Weather and Climate Change Energy See accompanying ‘energy’ videos in Glow video: http://tinyurl.com/z74qvt8 Energy Using energy as a context for learning creates many opportunities for promoting global citizenship and developing interdisciplinary learning within Curriculum for Excellence. Climate change is fundamentally about the importance of energy to our lifestyles in the modern world. Our energy needs have increased dramatically in line with our demand for goods and services. For instance, it is estimated that China is currently building two new power stations every week to sustain its significant economic growth. This simply reflects the process that has happened in many developed countries since the start of the Industrial Revolution 200 years ago. This enormous need for energy has had a damaging impact on our environment and has released massive quantities of greenhouse gases into our atmosphere. Most scientists believe this is contributing to climate change. The challenge for humankind is to find new and sustainable ways to produce energy from renewable sources. Scotland aims to be a world leader in this field as it seeks to move towards a low-carbon and sustainable future. Reflective questions How can we help learners to develop the skills of reflection, discernment, critical thinking and deciding how to act when making moral decisions? How can we motivate learners to contribute to building a better world by taking responsible ethical actions to improve their lives, the lives of others and the environment? How can we encourage learners to become informed consumers and producers who have an appreciation of the merits and impacts of products and services? Photograph credits The images used above are licensed under Creative Commons on Flickr by the following photographers: Simone Ramella, tom jervis, yrvafhom and amandabhslater. The other images are courtesy of SCCP and John Macpherson photography. 2 | Document title Generation In 2010, Scotland generated 49,910 GWh of electricity, 3% less than in 2009. This electricity was generated from the following sources: Nuclear power – 15,293 GWh (30.6%) Coal – 14,729 GWh (29.5%) Gas – 8,381 GWh (16.8%) Other renewables – 6,248 GWh (12.5%) Hydro natural flow – 3,267 GWh (6.5%) Oil – 1,212 GWh (2.4%) Hydro pumped storage – 779 GWh (1.6%) Total fossil fuels – 48.7% Total renewables – 19% 1 GWh (Giga Watt Hour) = 1,000,000,000 Wh Renewable energy sources like wind, solar, wave and tidal power are increasingly helping to meet a larger proportion of Scotland's energy needs. By 2020, Scotland is committed to ensuring that 100% of our gross electricity consumption is met from renewable energy sources. Recent data shows that renewable energy production has increased by 46% to 13,735 GWh in 2011. Source: Key Scottish Environment Statistics 2012 Consumption Industry and the commercial sector - 47% Domestic consumers - 29% Transport - 24%. Reflective questions How can we develop in learners an understanding of the role and impact of technologies in changing and influencing societies? How can we build capability in learners to make reasoned choices relating to the environment, to sustainable development and to ethical, economic and cultural issues? History of energy The evidence shows that early humans in East Africa were using fire around 1.42 million years ago to provide light, warmth and to cook food. This marked the beginning of a process of inventiveness, discovery and ingenuity that has helped humankind harness power and energy from the Earth’s resources to improve the quality of life. The invention of the steam engine in the 1700s proved to be a tipping point in our consumption of resources sparking an enormous period of industrialisation and upheaval within societies around the world. The invention of the internal combustion engine in the 1800s later gave us a transport revolution including planes, motorcycles and cars. This increasing demand for energy to fuel these new innovations has continued unabated into the 21st century and left us with a legacy of greenhouse gas emissions which most scientists believe is causing our planet to warm dramatically. If we are to tackle climate change then a further step change is required in our use of energy – this time to use modern and sustainable technologies to harness the power of the sun, wind, wave, tidal and other renewable sources. Scotland has ambitions to be a world leader in renewable technologies and within the coming decades it aims to develop a successful low-carbon economy. Reflective questions How can we broaden learner’s understanding of the world through learning about human activities and achievements in the past and present? How can we enable learners to locate, explore and link periods, people and events in time and place? 