Abstract

When will the world run out of oil, and what should we be doing about it?

Students will examine the current energy sources and uses at a regional, national, and world level. Problems relating to the use of fossil fuels will be investigated and possible strategies for addressing these problems analyzed. Alternative energy sources and energy conservation strategies will be investigated and their scientific, economic, ecological, and geopolitical attributes studied. Hands-on investigation and experimentation in alternative energy sources will be performed. World distribution of fossil fuels and the practicality and applicability of alternative energy sources based on the realities of specific countries and regions will be explored. Finally, students will develop and present recommendations for developing an environmentally sound, economically feasible, and politically achievable energy policy for our region, our nation, and the world.

Rationale

Texas has historically been one of the leading producers of fossil fuel and the wealth of this natural resource has contributed hugely to the growth and development of our state. But as our students will discover through their initial studies and research, oil, natural gas, and coal are non-renewable resources – they will eventually be used up, or economically no longer feasible. This project is intended to leverage the creativity and intellect of students to address the challenge of energy production and consumption.

The project will focus first on understanding Austin 's energy supplies and usage. They will explore our reliance on fossil fuels for transportation and electric power generation, including the coal-burning, gas-burning, and nuclear power plants that are used to generate our electricity. Austin 's approach to energy supply and utilization will serve as context for an exploration of world energy production, consumption, supply, and demand, and a springboard to exploration of the wide range of alternative approaches to energy production and conservation.

Students will conduct extensive investigation and hands-on experimentation in various alternative energy sources including bio-fuel, hydrogen fuel cell, wind-power, solar power, geo-thermal power, hydro-electric power, and nuclear energy. They will be investigate past efforts at developing alternative energy sources and develop analytical skills that allow them to judge the merits of new proposals for energy sources. Scientific, economic, , ecologic, sociologic, and geopolitical forces which influence energy supply will be considered.

Finally, students will be asked to develop a proposal to reduce fossil fuel consumption in Austin and to replace this energy use through alternative fuels and/or conservation. They will develop and present an economic analysis and rationale for these various alternatives and come together in an ‘energy summit' to develop a white paper on energy sources, use, and economics to guide Austin into the future.

Description

In this project, the students will be exploring alternative fuel sources and their characteristics. While the project specifically focuses on energy use in the Austin region, we want this analysis to have a broader context. In order to provide a “world view” to the project, each group of students will choose a country of interest and explore their current energy situation, including fossil fuel sources and use, alternative fuel feasibility, and their role with respect to a worldwide solution to the problem of fossil fuel depletion.

Statistics and regressions will be used to pinpoint the prime moment that country should be looking into their alternative fuel systems. Alternative fuels for each country should vary due to its location and the differing resources it provides for the inhabitants.

An obstacle that we may encounter is the fact that the majority of the classroom is used to spend time working on projects that may be due in weeks. Consequently, students may have a tendency to procrastinate until the point of urgency. However, these projects are too intensive to complete effectively within a span of a couple of days. In order to rectify this dilemma, we will issue mini-assessments at a frequent rate to make sure that the students are learning at a steady, constant pace. In addition to these assessments, we will also create deadlines for certain portions of the project in an attempt to keep the whole classroom on the same page.

Calendar

6 week project overview – see attached calendar.

Budget/Resources

Project Resources – Peter Jeon and Buddy Owen (Updated 11/18/2006 )

Websites – Annotated

Teacher & Student

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_development - Good starting point with an overview of alternative fuels and their pros and cons.

http://nationmaster.com (teachers and students) a massive central data source and a handy way to graphically compare nations. NationMaster is a vast compilation of data from such sources as the CIA World Factbook, UN, and OECD.

http://www.powernaturally.org/Programs/SchoolPowerNaturally/InTheClassroom/kitlessons.asp?i=9 New York state website on alternative power; particularly good resources for lesson plans in solar power

http://www.pspb.org/e21/lessonplan_detail.php?lp_id=6 Site describing the development of table top experiments in wind power design. (Includes material list for the experimental phase, and extensive web resources on wind power.

http://www.ida.liu.se/~her/npp/demo.html Nuclear power plant simulation. For use during nuclear power phase of project (since table top nuclear power plants are in short supply J )

http://www.eia.doe.gov/fuelrenewable.html - Official energy statistics from the US government Department of Energy

http://www.energyconservationinfo.org/altenergy.htm#Methane – Alternative energy and energy conservation site.

http://www.repp.org/index.html - Renewable Energy Policy Project – source of good information on conservation and renewable sources.

http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/ - Source of a lot of alternative energy news.

http://www.worldbank.org/astae/ - World bank site describing funded projects in world energy conservation and utilization.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/10/1028_041028_alternative_energy.html - National Geographic website focusing on alternative energy. Good resources and map links.

http://www.bpalternativenergy.com/liveassets/bp_internet/alternativenergy/index.html - British Petroleum site with good information on alternative sources. Provides an interesting perspective given this oil giant's position as one of the largest oil producers in the world.

http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/ - US Department of Energy site dedicated to alternative fuels and their expansion/practicality.

http://home.altenergystore.com/ - Source for various alternative energy devices and supplies.

Supplies – per class, per student

Equipment

TI-83 plus graphing calculators: ($100.00 per calculator)

Mini-tab software (pc-based) ( http://www.minitab.com ) $1,000

Computer access (Mac or PC) one per students team

4V, 100ma solar panels (one per students)

Mousetrap car kits (one per team of students)

Lego mindstorms kits (one per team of students)

National Instruments PC Oscillioscope and software ($1,299)

Supplies

In-kind donations (anything supplied by the school or other entity)

Print materials

Project Goals and Evaluation Plan

The goals of the project and the evaluation plan for assessing the achievement of those goals are described below: