Topics about the environment, renewable energy, wildlife preservation, and climate change are among the most significant and relevant issues today. In the classroom, teachers can incorporate these topics as part of the lesson plan. Read on to know the basics of renewable energy, climate change, and wildlife preservation.
Renewable energy
Coal use is responsible for approximately 90% of carbon dioxide (global warming), nitrogen oxide (smog), sulphur dioxide (acid rain) and mercury emissions from electric utilities. This is why we should gear towards the use of renewable energy. Energy source alternatives are solar photovoltaic cells, wind energy projects, geothermal energy, and biomass energy. Factors to consider for wind energy are its location and whether peak winds occur during on-peak and off-peak hours.
Climate change
Climate change refers to any significant change in measures of climate — temperature, precipitation, or wind — that lasts for an extended period.
Its causes are:
- Natural factors which include changes in the sun’s intensity or unnoticeable changes in the Earth’s orbit around the sun
- Natural processes within the climate system such as the changes in ocean circulation
- Human activities that change the composition of land and atmosphere, such as burning fossil fuels, deforestation, reforestation, urbanization, and desertification
Here are some links on climate change:
Wildlife preservation
One in four of the world’s mammals are threatened with extinction. Same is the case for one in eight birds, one in five sharks, one in four coniferous trees, and one in three amphibians. These are clear evidences of a need for intervention to preserve wildlife for the sake of all — humans, animals, and environment.
With the belief that wildlife conservation is not just about habitat restoration, The World Widelife Fund (WWF) identified priority species to be given focus because of their importance to ecosystem and people. They divided these species into two groups: flagship species (iconic animals that help raise awareness and funding) and footprint-impacted species (species that are threatened because of unsustainable hunting or fishing). Focusing on these species will in turn help many other species that share their habitats or that are facing the same threats.
Among the endangered species today are the tiger, polar bear, Pacific walrus, Magellanic penguin, leatherback turtle, bluefin Tuna, mountain gorilla, monarch butterfly, Javan rhinoceros, and the giant panda. These are all caused by habitat loss, unsustainable trade, bycatch, climate change, invasive species, pollution, and human-animal conflict.
Sources:
“Climate Change or Global Warming?” Retrieved April 21, 2010 from
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/basicinfo.html
“Priority Species.” Retrieved April 21, 2010 from
http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/species/
“Quick Facts On Biomass Energy & Why We Need To Use It in the South.” Retrieved April 21, 2010 from
http://www.treepower.org/quickfacts.html