toward energy geoscience literacy principles bill witherspoon fernbank science center dekalb county,...

Toward Energy Geoscience Literacy Principles

Bill Witherspoon Fernbank Science CenterDekalb County, GA School System

Michael WysessionWashington University

Energy Literacy

• Why do fuel prices rise (and fall)?• Is “energy independence” a realistic goal?• Will we run out of oil (natural gas, uranium…)?• How big a threat is climate change?• How serious are other energy pollution problems?• Can pollutants (CO2, nuclear waste) be safely

disposed of underground?

Energy Geoscience Literacy

Geoscience Expertise

EnergyLiteracy

Three Mile Island - March 1979

“solar more dangerous than nuclear”


Capture(Extraction)

Conversion and Delivery

for Use

Disposition of WasteUse


Capture(Extraction)

Conversion and Delivery

for UseUse

Disposition of Waste

Impacts on Earth System

Material Inputs

Impacts on Earth System (Context Over Time)

Earth Science Literacy: Building Community Consensus

Michael Wysession, Chair - Washington UniversityDavid Budd - University of ColoradoKaren Campbell - National Center for Earth-surface DynamicsMartha Conklin - University of California, MercedNicole LaDue, Jill Karsten, Lina Patino - NSFGary Lewis - GSARobert Raynolds - Denver Museum of Science and NatureRobert W. Ridky - USGSRobert Ross - PRIJohn Taber - IRIS Barbara Tewksbury - Hamilton CollegePeter Tuddenham, Tina Bishop, William Bragg - College of Exploration

ProcessMay - Two-week asynchronous online workshop

May 11-23, 2008~150 invited scientist participants~200 scientist and educator observers

ProcessMay - Two-week asynchronous online workshop

May 11-23, 2008~150 invited scientist participants~200 scientist and educator observers

July - Writing WorkshopJuly 21-23, 2008Washington University, St. Louis MO35 scientists and educators from academia, K-12, agencies

August / September – Committee/July participants comment on draft document

October - November - Presentation at GSA; Community comment on draft document; Incorporation of 1st-round comments

December - Presentation at AGU; Community comment on 2nd draft document

Earth is Old2. Earth is 4.6 billion years old

Earth = Complex Systems3. Earth is a complex system of interactions between rock, water, air and life

Life <--> Earth6. Life evolves on a dynamic planet and continuously modifies Earth

Water <--> Earth5. Earth is the water planet

Humans <--> Earth

Humans --> Earth9. Humans have become a significant agent of change on Earth

Humans <-- Earth7. Humans depend on Earth for resources

8. Humans are threatened by Earth’s Natural Hazards

Ocean Climate Changing “Geosphere”4. Earth is a continuously changing planet

Atmosphere Others?

Process of Earth Science1. Earth Science explores our planet

Big Idea #7: Humans depend on Earth for resources.

Supporting Concepts• 7.3 Natural resources are finite. • 7.4 Resources are distributed unevenly around the planet. • 7.7 Fossil fuels and uranium currently provide most of our energy

resources. • 7.8 Oil and natural gas are unique resources that are central to

modern life in many different ways. • 7.9 Earth scientists develop new technologies to extract resources

while reducing the pollution, waste, and ecosystem degradation caused by extraction.

Big Idea #7: Humans depend on Earth for resources.

Big Idea #9: Humans have become a significant agent of change on Earth.

Big Idea #9: Humans have become a significant agent of change on Earth.Supporting Concepts• 9.1 Human activities significantly change the rates of many

Earth processes. • 9.2 The geologic record distinguishes natural and human

influences on Earth’s systems, providing the basis for understanding rates of global change over time.

• 9.4 Humans cause global climate change through fossil fuel combustion, land-use changes, agricultural practices, and industrial processes.

• 9.5 Humans affect the quality, availability, and distribution of Earth's water through the modification of streams, lakes, and groundwater.

• 9.9 Earth scientists document and seek to understand the impacts of humans on global change involving the land, water, and air over short and long time spans.

7.4 Resources are distributed unevenly around the planet. This is a result of how and where geologic processes have occurred in the past, and has extremely important social, economic and political implications.

• Although resources are finite, reserve estimates are often revised upward. This can result from new discoveries, improved extraction techniques, and higher commodity prices.

• Oil and natural gas occur in sedimentary basins, locations where sedimentary rocks are thousands of feet thick. These vary greatly in oil and gas potential.

• Oil and natural gas resources can be proven only by drilling, after extensive study. Complex geologic circumstances determine whether a well will be a discovery or a dry hole.

• Much of Earth’s remaining oil will be expensive to recover. Oil in depleted fields, oil shale, and tar sands will require significant energy to extract, and most new areas for exploration are in difficult environments such as the Arctic or deep water.

• Why do fuel prices rise (and fall)?• Is “energy independence” a realistic goal?• Will we run out of oil (natural gas, uranium…)?

• The geologic record documents that variables including global temperature, greenhouse gas levels, ocean chemistry, and sea level are interrelated as predicted by physical models. Each variable has reached much higher and lower levels than today; however, since the industrial revolution, several variables have undergone unusually rapid change.

• The geologic record contains examples of tipping points, in which gradual change in one variable may have caused sudden major shifts in the Earth system. • Changes in the Earth system drive the evolution of life. Although life as a whole has been resilient, many groups have disappeared due to mass extinction as

conditions changed.

9.2 The geologic record distinguishes natural and human influences on Earth’s systems, providing the basis for understanding rates of global change over time. Evidence for human influences on global changes is found in fossil distributions, ice cores, lake and ocean sediments, and soils.

• How big a threat is climate change?

• Waste disposed of underground may resurface, for example in the water supply. The risk varies greatly depending upon geologic conditions. In general, fractures in rock make movement more difficult to predict.

• Over time spans greater than hundreds of years, the risk of waste returning to the surface becomes more difficult to predict. Predictive models are only as good as the quality of data concerning slow processes and infrequent events (for example, slow chemical reactions, thousand-year floods, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions).

• 9.5 Humans affect the quality, availability, and distribution of Earth's water through the modification of streams, lakes, and groundwater. … Pollution from sewage runoff, agricultural practices, and industrial processes, reduce water quality, and overuse reduces water availability.

• How serious are other energy pollution problems?• Can pollutants (CO2, nuclear waste) be safely

disposed of underground?


Discussion

toward energy geoscience literacy principles bill witherspoon fernbank science center dekalb county,...

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