Links on this page: Remediation Expert Role Cards |Mitigation Techniques - Student Sheet | Mitigation Techniques - Teacher Key

Extension Activity

 
Goal: Synthesize different players’ expert solution proposals and identify the advertising technique associated with the proposal.

Objective:  Students will:

• Observe and listen to simulated remediation specialists presentations
• Document information gained from remediation specialists
• Compare all remediation options
• Classify importance of 5 factors relating to remediation options
• Evaluate the possibilities based on the 5 factors, Cost, & Risk
• Explain why their chosen remediation option is most favorable

 Materials (For a class of 30):

• Class set of Remediation Techniques – Student Sheet
• 1 Transparency of Remediation Techniques – Teacher Key
• 1 Photocopy of Remediation Techniques – Teacher Key (for each actor)
• Class set of Remediation Advertisement brochures
• Costumes for each team of remediation specialists, “actors” (see PREP section for costume descriptions)
• Remediation Expert Role Cards

Time:  45 minutes

Standards:  E8, G1, G3, G5, LA11

Procedure:

PREP

• It is helpful if Advertising Techniques have been introduced prior to this lesson.
• Organize 6 volunteers to serve as “actors” to come and help present through role-play.  If you cannot find enough volunteers, people can play two or more roles.
• Actors will role-play remediation experts. 
• Prepare the costumes found on the Remediation Expert Role Cards and get props ready for the actors.  Bear in mind that the goal is to make this fun! 
• OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES:  wigs, glasses, cowboy hat, bandana, bottle of root beer and anything else to make it fun

IN CLASS

• Explain to students that they will be helping to clean up the air.
• Pass out the Remediation Techniques – Student Sheet, the Advertising Techniques sheet, and the Remediation Advertisement brochures to each student
• Tell students that experts in 5 different fields of remediation are going to present to them. 
• Put Remediation Techniques – Teacher Key Transparency on the overhead and hide the answers.
• Review the items in the ‘factors’ column and discuss as a class.  What does each factor mean to you?  What criteria would you use to rate each factor?  Would factors sway your remediation choice?
• ***The actors are backstage waiting for you to introduce them.***

ACTORS step-by step: 

• The order of appearance is Methane Trapping, Terrestrial Sequestration, Cancel Christmas, Coal Gasification, Geologic Sequestration. This is the same order as the Remediation Techniques Student Sheet & Teacher Key.
• 1 expert enters at a time.
• Experts must present using the advertising technique listed at the bottom of the Teacher Key.
• In a fun way, experts must convey all information listed on the Teacher Key.
• Experts use 2 – 5 minutes presenting to the class.
• After each expert presents and departs, teacher discusses with students while referencing the advertising techniques sheet and the advertising brochures. Students fill out their grid before the next expert enters.

DEBRIEF THE ACTIVITY

Talk with students about the various remediation options.  Ask questions of the students.  Encourage the students to ask questions.  Have students determine what their favorite option would be.  Discuss why.

HOMEWORK:

• Using print or electronic media have students gather more information about these five techniques and write a paragraph on each.
• OR, divide the class into 5 groups and assign each group a remediation option to further investigate.  Students write a page on their solution and orally present to the class.

***  Follow this lesson with the Risk in the Environment Lesson.  These lessons follow an informational progression leading students to the town meeting.  ***

Remediation Expert Role Cards

 Methane Trapping

“aka: Methane Moguls”

• Costume:  wearing dirty t-shirts with garbage stuck to them
• Demo: Ask participant to hold PVC pipe, back your butt up to one end of PVC pipe, hand them the lighter, and when I say GO, participant should light opposite end of pipe.   Then say, I should let my assistant do this due to danger.  Assistant holds pipe, hiding Dragon’s Breath behind it.  You say GO and push Whoopie cushion, assistant lights Dragon’s powder.
• Mitigation Technique:  Landfill offers to capture methane to power local business.
• Cost: $1.2 million – paid by local business (probably passed on to the consumer).  Initial costs would be recouped in 10 years
• Emission Reduction:  Reduces emissions from landfill by 80% and reduces dependency on coal plant power by 30%
• Counterpoint: Leak from pipes could cause explosions, will take 10 years to recover from explosion.

 Terrestrial sequestration

“aka: Pigs to Pine”

• Costume:  half pig/half pine, pig, bacon, pine tree or branch, pip poop (raisins)
• Demo:  Box with dirt representing farm with Pigs, remove pig, hide tree behind table, throw seeds in box – land is so fertile from Pig poop, that the pines just pop (tree emerges from behind table)
• Mitigation Technique:  Terrestrial sequestration
• Cost: $100,000 – off-set by yearly sale of X-mas trees and carbon credits sold to local industry
• Emission Reduction: 100% of methane from pigs.  ½ ton per mature tree
• Counterpoint: Time it takes trees to mature, reduced food and jobs (slaughter house), Atkins dieters would bum out because there would be less “other white meat”

Cancel Christmas

 “aka: Scrooge’s Scourge”

• Costume:  Ghost of Christmas Future, sheet and chains, presents with notes inside that say “this would have been a new bike”, “15% reduction in CO2”, “1 month mandatory vacation”
• Demo:  Pass out presents, ask them to open gifts and have each person read their note.  Float around the room as “scrooge” and remind the students that the notes in the presents represent reduced emissions.
• Mitigation Technique:  Business reduction
• Cost: ½ million due to loss of revenue from toy sales
• Emission Reduction: 15% due to 1 month closure of busy season
• Counterpoint: Less toys for Christmas and Chanukah, mandatory vacation for employees, loss of revenue could lead to loss of jobs

 Coal Gasification

 “aka: Carbon Crunchers”

• Costume:  Swedish Chef, soil, chocolate
• Demo:  Chef shows large chunk of coal (dirt) and explains that this takes a long time to cook because it’s so big.  Violently chop dirt – bake at high temp.  No particulate matter – pure gas.  Smell that!  Everyone knows you should clean as you go.  This helps you do that.  Now Hansel and Franz will tell you to cover with salt for a tasty treat for our atmosphere.  (have some chocolate) Mmmmm, that’s good!
• Mitigation Technique:  Coal Gasification, makes CO2 purer to pump the CO2 to underground salt mines.
• Cost: 10 million due to refitting power plant combustion chambers
• Emission Reduction:  50% reduction of CO2 entering the atmosphere due to geologic sequestration in local mines.
• Counterpoint: Cost passed onto consumer, technique not fully tested

 Geologic Sequestration

 “aka: Hansel & Franz Pumping Company”

• Costume:  muscles, sweatsuits, sweatbands, talk with Austrian accent
• Demo:  I’m Hansel and I’m Franz, and we’re going to pump you up!  Hand each person a balloon and tell them to get pumping (count out pump), collect balloons (one person should be performing some sort of exercise), explain that you pipe it into the salt mine, bury them in the salt mine (behind the table), pop one – act like nothing happened.
• Mitigation technique:  Geologic sequestration
• Cost:  5 million
• Emission Reduction:  98% reduction
• Counterpoint:  Salt mines could “burp”, only buys time does not eliminate GHG production, pipes could leak 

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Mitigation Techniques - Student Sheet

Mitigation Techniques - Teacher Key

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