Glencoe Science Level Red

Unit 6: Life and the Environment

Personal conservation project

Project Type: Model

Introduction:
The U.S. demand for petroleum is currently at 20 million barrels per day. Although petroleum products are utilized extensively for fueling machines, heating homes and manufacturing plastics, their use can cause problems such as environmental pollution and the depletion of nonrenewable resources.

Task:
Direct each student to design a personal conservation project. These projects will be conducted over a two-week period during which each student will conserve one or more resources. The plans do not have to focus solely on petroleum products. Examples of personal conservation include composting refuse, using less water per day, reducing electricity use, and starting recycling programs. Encourage students to think about the 3 R’s of conservation – reduce, reuse, and recycle – as they create their plans.

Time:
1 class period to research and design the conservation plan, 2 weeks outside class to implement plan, 1-2 class periods for presentations

Possible Resources:

http://www.moea.state.mn.us/reduce/index.cfm

http://www.csgnetwork.com/waterusagecalc.html

http://www.sfr.cas.psu.edu/water/Water%20Audit%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf

http://www.catskillcenter.org/programs/csp/H20/Lesson3/house3.htm

http://clayelectric.com/electricitybrochure.pdf

http://www.clpud.org/rtchoice.html

http://www.ergon.com.au/energyed/activities/energy_audit2.asp?nf=true&platform

http://www.earth911.org/master.asp?s=about&a=contact/startrecycle.asp

http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/osw/conserve/2003news/11-comp.htm

http://www.energy.iastate.edu/news/pr/pr-setbacktherm.html

Product:
Students should give oral presentations of their conservation projects. A complete presentation will include an explanation of the original plan, how the plan was implemented, and the results achieved.

Rubric:
Click here for a rubric to help score this project. (69.0K)