This was my inquiry based project. It focuses on how the pollution problem in the Chesapeake Bay can be solved. This resource includes the driving question, grabber, and culminating activity.
This inquiry project focuses on life in the Chesapeake Bay. After completing this lesson, students will be able to advocate to save the bay in an informed, well-rounded manner.
This graduate seminar examines civic engagement in international, national and local environmental governance. We will consider theories pertaining to civil society development, social movement mobilization, and the relations that nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have with governments and corporations. During the course of the semester, particular attention will be given to the legitimacy and accountability of NGOs. Case studies of NGO and community responses to specific environmental issues will be used to illustrate theoretical issues and assess the impacts that these actors have on environmental policy and planning.
Students observe and discuss a simple balloon model of an electrostatic precipitator to better understand how this pollutant recovery method functions in cleaning industrial air pollution.
Engineers design methods of removing particulate matter from industrial sources to minimize negative effects of air pollution. In this activity, students will undertake a similar engineering challenge as they design and build a filter to remove pepper from an air stream without blocking more than 50% of the air.
Students learn about a special branch of engineering called bioremediation, which is the use of living organisms to aid in the clean-up of pollutant spills. Students learn all about bioremediation and see examples of its importance. In the associated activity, students conduct an experiment and see bioremediation in action!
Meaningful STEM learning can happen at home as we use our imagination to solve real problems! This STEM project introduces students to the problem of oil spills around the world. The project culminates with students using their imagination to design a solution to the problem.
Students observe a burning candle and the byproducts given off through the burning process. This observation leads to a discussion to the effects of air pollution on our lives.
The levels of contaminants found in particular animals vary widely depending on where they fit into the Arctic food chain, as described in this video segment adapted from LOKE Films and the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme.
In this video segment adapted from LOKE Films and the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme, learn how human populations in the Arctic are affected by industrial contaminants in the food chain.
Student teams design and then create small-size models of working filter systems to simulate multi-stage wastewater treatment plants. Drawing from assorted provided materials (gravel, pebbles, sand, activated charcoal, algae, coffee filters, cloth) and staying within a (hypothetical) budget, teams create filter systems within 2-liter plastic bottles to clean the teacher-made simulated wastewater (soap, oil, sand, fertilizer, coffee grounds, beads). They aim to remove the water contaminants while reclaiming the waste material as valuable resources. They design and build the filtering systems, redesigning for improvement, and then measuring and comparing results (across teams): reclaimed quantities, water quality tests, costs, experiences and best practices. They conduct common water quality tests (such as turbidity, pH, etc., as determined by the teacher) to check the water quality before and after treatment.
By tracing the movement of radiation released during an accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, students see how air pollution, like particulate matter, can become a global issue.
Students design and build model landfills using materials similar to those used by engineers for full-scale landfills. Their completed small-size landfills are "rained" on and subjected to other erosion processes. The goal is to create landfills that hold the most garbage, minimize the cost to build and keep trash and contaminated water inside the landfill to prevent it from causing environmental damage. Teams create designs within given budgets, test the landfills' performance, and graph and compare designs for capacity, cost and performance.
Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence, believes that environmental awareness and action are the next frontier in the field of social and emotional learning. Goleman calls this environmental awareness 'green intelligence'. In this lesson students will develop their green awareness by considering American consumption of fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas; learning about new methods of extracting these fuels; and discussing their pros & cons.
In this activity, students investigate different methods (aeration and filtering) for removing pollutants from water. They will design and build their own water filters.
This activity is a field investigation where students will observe three areas with high sensitivity to pollution, and test water quality in two of the locations.
Students construct model landfill liners using tape and strips of plastic, within resource constraints. The challenge is to construct a bag that is able to hold a cup of water without leaking. This represents similar challenges that environmental engineers face when piecing together liners for real landfills that are acres and acres in size.
This course looks at all forms that energy exists. It explains how energy is used in: transport, agriculture, industry, commerce and households. It describes how energy is stored using storage systems such as: battery, flywheels, compressed air, chemical energy systems and pumped storage. This course explains the problem of depletion of energy resources. It describes the environmental damage associated with the use of fossil fuels, acid rains, dangers posed by leaded fuels, oil spills, gas leaks and explosions, water pollution caused by poorly managed coal mines, and air pollution. It describes the environmental damage associated with the use of fuelwood, uranium, hydro-power plants and wind. It also explains possible solutions to the energy-related problems.
Students begin by reading Dr. Seuss' "The Lorax" as an example of how overdevelopment can cause long-lasting environmental destruction. Students discuss how to balance the needs of the environment with the needs of human industry. Student teams are asked to serve as natural resource engineers, city planning engineers and civil engineers with the task to replant the nearly destroyed forest and develop a sustainable community design that can co-exist with the re-established natural area.
Students learn about the wonderful and fascinating country of China, and its environmental challenges that require engineering solutions, many in the form of increased energy efficiency, the incorporation of renewable energy, and new engineering developments for urban and rural areas. China is fast becoming an extremely influential factor in our world today, and will likely have a large role in shaping the decades ahead. China is the world's largest energy consumer and the largest producer of carbon dioxide emissions, leading engineers and scientists to be concerned about the role these emissions play in rural and urban public and environmental health, as well as in global climate change. Through exploring some sources of air pollution, appropriate housing for different climate zones, and the types of renewable energy, the lessons and activities of this unit present ways that engineers are helping people in China, using an approach to cleaner, smarter, healthier and more-efficient ways of living that apply to people wherever they live.