Albuquerque's
Environmental StoryAlbuquerque's
Environmental Story
Setup a human chain to demonstrate what happens when you take a drink from a water fountain. Ask questions, working backward from the water fountain, until the entire water cycle has been traced.
How did the water get into the water fountain?
How does the water get into the pipes? Are the pipes clean?
How does water get into the school?
Where is the city's water stored?
How does it get there?
Where did that water come from?
Where does the water go?
Set up a similar chain to explain what happens to the waste water which goes down the drain.
Design a wetlands for waste water.
Use a magneto (model generator) to discover how electricity is generated. Perhaps, you can borrow a magneto from an auto body shop or an electric motor shop.
What is the source of energy used to generate electricity in the magneto?
What source(s) does Public Service Company of New Mexico use?
What environmental problems are connected with the use of fossil fuels? What is being done to try to solve some of these problems?
What is meant by energy crisis? What is the outlook for the future?
What alternative sources of energy for electricity are being studied? What are the pros and cons of each?
Develop a diagram to trace the path of electricity from the wall outlet in your classroom back to the generating plant.
If a storm caused a temporary blackout during school hours, how would this affect your class and the school? List all of the uses of electricity you can think of in the class and school.
Which of the uses of electricity are most important and would be missed the most? Which could be done without most easily?
How might the class improvise during the blackout?
How might parents be affected by the same blackout at home or their places of business?
Have we become too dependent on electricity? If so, are there things we can do about it short of turning the clock back by a century? Keep a record for one day of the electricity you, yourself, used at home. How much wattage did you use?
Answer the question "What is the air temperature now? Is there any one answer to that question? Explain.
What is the temperature in different parts of your room? Near the floor; near the ceiling; in a closet; in the sunlight [Shield the bulb of the thermometer from the rays of the sun]; near the window, but not in the sunlight. Explain. Graph the temperature at hourly intervals throughout the day in a given part of the room. Use a computer graphing program.
How does the temperature differ in rooms on the south side of the school from the north side? Why? Graph the temperature at hourly intervals in rooms on both sides of the school.
What is the air temperature inside a sunlit box covered with black paper? White paper? Aluminum foil? Explain.
How does the temperature inside the school differ from the temperature outside? What different temperatures do you get outside the school? Does the side of the building (north, south, east, west) matter? Does the time of day matter? Is the temperature different under a tree? If so, why? Consider transpiration as well as shade.
How can the data collected in this investigation be used to help demonstrate energy conservation measures? How can it be used to demonstrate how energy is often wasted?
Inventory the waste accumulated by your class by the end of the day. Use both the contents of the wastebasket and the litter strewn on the floor. Discuss the fact that both collections constitute solid waste, the only difference between them being that the wastebasket is a tidier way of disposing of discards than littering. Prepare a chart of your itemized findings for a week. Determine a per capita figure. Show the results in a circle graph. Use a computer spreadsheet to help you.
Which category forms the largest part of your class' solid waste? Are there ways to cut down? Try different methods suggested by the class, and compare the quantity of solid waste after trying for a few days.
Which of the discards should never have been thrown away, and should be recovered? Which can be reused? Which should be recycled?
Which of the wastes decompose after a few days? Which decompose after a few weeks? What does biodegradable mean?
Which presents a greater solid waste disposal problem, biodegradable or non-biodegradable items? Explain.
What part of the waste is the result of over packaging? What part is the result of discarded objects which could be further used? What are the reasons for excessive packaging? Which of these reasons might be justified considering the realities of our current lifestyles and social problems? What role does advertising play?
Talk with the custodian to learn what is done with the wastes produced in the school. Trace the system used for solid waste disposal in Albuquerque. If possible, take a trip to sanitary landfill sites, and to places where illegal dumping occurs.
Does the school cafeteria use washable or disposable dishes and utensils? If disposables are used, what trade offs are involved? What economic, sanitary, and environmental factors must be considered in determining whether disposables should be used?
What, if any, problems does solid waste collection and disposal present to the city and county? How much of the city's total budget is allocated to solid waste collection and disposal? How much of this cost could be eliminated by decreasing our consumption of goods?
How do Albuquerque's solid waste disposal costs and problems compare with those of other cities? What effect, if any, might a sudden and large increase in the city's population have on the solid waste disposal system in Albuquerque?
How does consumption of goods per capita in the United States compare with that of other developed countries? With developing countries?
(Up to Section IV, Back to Eye Opener Worksheet 8, On to Aditional Activities 8)