Grades 9-12Grades 9-12

Unit 4, Lesson 2

Clean Fuels: Availability and Distribution

Objectives:

The students will:

  • understand the extent and costs of our nation's dependence on foreign sources of oil;
  • learn how our communities are affected by fuel shortages and the fluctuating availability and pricing of fuel;
  • identify fuel alternatives that now exist in the community; and
  • investigate alternatives, specifically their long-term availability and social and environmental costs, as well as the safety issues involved with their extraction, processing, storage, and delivery.

This set of activities involves identifying and explaining alternative fuels. Students will learn about the U.S. dependence on foreign oil and the challenges of obtaining petroleum products, what fuels are used to power our communities, and what stakeholders are involved in the availability, safe distribution, and social and environmental costs of fuels.

TEKS:

Science

  • Environmental Systems: 8B
  • Geology, Meteorology, and Oceanography: 9B-C

Social Studies

  • United States History Studies Since Reconstruction: 22A-C, 23A-B

Time:

10 days for entire lesson or may be broken down into smaller steps if necessary

Materials:

Activity 1, Activity 2, and Activity 3

Student Handouts

  • Availability and Distribution: The Challenge
  • Transportation Fuels, Engines, and Motors
  • Who's Interested in AFVs? Who Cares about Availability and Distribution?
  • Fuels That Power Your Community: Guide to Community Research
  • Community map that shows primary roads

Other Useful Resources

  • Sample utility bill describing sources of power in the power grid
  • Yellow pages
  • Access to the Internet
  • Public relations departments of your local utility company, public transit authority, department of transportation, or other companies and organizations that operate fleets of vehicles

Activity 4, Activity 5, and Activity 6

Student Handouts

  • Availability and Distribution: Guide to Fuel Team Research
  • In Your Community, How Important Is It?
  • Fuels Fact Sheets (to be distributed to appropriate teams)
  • Resource Guide
  • Evaluating Team Reports and Presentations
  • Fuel Review Worksheet: Availability, Distribution, and Pricing

Other Useful Resources for Research

  • Access to the library and Internet publications listed as references for this lesson

Other Useful Resources for Student Presentations

  • Flip charts, poster board, transparencies, and use of an overhead projector
  • Access to word-processing or presentation software

Directions:

ACTIVITY 1 - BACKGROUND READING AND DISCUSSION

Availability and Distribution: Presenting the Challenge

Time
45 minutes (to save time in class, readings may be assigned for homework)

  1. Copy and distribute student handouts for this section. Students will be receiving two more packets of handouts in the next sections, plus some additional resources used throughout the course of this lesson. Advise students to keep the handouts in a project notebook.

  2. Refer to the student handout Availability and Distribution: The Challenge to stimulate discussion about the need to secure sources of fuel. Introduce the discussion by explaining that our ability to keep cars on the road ultimately depends on the source of the fuel they use and its long-term availability.

  3. Have students read the handout and analyze the charts Petroleum Consumption in the United States and U.S. Dependence on Foreign Oil. Key points for students to understand are the large fuel requirements of our transportation system, our growing dependence on foreign oil, the high costs of defending supplies originating in foreign countries, and the environmental cost of extracting and transporting fuel. Safety issues involved in the extraction, production, and delivery of fuel are additional considerations in changing to alternative fuels.

  4. Refer to the handout Transportation Fuels, Engines, and Motors, to be used as a reference for the activities in this lesson. It lists the vocabulary that students may encounter while doing research, including brief descriptions of the alternative fuels they'll be studying in depth. Briefly explain that according to the federal government definition, alternative fuels are those that are "substantially not petroleum" and yield "energy security benefits and substantial environmental benefits." The chief alternatives are methanol, denatured ethanol and other alcohols (separately or in mixtures of 85 percent by volume or more with gasoline or other fuels), compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), hydrogen, coal-derived liquid fuels, fuels derived from biomass, electricity, and neat (100 percent) biodiesel.

  5. Ask students to identify various types of people who may be concerned with fuel availability and distribution and with the hidden costs that are associated with our reliance on oil, and what their chief concerns might be. Refer to the student handout Who's Interested in AFVs? Who Cares about Availability and Distribution? Have students read the various concerns and ask which of the people most reflect their own concerns. Which people are likely to be in their community? Who else in their community may have an interest in AFVs, and what would their concerns be? What people may be in the audience during their presentations?

    EXTENSION: Ask students to make up a sheet similar to the Who's Interested in AFVs? handout for local residents.

