How Much Oil Leaked from Deepwater Horizon? part of Integrate:Workshops and Webinars:Systems, Society, Sustainability and the Geosciences:Activities
Stephen Boss, University of Arkansas Main Campus
Students develop an estimate of the total quantity of petroleum discharged from the Deepwater Horizon from 20 April to 15 July 2010 using only two known facts, the diameter of the riser and the flow rate of the oil/gas mixture emanating from the riser.

Action to Enhance Sustainability part of Integrate:Workshops and Webinars:Systems, Society, Sustainability and the Geosciences:Activities
Bill Stigliani, University of Northern Iowa
This assignment is a 10-hour, out-of-class project where each student designs and carries out an action plan to enhance sustainability. Students select from a large suite of alternative actions, most of which can be quantified for reductions in CO2 and energy consumption, as well as in dollar savings.

Using Lab Measurements to Determine the Feasibility of a Photovoltaic Panel part of Integrate:Workshops and Webinars:Systems, Society, Sustainability and the Geosciences:Activities
Tom Termes, Black Hills State University
Using Lab Measurements to determine the power output of a solar module and the economic feasibility of photovoltaic panels

Analysis of trends in global oil reserves, production, and consumption part of Integrate:Workshops and Webinars:Systems, Society, Sustainability and the Geosciences:Activities
Scott Cummings, Kenyon College
An exercise to analyze trends in global oil reserves, production, and consumption.

A mock legislative debate to enhance and integrate student understanding of climate change science, policy, economics and ethics part of Integrate:Workshops and Webinars:Systems, Society, Sustainability and the Geosciences:Activities
Mari Lee, Colorado College
This activity utilizes publicly available, proposed national legislation to provide a platform for student inquiry into the intersection of climate science, environmental economics and sustainable public policy.

Habitat for Humanity Build Day part of Integrate:Workshops and Webinars:Systems, Society, Sustainability and the Geosciences:Activities
Lori Troxel, Vanderbilt University
Teaching sustainability through Habitat for Humanity.

Students' Evaluation of Competing Alternative Energy Options for a Sustainability Assessment part of Integrate:Workshops and Webinars:Systems, Society, Sustainability and the Geosciences:Activities
Hitesh Soneji, City College of San Francisco
A group exercise in trying to understand the many attributes that contribute to an overall assessment of sustainability for alternative energy projects.

Offshore wind or offshore oil? part of Integrate:Workshops and Webinars:Systems, Society, Sustainability and the Geosciences:Activities
Noah Snyder, Boston College
An introductory environmental science project tasking students with comparing offshore oil and wind power development.

Back of the Envelope Calculations: Renewable Energy part of Integrate:Workshops and Webinars:Systems, Society, Sustainability and the Geosciences:Activities
Laura Rademacher, University of the Pacific
This is an example of a back of the envelope calculation of the payback period for a renewable energy installation.

Biomass conversion into highly useful chemicals part of CUREnet:Institutes:Alabama State University:Examples
SAPNA JAIN, Alabama State University
This is CURE based course that aims at bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge in chemistry and its practical applications at solving real-world problems. It gives students an opportunity to construct and synthesize their knowledge and skills by learning to apply theoretical knowledge to practice by the laboratory research. The purpose of this course is to acquaint students with the fundamental concepts of chemistry, synthetic methods and techniques. The emphasis will be on novel catalysts synthesis and evaluating their activity towards biomass conversion to liquid fuel and useful chemicals. Students will design synthesize, deduce identities of the biomass conversion products from chemical and spectral clues, and predict reaction products.

7. Better Ways to Illuminate part of Renewable Energy and Environmental Sustainability
Maurice Crawford, University of Maryland-Eastern Shore
In this module, students compare three types of lamps that are used for lighting: incandescent, compact fluorescent (CFL) and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Students collect data on the amount of heat and light ...

5. Passive Designs part of Renewable Energy and Environmental Sustainability
Randolph Chambers, College of William and Mary
In this module, we consider how the actual design and placement of buildings can be important considerations for energy efficiency, thereby optimizing winter heating and summer cooling needs. One of the simplest ...

Unit 6: Carbon Emissions Game part of Regulating Carbon Emissions
Gautam Sethi, Bard College
In this unit, students play a game, a variation on the "Pollution Game" (Corrigan 2011), to develop an appreciation of the pros and cons of the commonly discussed policy options for carbon abatement ...

Unit 7: Climate Change from the Socio-Environmental Systems Perspective part of Regulating Carbon Emissions
Robyn Smyth, Bard College; Curt Gervich, SUNY College at Plattsburgh; Eric Leibensperger, Ithaca College
This unit summarizes and synthesizes the previous six units by inviting students to reflect on their experiences throughout the module, identify key learning moments and consider how these events influenced their ...

Unit 4: Towards Climate Change Policy in the U.S. part of Regulating Carbon Emissions
Curt Gervich, SUNY College at Plattsburgh; Pinar Batur, Vassar College
This unit examines the social cost of carbon (introduced in Unit 3) within the legal doctrine of "common but differentiated responsibility" (CBDR). CBDR acknowledges global climate change as a common ...

Unit 5: Abating Carbon Emissions part of Regulating Carbon Emissions
Robyn Smyth, Bard College; Gautam Sethi, Bard College; Curt Gervich, SUNY College at Plattsburgh
Students evaluate the EPA's Clean Power Plan in the context of Common but Differentiated Responsibility. This unit also introduces students to the idea that there are costs and benefits associated with the ...

2. Using Wind to do Work part of Renewable Energy and Environmental Sustainability
Benjamin Cuker, Hampton University
This module shows students how wind (atmospheric circulation) is produced from solar radiation, gravity, and the spinning of Earth. It then develops the history of how humans have harnessed the power of the wind, ...

Unit 2: The Carbon Cycle part of Carbon, Climate, and Energy Resources
Callan Bentley, Piedmont Virginia Community College
Students will explore the different aspects of the carbon cycle on Earth. This includes the original source of all the carbon on our planet, the near ubiquity of carbon, the six principle reservoirs of carbon in ...

Unit 6: Moving Forward: Evaluating Impacts of Modern-day Proposals Affecting the Carbon-cycle and Climate part of Carbon, Climate, and Energy Resources
Pete Berquist, Virginia Peninsula Community College
In this unit, students will review mock proposals that deal with some aspect of the role of carbon in the environment. Each proposal is based on actual actions proposed to mitigate some aspect of carbon consumption ...

Unit 4: Fossil Fuel Formation part of Carbon, Climate, and Energy Resources
Pamela Gore, Georgia State University
Students will explore various aspects of fossil fuels by examining the various ranks of coal and the processes by which coal, oil, and natural gas form.