Unit 7: Climate Change from the Socio-Environmental Systems Perspective
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 ...

Analysis of trends in global oil reserves, production, and consumption
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
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.

Students' Evaluation of Competing Alternative Energy Options for a Sustainability Assessment
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?
An introductory environmental science project tasking students with comparing offshore oil and wind power development.

To Drill or Not to Drill? A Case Study in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
To Drill or Not to Drill is a multidisciplinary problem based learning exercise, which intends to increase students' knowledge of a variety of topics through a real world environmental topic. In addition, ...

Powering the Future
This paper introduces a card exercise which allows students to make decisions about how best to provide electrical power to their country. Students must make choices between renewable and non-renewable electricity ...

Energy and the Poor - Black Carbon in Developing Nations
In this activity, students will explore impacts of the use of wood, dung and charcoal in developing countries for fuel, producing black carbon. In-class discussion will generate a list of several broad topics, ...

Evaluating the Effects of Local Energy Resource Development
This is a semester-long, jigsaw project for a class of 20 to 25 students that has students work in teams to explore the effects of energy resource development on local water resources, economics and society.

Where does your energy come from? Analyzing your energy bill
Students use utility bills to determine the cost and sources of energy in their households.

Campus Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory
Students conduct a greenhouse gas emission inventory for their college or university. Students analyze findings and present information to the college or university community. -

Petroleum Depletion by Inquiry
This is a draft of a guided inquiry activity to help students become aware of the problem of petroleum depletion or peak oil. Students use existing data to make projections of future discoveries and consumption. It ...

Cost Effectiveness of Increased Fuel Efficiency
In this example students examine and critique an argument which implies that it is not cost effective to pay for an automobile with increased fuel efficiency. Using a few reasonable assumptions shows that some of ...

Communications Booster: Curbing Emissions
Nicole Colston, Oklahoma State University Charlie Cottingham, Frederick Community College (MD) Susan Spierre, Arizona State University Paul Ruscher, Florida State University This page builds on the CLEAN reviewed ...

Communications Booster: The Great "LOCAL AND RENEWABLE" Energy Debate: Adapting Lessons for Place-based Politics and Student-centered Learning
Dan Steinberg, Princeton University Serena Poli, Eastern Michigan University Nicole Colston, Oklahoma State University This page builds on the CLEAN reviewed activities Evaluating the Effects of Local Energy ...

Petroleum Use Jigsaw Activity/Homework
Students get one of 3 homework assignments. They then gather in groups, one that has completed each homework to answer questions as a group. The exercises estimate current oil usage, reserves, and amounts available ...

The Energy Conundrum
This is a lecture aimed at preparing students for making the leap from what is to what ought to be. In it, I present the main sociological theories about poverty and examine several places I've lived---New ...