy sources with the following activities.

Suggested Activities

For and against

Get your students focused on learning about energy by thinking about connections between the different sources of energy.

Students use the internet to research wind power. They then produce an information leaflet, which outlines the key facts that they have found and presents the arguments for and against.

Remember the picture

Pupils are given/shown a picture of an energy source (wind turbine, nuclear power station) to study for 1 minute and try to remember the details. The pupils must then turn over the picture/picture is removed and they then have to give feedback to the teacher or write down the details that they can remember from the picture.

Energy Bingo

Pupils are given ‘energy bingo’ sheets that the teacher has already prepared using key words from the topic of energy. The teacher reads out the definitions of the key words. Pupils cross out the words that are called that they have and the first to shout-out ‘energy bingo’ with a line of full-house wins.

New to Nuclear?

Improve your students’ understanding of how nuclear energy can be used to produce electricity by clicking on the link below. They can learn how it works and then have the chance to correctly set up the energy transformations needed to produce power.

11–14s: The Generation Game

Get students to consider the advantages and disadvantages of generating power from nuclear energy by collecting information from the activity below. This can then be used in a debate to discuss the motion ‘Our class believes that nuclear power is the right choice to meet the UK’s energy needs in the 21st Century’.

14–16s: A Nuclear Future

England

The changes to the Geography National Curriculum raise the importance of how people and their environment interact. There is a requirement to use geographical enquiry to encourage questioning, investigating and critical thinking about issues affecting the world and people’s lives, now and in the future. The new orders also highlight that sustainable development and its impact on environmental interaction and climate change should be studied.

The E.ON website has now become an even more useful tool for teachers in adapting schemes of work to the changes in that much of this is covered in the online activities.

www.qca.org.uk/libraryAssets/media/Geography_KS3_PoS.pdf

With the new curriculum for 2008 encouraging pupils to become 'global citizens' teachers may be interested in two projects just launched as part of the Sustainable Schools Development Programme. The first is the Climate Challenge 2007–8 which is open to pupils from 11–18 who are concerned about climate change issues. Winners will participate in a European Climate Change Expedition and meet international representatives and senior government officials to talk about issues of concern.

The second is the 'Carbon Detectives' programme for pupils from 7–14 which help them work out their school's carbon footprint and then explore ways to reduce their carbon emissions. For details on both projects and further information on the role of the school curriculum in the climate change challenge, go to:

http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/sustainableschools

Scotland

Learning and Teaching Scotland has launched a fantastic new resource, 'Climate Change' to help schools increase pupil awareness, understanding and action on climate change. The programme has been designed to complement the Environmental Studies 5–14 National Guidelines and is also designed to develop education for citizenship and core skills. This is an interactive website and as well as information on the causes and impact of climate change. It also offers an online image gallery, video footage and multi-media presentations. The programme encourages pupils to:

take personal action
make your voice heard
change your school
act locally
act globally

...and more importantly, provides the means and the support to help them do this.

www.Itscotland.org.uk/sustainabledevelopment/climatechange/

Wales

In addition to the existing guidance on all areas associated with climate change and sustainability already available to schools through the ACCAC, the Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship website provides a wealth of support and information for schools. It provides lists of organisations that are able to offer expertise and resources. These include, amongst several others, the South East Wales Energy Efficiency Advice Centre, the Centre for Research, Education and Training in Energy and the Centre for Citizenship Studies in Education.

www.esd-wales.org.uk

Did you know that...?

• Traditional biomass fuels, such as wood, crop residues, and animal dung, remain the primary energy source for more than 2 billion people.
  Source: http://www.maui.net/~jstark/nrgfacts.html
• Leaving household equipment like stereos, TVs and DVDs on standby produces 3.1m tonnes of carbon dioxide a year and accounts for 7% of household electricity use.
  Source: BBC website, 12/9/07
• The earth receives more energy from the sun in just one hour than the world uses in a whole year.
  Source: www.solarbuzz.com/FastFactsIndustry.htm
• Although wind power is Britain's fastest growing source of renewable energy, it actually meets less than 0.5% of our electricity needs.
  Source: BBC website, 30/8/07
• The amount of energy that reaches the earth from the sun at midday on a clear day is about 1,000 watts per square metre.
  Source: www.infinitepower.org/newfact/new96-810-No05.pdf