The Path of Power

Beyond Recycling

Last week we debated the many sources of energy…

Renewable Energy Sources Non-Renewable Energy Sources

...today we are learning how we use different types of energy to make Electricity and why we should try to use less!

Did you know? Electricity (or electrical energy) is made using a turbine that works by spinning a big magnet inside a coil of wire

Power Stations - burn Coal, Natural Gas or Oil to heat water into steam that is used to turn turbines

Non-Renewable Sources of Energy

Different types of energy are used to make electricity

Nuclear Power Stations - use energy created by reacting Uranium atoms to produce steam to turn turbines

Different types of energy are used to make electricity (continued)

Renewable Sources of Energy

Wind turbines & Hydro-electric dams use energy from Wind or moving Water to turn turbines

Solar panels - made of photo-voltaic cells use energy from the sun to generate electricity by making electrons excited

Did you know? The energy used to make these types of electricity is renewable, but the materials used to make the solar panel, the wind turbine and the dam are not

Every time we use electricity and other types of energy we impact the environment around us

Hydro PowerFossil Fuels

Habitat Destruction

EmissionsNuclear Power

Nuclear waste

Flooding

How is most of our Electricity produced in B.C.?

Hydro Power

Did you know? The word Hydro comes from the Greek word for water: hýdōr

Fun Fact Map: Amount of electricity produced by Hydro Power

B.C. 90%Canada 60%

USA 10%

Let’s learn more…..

• Where exactly does our electricity in B.C. come from?

• How does it get to our school?

Let’s follow the path of electricity… it’s game time!

Now we know where our electricity comes from, BUT…

Do we have an endless supply?

Can we continually increase the number of dams needed to supply the demand?

Do we want to continue damming rivers?

Do we want to increase our emissions?

One simple solution

is to use less

What should we do?

How do we do that?

Energy Conservation = Changing your behavior to use less energy

- Turning off appliances- Turning off lights- Playing games that don’t use electricity

Energy Efficiency = Using technology to use less energy

- Installing CFL bulbs - Energy Star appliances- Electric cars

Renewable Energy = When we do use electricity, it should come from renewable sources- wind- solar- hydro etc

The Energy Pyramid

What can WE do?

Lets …

Think - Pair - Share

How could your school save electricity?

Things in our school that use electricity

Movie Time! “You’ve Got The Power”

Extra slides

What are the impacts of using

our energy resources?