Environmental FootprintTeachable Unit
By
Elizabeth, Nancy, Mike, Nathan, Fallyn
June 16-18, 2008
BrainstormingEngage
media3.guzer.com/pictures/homers_brain.jpg
How do Humans impact the environment?
BrainstormingEngage
What contributes to pollution?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Snpp.gif
Impact of Car Purchasing Choiceteachable tidbit
Learning Objective: Analyzing the environmental impact of
purchasing a car through graphing data
http://girtby.net/images/homer-car.gif
Exploration Activity
Economic comparison of carsHow would you decide which car to buy?
InstructionsCreate a line graph for your given data set
comparing costs in thousands of dollars (Y-axis) versus time in years (X-axis)
Graphing Data (Example)
CAR PURCHASE PRICE
MILES PER GALLON
A $16,000 23
Assume:
Gas Price= $4. 50 per gallon
Drive 12,000 miles per year
Graphing DataAssume: Gas Price= $4. 50 per gallon Drive 12,000 miles per year
CAR PURCHASE PRICE
MILES PER GALLON
B $23,000 44
C $10,000 20
D $7,000 14
ResultsExplain
Which car would you pick? Why?
Car A (Green Line): C(t)=2355t+16,000
Car B (Red Line): C(t)= 1230t+23,000
Car C (Blue Line): C(t)=2700t+10,000
Car D (Yellow Line): C(t)=3855t+7,000
price
Time
A: 2007 Scion tCB: 2008 Civic Hybrid
C: 2002 Ford Mustang D: 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee
Environmental StatisticsElaborate
CAR CARBON EMISSIONS PER YEAR (Kg)
Scion tC 4538.8
Civic Hybrid 2485.6
Mustang 5220.0
Jeep 7457.1
http://www.footprintnetwork.org/gfn_sub.php?content=global_footprint
http://www.footprintnetwork.org/gfn_sub.php?content=global_footprint
Evaluation
Would you change your mind, now accounting for the environmental impact?
Some Interesting Facts…
Driving your car for 3.75 miles (assuming 39 mpg) produces 1kg of CO2
Flying in a plane for 1.375 miles produces 1kg of CO2
Making 2 plastic bottles or 5 plastic bags produces 1kg of CO2
Producing 1 American cheeseburger produces 3.1 kg of CO2
Timeforchange.org