Penn State University / Colege of Education.

Investigations

Lesson 13

Title: Lifestyles and Global Warming-Any Connection?

Overview & Outcomes:

Investigations Lesson 12 provided students with an opportunity to critically evaluate evidence for global warming. This lesson shows how certain types of human activities contribute to global warming through carbon dioxide production and that a small percentage of the world population (the U.S. and the former Soviet Union) contributes most of the carbon dioxide. In Investigations Lesson 14, students examine the impact of human activity on both terrestrial and oceanic ecosystems.

This lesson helps learners:

The concept map shows model relationships among concepts this lesson seeks to develop. Concepts introduced in this lesson are bolded on that concept map and concepts from other lessons are in plain text (not bolded).

Background Notes for the Teacher:

Content. Carbon dioxide accounts (by weight) for almost all of the human produced greenhouse gases emissions (although it is important to remember that total CO2 emissions account for 60% of the warming potential. In 1991 the human activities that contribute to global warming were: fossil fuel combustion 85%, land use clearing 13% and cement production 2%. Since carbon dioxide is the major human-produced greenhouse gas, it is important to note that the average American releases about 20 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year . This figure is an estimate and includes transportation and home electricity usage and industrial and governmental production.

Human Activities Contributing to CO2 in the Atmosphere in Metric Tons and as a percent:

Fossil Fuel Combustion : 22,079,264,000 - 85%
Land Use and Clearing : 3,400,000,000 - 13%
Cement Production : 593,568,000 - 2%

TOTAL : 26,100,000,000 - 100%

Students will learn to read a dial meter to collect data for the ENERGY UTILIZATION - CARBON DIOXIDE PRODUCTION worksheet. Some students may be part of households that have meters that are digital, while others may not be able to read their meters for various reasons (apartment dwellers, etc.). Students will calculate an estimate of yearly electrical usage from household meter readings, their electric bills, or from teacher-provided data. They will calculate an estimate of yearly gasoline consumption from actual odometer readings, an estimate, or from teacher-provided data.

Amounts of CO2 produced from different sources used to produce 1 kwh (kilowatt hour) electricity are:

Amount of CO2 produced from combusting 1 gallon of gasoline is 19 lbs. (about 5.3 lbs. of carbon which combines with atmospheric oxygen in combustion to yield this larger amount) which goes directly into the atmosphere. In other words, for every 15-gallon fill-up at the service station, about 300 pounds of carbon dioxide are eventually released into the atmosphere. Motor vehicles are responsible both directly and indirectly for the enhanced greenhouse effect. Directly, they produce exhaust containing CO2 and precursors to tropospheric ozone. Indirectly, they are responsible through deforestation and land clearing for highways, parking lots, and cement manufacture.

Even though carbon dioxide production is being estimated from only two sources, home electrical use and transportation, these are the major sources of at least half of the human contribution to global warming. About $100 in energy costs can be saved per year by reducing CO2 production by 200 lbs.

The amount of carbon dioxide contributed to the atmosphere by various countries is compared, along with the populations of those countries. The United States contributes the most carbon dioxide (23%) and only represents 5% of the world population. The former Soviet Union is the next largest producer of carbon dioxide (19%) and only accounts for 4% of the world population. Europe and Japan follow similar trends (large amounts CO2 produced by small percentage of world population). This relationship begins to change with China which produces 10% of the CO2 and represents 22% of the world population. All other countries including third world countries produce 20% of the CO2 while representing 56% of the world population.

Additional Teacher References.

  1. Hocking, C., Sneider, C., Erickson, J., and Golden, R. (1990). Global Warming and the Greenhouse Effect.. University of California at Berkeley: LHS Gems.

  2. MacKenzie, J. and Walsh, M. (1990). Driving Fources Motor Vehicle Trends and Their Implications for Global Warming, Energy Strategies, and Transportation Planning, World Resources Institute, p. 7.

Materials:

For the class.

  1. Overhead of GLOBAL WARMING BY HUMANS

For each group.

  1. CARBON DIOXIDE IN THE ATMOSPHERE: WHO CONTRIBUTES AND HOW MUCH? study guide.
  2. CO2 CONTRIBUTIONS BY COUNTRY
  3. WORLD POPULATION FOR 1985

For each student

  1. METER READING
  2. ENERGY UTILIZATION-CARBON DIOXIDE PRODUCTION

Preparation:

Day of lesson.

  1. Prepare overhead.
  2. Reproduce handouts.

Prior to lesson.