4 | Document title Energy in our homes In modern times, energy in our homes is available at the flick of a switch. It is so easy and accessible that we can easily take it for granted. However, the way we have used energy in our homes has changed considerably over the last 200 years. Around 1793 a Scot named William Murdoch was the first man in the world to have his home lit by gas lighting. Everyone else used oil lamps or candles to light their homes. Gas lighting was popular in homes until electricity and electric light became widely available. Many people in Scotland traditionally used peat as fuel on their fires to heat their homes. Peat is still used today in some rural areas of Scotland. Forty years ago, many people in Scotland heated their homes with coal fires. The coal fire would also heat up a tank of water for your bath and for washing clothes. Today, most people use gas or electricity to heat their homes and make hot water. In the 21st century more and more people across Scotland are thinking about where there electricity comes from. Instead of just buying electricity from power companies some people are generating their own electricity using solar power, wind or water. Generating small amounts of energy in this way is called ‘micro-generation’. Reflective questions How can we help learners understand the role and impact of technologies in changing and influencing societies? How can we enable learners to gain the skills and confidence to embrace and use technologies now and in the future, at home, at work and in the wider community? 5 | Document title Energy for transport The energy we have used for transporting goods and people has changed throughout the centuries. 200 years ago horses provided much of the transport and were used to carry individuals, pull carts, trams or canal barges. Trains became a popular form of transport in the 1800s and initially were powered by coal and steam. In the 1930s, steam trains were superseded by diesel and electric locomotives Prior to the 1860s, wind-powered sailing ships transported goods around the world. After this period, coal and steam-powered ships came to dominate until the 1900s when marine diesel and gas oil took over as the main fuels. Some military ships and submarines are powered by nuclear fuel The Wright brothers famously took off in 1903 and since then air travel has grown exponentially. Aviation fuel is petroleum-based while jet engines often use a blend of naphthalene and kerosene Today, many trains are powered by electricity. In France, the high- speed trains are powered by electricity and can reach speed of up to 320 kilometres per hour (or 199 mph) Space flight began in 1961 and shuttle journeys to the international space station are now common. The space shuttle uses a complex solid fuel for propulsion. Motor vehicles The first cars to be invented used petrol to power their engines. Today, over a hundred years later, most cars still use petrol or diesel as fuel, although in some countries LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas) and bio-fuels are also common. However, new fuels are being developed to cut the use of fossil fuels and reduce emissions. Hybrid cars which use a combination of petrol and electricity are becoming increasingly popular and hydrogen gas is also being touted as the fuel of the future – when hydrogen combusts it produces no pollution, only pure water. Reflective questions How can we help learners understand the role and impact of technologies in changing and influencing societies? How can we encourage learners to broaden their understanding of the applications and concepts behind technological thinking, including the nature of engineering and the links between the technologies and the sciences? 6 | Document title Fossil fuels Many power stations across the world burn fossil fuels (including coal, oil and gas) to generate energy. Coal is the remains of ancient plants and trees that grew over 200 millions of years ago. Oil and gas is made up of the remains of microscopic plankton. Over millions of years these remains become the carbon-rich coal, oil and gas we can use as fuel. When fossil fuels are burned they release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere which contributes to global warming. Using fossil fuels to generate energy also releases pollutants into the atmosphere - such as sulphur dioxide. Fossil fuels provide the main source of energy for our modern global economy. However, stocks of fossil fuels are limited and alternatives need to be found. Fossil fuel exploration has become increasingly controversial with widespread public anger at the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. Oil companies are increasingly looking to pristine polar regions and tar sands to provide oil in the coming decades but exploration in these areas could cause significant environmental damage. Find out more about tar sands: http://ostseis.anl.gov/guide/tarsands/index.cfm `In Scotland, power stations that use fossil fuels include: Cockenzie (East Lothian), Longannet (Fife), Stornoway and Lerwick A and B (Shetland).