How Does Energy Affect Wildlife? – CE – Clean Energy. Bright Futures.

How Does Energy Affect Wildlife?

Learning Goals

Understand the different wildlife effects and risks from electricity generated by coal, nuclear, hydro, and wind
Complete a thorough life cycle analysis of each of the fuels to understand how the different phases are related to the different wildlife effects

Materials List

Handouts

Student Readings and Worksheets (pages 6-17)

Important Links

Next Generation Science Standards

Next Generation Science Standards

ESS2.A Earth materials and systems
ESS2.C The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes
ETS1.A Defining and Delimiting an Engineering Problem

Time: 45-60 mins

This Lesson appears as a part of the following:
– Water Power Implementation Toolkit

This is a a teacher recommended lesson from KidWind WindWise Education Curriculum.

In this lesson, students learn that different electricity generation sources have very different effects on wildlife. To accurately compare the effects of different electricity generation sources (or energy sources, such as coal, nuclear, hydroelectricity, and wind), the complete life cycle of each electricity generation source is examined along with an assessment of their direct and indirect effects on wildlife. This information is then used to predict the total wildlife impacts of each electricity generation type. The results of this assessment yield balanced information that can be used to make informed decisions about which type of energy to use in a community.

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