  1. Students may complete the METER READING handout to learn how to read a meter, and then complete the data collection section of the ENERGY UTILIZATION-CARBON DIOXIDE PRODUCTION worksheet (I.A.1,2,3, and II.A.1,2,3) in preparation for this lesson.

Instructional Procedures: (2 Days, 40 minutes each)

Day 1. (40 minutes)

  1. Begin by asking students how humans contribute to global warming. Review with overhead, GLOBAL WARMING BY HUMANS.

  2. Focus students on their own energy use. Ask how we could measure our usage. We will limit our personal calculations to electricity usage and gasoline consumption.

  3. Students should individually complete the handout, METER READING, to learn how to read a dial meter. This will help them complete the ENERGY UTILIZATION-CARBON DIOXIDE worksheet.

  4. Distribute worksheet, ENERGY UTILIZATION-CARBON DIOXIDE PRODUCTION, and explain that students will be obtaining estimates of electricity usage and gasoline consumption in one of the three ways described. They will estimate the yearly electrical usage of their homes from household meter readings, their electric bills, or from teacher-provided data. In addition, they will calculate an estimate of yearly gasoline consumption from actual odometer readings, an estimate, or from teacher-provided data.

  5. Next, list countries from the handout, CO2 CONTRIBUTIONS BY COUNTRY, on the board, overhead, or flip chart. In their groups, ask students to predict which countries probably contribute the most carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Refer to handout to for percentages.

  6. Then, distribute the handout, CO2 CONTRIBUTIONS BY COUNTRY and WORLD POPULATION FOR 1985, and the study guide, CARBON DIOXIDE IN THE ATMOSPHERE: WHO CONTRIBUTES AND HOW MUCH? to each group. Designate group member roles and have students complete the study guide.

  7. Discuss the handouts as a class. Ask students to describe the types of lifestyles that probably exist in each of the countries and compare that with the amount of CO2 produced. Library research could be used here to expand the lesson.

Homework Assignment. Students should complete the data collection section of the worksheet, ENERGY UTILIZATION-CARBON DIOXIDE PRODUCTION (I.A.1,2,3 and II.A.1,2,3). Depending on method of data collection used, this may require more than one day to complete.

Day 2. (40 minutes)

  1. When students have competed the homework on the worksheet, ENERGY UTILIZATION-CARBON PRODUCTION, calculate the amount of CO2 produced by the individual households. The calculations can be completed in cooperative groups or as a class using the worksheet as an overhead.

  2. Students may convert their household carbon dioxide production to amount per person by dividing the Total Carbon Dioxide Produced From Home Electricity and Gasoline Usage calculated by the number of persons in the household.

  3. Share results in a class discussion.

Optional.

  1. If data is available, calculate the amount of CO2 produced in the manufacture of certain products.

  2. Compare amounts of CO2 produced if everyone in the school would drive individually as compared to the amount of CO2 produced if students/faculty/staff would use the bus system or car pool.

Assessment/Portfolio Items:

The following pieces of evidence from the lesson could be included in a student's portfolio:

Journal Entry

  1. Keeping in mind that consumer items are transported from point of production to point of consumption, respond to these statements: a. "Don't eat strawberries in February!" b. "Think globally-Live locally!"
  2. How can you alter your carbon dioxide contribution to global warming?
  3. In how many ways is the use of a motor vehicle responsible for the human enhanced greenhouse effect?

Name __________________________________

METER READINGS

Energy is measured in different units, depending on the type of energy you're working with. What units do you use to measure the amount of gasoline your car or truck burns? (gallons!) Electricity is measured in kilowatt-hours, while natural gas is measured in cubic feet.

A. Understanding Kilowatt-Hours

You have probably seen a light bulb stamped "100 watts." Electricity use is measured in similar units called KILOWATT-HOURS. The short examples below will help you understand how to use this measurement.

  1. A KILOWATT is equal to 1,000 watts ("kilo" means "thousand"):

    KILOWATTS = WATTS / 1,000

    So, TEN 100-watt light bulbs would require 1,000 watts or 1 kilowatt of electricity.

    • How many kilowatts would FORTY 100-watt light bulbs use?

      40 bulbs x 100 watts = 4,000 watts = 4 kilowatts

    • How many kilowatts would FORTY 50-watt light bulbs use?

  2. Kilowatts are abbreviated: KW.

    • How many KW would FOUR 1,200-watt dishwashers use?

