Learning Experience 3.4
1. Complete a Concept Map to show what you know so far about our topic
“ENERGY”…
[The information on the following three pages is extracted from ‘The energy business booklets 2005-2006: BP and the Environment.’, pages 3-5]
Energy is fundamental to the lives, lifestyles and aspirations of everyone living on the
earth. One of the greatest challenges we all face is how to supply enough energy to meet
the needs of a growing world population and to improve people’s living standards, but
at the same time ensure the planet’s environment does not suffer irreparable damage.
Because of the evidence that links climate change with greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions, many people believe that the world needs to reduce its dependency on fossil
fuels, especially coal and oil, and turn increasingly to energy supplies from renewable
sources, such as the sun, wind and plants. In the long-term these renewable sources,
along with greater energy efficiency and the storing of GHGs (chiefly carbon dioxide) by
pumping them back into underground reservoirs, offer us the possibility of sustainable
energy resources with less or no damage to the environment.
For the present, however, the world will have to rely on fossil fuels for the majority of its
energy needs. Natural gas, which consists mainly of the gas methane, and produces
lower carbon dioxide emissions when burnt than coal or oil, will become more important
in the world’s energy balance for several decades to come, along with other low-carbon
fuels. However, we must ensure that we continue to develop the technology to produce
lower-cost renewable energy and carbon free energy sources.
The earth is kept warm naturally by the greenhouse effect, in which a number of gases
absorb the infra-red radiation reflecting off the earth’s surface and without which the
world’s average temperature would be -18°C, rather than 15°C. Greenhouse gases
include water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. When the
concentration of one or more of these increases, the greenhouse effect is enhanced and
the earth’s temperature rises (global warming).
The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is increasing and the temperature of the
earth’s surface is rising; the average temperature is 0.6°C warmer than 100 years ago.
The balance of informed opinion is that these two things are linked and therefore
humanity is having a discernible effect on the climate by emitting carbon dioxide from the
burning of fossil fuels.
In 1997, governments signed an agreement on climatic change called the Kyoto Protocol.
The agreement was to reduce emissions of GHGs to an average of 5.2% below their 1990
levels by 2008-2012. The protocol came into force on February 16th 2005 following
ratification by Russia. The US, one of the world’s major emitters of greenhouse gases,
rejected it in 2001. To date, Australia has also not ratified the Kyoto Protocol.
‘Sustainable development’ means development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Energy enables basic needs to be met – cooked food, warmth, lighting, health care,
transport and the ability to pump and boil clean water. Coal, oil, gas and the electricity
they can generate are central to the development of poorer countries as well as driving
economic growth in the developed world. But they also create emissions, which affect
air quality and may create long-term risks to the environment.
The challenge of sustainable development is to sustain economic growth and reduce the
income gap between rich and poor, while avoiding damage to the environment.
It also means creating stable and diverse societies, with better educational opportunities
for all, which appreciate the need to balance economic growth, social development and
environmental protection.
2. Using the source information provided complete note-taking using the Structured Overview framework…
Energy and the Environment
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Climatic Change
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Sustainable Development
3. Design an advertisement, pamphlet, comic strip, cartoon, or poster
promoting the need for a world wide reduction on using fossil fuels
to cater for energy needs. Your chosen presentation must promote
an understanding of the following terms:
Energy, climatic change, greenhouse gas emissions, fossil fuels,
renewable energy sources, global warming, Kyoto protocol,
sustainable development.
To demonstrate your ability to devise relevant focus questions, you
are to consider the source material and your notes to develop a
series of literal, inferential and evaluative questions (3 levels of
questioning) that will form the structure of your information
presentation. Use the framework below to plan this task.
Main conceptual focus.
Energy and the Environment
Key ideas that need to be
understood.
Energy, climatic change, greenhouse gas
emissions, fossil fuels, renewable energy
sources, global warming, Kyoto protocol,
sustainable development…
Literal focus questions.
WHO?
WHAT?
WHERE?
WHEN?
Inferential focus questions.
HOW?
WHY?
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Evaluative focus questions.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
WHAT DO I THINK?
WHAT DO OTHERS THINK?
Type of presentation.
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