  3. A KILOWATT-HOUR is the amount of electricity used multiplied by the time the electricity is used:

    KILOWATT-HOURS = KILOWATTS x HOURS
    OR
    KILOWATT-HOURS = (WATTS X 1,000) x HOURS

    So, TEN 100-watt light bulbs burning for 2 hours would require 2 kilowatt-hours of electricity:

    10 bulbs x 100 watts = 1,000 watts

    1,000 watts = 1 kilowatt

    1 kilowatt x 2 hours = 2 kilowatt-hours

    • How many kilowatt-hours of electricity would TWENTY 300-watt color TV sets running for 4 hours require?

  4. Kilowatt-hours are abbreviated: KWH

    • How many KWH would THREE 4,800-watt clothes dryers use up in 2 hours?

B. Reading an Electric Meter

Do you know how the power company measures the kilowatt hours of electricity in your home? Usually, meters have a series of four dials with moving hands.

Illustration.

Two of the hands move clockwise and the other two dials move counter-clockwise. meters measure in kilowatt-hours (KWH) and are read from left to right. If the pointer is registering between two numbers, always read the lower number. The correct reading for these dials is 4,235 KWH.

Read the following meters.

1. ____________ KWH

Illustration.

2. ____________ KWH

Illustration.

3. ____________ KWH

Illustration.

C. Questions

  1. When is the greatest amount of electricity used?

  2. What other forms of energy do you use in your home and for what purposes?

Name ____________________________________

ENERGY UTILIZATION - CARBON DIOXIDE PRODUCTION

How much CARBON DIOXIDE do we produce and put into our atmosphere from HOME ELECTRICITY USAGE and GASOLINE CONSUMPTION in ONE YEAR?

A. ELECTRICITY

B. GASOLINE

C. TOTAL CARBON DIOXIDE PRODUCED FROM HOME ELECTRICITY USAGE AND VEHICLE GASOLINE CONSUMPTION

  1. Add these two amounts.

    Total Carbon Dioxide Produced from Your Home Electricity Usage _____lbs.

    Total Carbon Dioxide Produced from Your Vehicle Gas Consumption _____lbs.

    ________

    Total Carbon Dioxide Produced from Your Home Electricity and Vehicle Gas Consumption _____lbs.

  2. List as many uses of electricity in your household that you can think of that contribute to this amount of carbon dioxide production.

  3. This is carbon dioxide produced from home electricity and gasoline consumption.

  4. What other ways do we produce carbon dioxide?

  5. How many people are in your household? _______

  6. What is the total amount of carbon dioxide produced per person?

  7. If possible, prepare a spreadsheet, chart, or graph of class data including:

    • student name
    • total carbon dioxide produced
    • total carbon dioxide produced per person

    CARBON DIOXIDE IN THE ATMOSPHERE: WHO CONTRIBUTES AND HOW MUCH?

    The two graphs on the following pages show how much carbon dioxide various regions of the world contribute to the atmosphere each year. On the graph, CO2 CONTRIBUTIONS BY COUNTRY, note that the figures are given in terms of millions of tons of carbon contained in carbon dioxide. WORLD POPULATIONS FOR 1985 shows how many people live in each region.

    1. Based on the information in the first graph, most of the world's carbon dioxide is produced in what region?

    2. Use the information in the second graph to determine what percent of the world's population lives in that region.

    3. Several other regions with low populations produce a large amount of the world's carbon dioxide. Name two.
    4. Based on your knowledge of life in these regions, why do you think they produce so much carbon dioxide?

    5. The average amount of carbon dioxide that each person adds to the atmosphere is called the per capita amount. To calculate that rate of carbon dioxide production, divide the number of tons of carbon by the population. Complete the following table.

      United States1,186 divided by 238 = 4.98 tons/person
      Soviet Union= _____ tons/person
      Western Europe= _____ tons/person
      Japan= _____ tons/person
      China= _____ tons/person
      Other Developing Countries= _____ tons/person

    6. Which region produces the least carbon dioxide per person? Why do you think they produce so little?

    7. What differences exist between the life styles of people living in countries with low carbon dioxide production compared to countries with high carbon dioxide production?

    8. How might people in countries with high levels of carbon dioxide production reduce the amount they add to the atmosphere?

    Illustration.

    Illustration.

    Illustration.

    Click Here to return to Table of Contents

    Click Here to go to Investigations Lesson 14: Earth Out of Balance

    This unit was produced by the editors listed on the masthead.