ACTIVITY 2 - CLASS MIND MAPPING EXERCISE

The Rippling Effect on the Community of the Rising Fuel Prices

Time
10 minutes

  1. Bring the fuel issues home by developing a "mind map" on the chalkboard that demonstrates the rippling effect of rising prices of fuel. Start by presenting this situation:

    Imagine the prices of gasoline rising to $4.00 a gallon because of a fuel shortage. What effect would it have on you or your family and on businesses?

    If students need help, ask them if high prices would limit the amount of gasoline or diesel their family buys, or the amount of money spent on other things. Would they have to change their vacation plans or the number of car trips they make out of town? What businesses depend on transportation fuel? If your community depends on tourism, would rising prices of transportation fuel affect the number of travelers to your region?

  2. Ask the students how people already conserve fuel. How often do they see people biking or waiting for a bus? Do they know anyone who carpools, cycles, or uses mass transit? If fuel prices went up, would more people do this? Why or why not?

ACTIVITY 3 - CLASS COMMUNITY RESEARCH

Discovering the Fuels that Power Your Community

Time
30 minutes, plus 30 additional minutes of discussion over several days as the students report on their research; requires out-of-class time for some students

  1. Refer to the student handout Fuels That Power Your Community: Guide to Community Research. In this class activity, students learn more about the effect of fuel shortages, the variety of fuels that power their community, and the alternatives being developed close to home. Briefly discuss the questions and diagrams.

  2. If students are not able to answer all the questions, they may need to contact various people in the community. Help students generate a list of possible sources, and work with them to develop clear questions to obtain the information they need.

    Ideas for possible sources include:

    Transportation Fuel for Your Community

      1a. Contact the maintenance department of the bus depot or the mass transit service.

      1b. Have students generate a list of fleets found in your town (package delivery services, postal service, police, government vehicles, private corporations, etc.) and call their maintenance or service departments.

      1c. Refer students to the list of alternative fuels included in the handout Transportation Fuels, Engines, and Motors. Use the list as a basis for researching the availability of each. Call the state department of transportation or view the web site of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Maps showing locations of alternative fueling stations across the country are posted on the NREL web site.

    Fuel for Your Power Grid

      2a. A list of power sources is sometimes found on utility bills. If not, call the community or public relations department of your utility company.

      2b. Contact the community or public relations department of your utility company. Assign one or more students to make calls to various fleet operators (1b), the department of transportation (1c), the utility company (2a and b), and so on. Help them formulate the questions they'll ask. Revisit this discussion over several days until all the questions have been answered. The answers will be useful in later activities.

    EXTENSIONS

    • Regarding question 1c, your community may or may not have fueling sites for alternative fuels, which may or may not be open to the public. If they do exist, have the students mark them on a map of the community and display it in the classroom.

      Suggestion: Use symbols to represent the various kinds of alternative fuels found in your community.

    • Have students talk to their parents or grandparents about the fuel crisis of the '70s to find out how people adapted to the shortage of fuels.

ACTIVITY 4 - INTRODUCTION TO FUEL TEAM RESEARCH

Learning about the Availability and Distribution of Alternative Fuels

Time
One day

  1. Refer to the handout Availability and Distribution: Guide to Fuel Team Research. Introduce this research activity by discussing the flowchart and graphs, which show where we in the United States get our petroleum, where proven oil reserves exist, and how petroleum moves from well to wheels. Key discussion points include the complex infrastructure that has been developed to deliver fuel; the technology that has been developed to make distribution relatively safe and convenient; and the regional, national, and long-term availability of petroleum.

    Explain that in this research activity, fuel teams will investigate how alternative fuels are developed, how they might be distributed to your community, which safety issues are involved with processing and distribution, and whether or not the fuels will be available over the long term. This research addresses the first section of the handout In Your Community, How Important Is It?

  2. For this and the two other research sections in this unit, up to nine fuel teams will prepare mini-presentations (with or without a written report) on various alternative fuels. Each presentation will last 5 to 10 minutes, with additional time provided for their classmates to ask questions. Divide the class into research teams to investigate and become experts on one of the alternative fuels listed below:

    • Biodiesel,
    • Ethanol/E85,
    • Liquefied petroleum gas (propane),
    • Methanol/M85,
    • Natural gas: compressed (CNG) and liquefied (LNG),
    • Battery,
    • Fuel cell (hydrogen),
    • Photovoltaic cells, and
    • Hybrid electric.

    Note: If you plan to do other research sections of this unit, these teams should continue to work together.

  3. Distribute to the appropriate teams copies of the Fuel Fact Sheets. Distribute to all researchers copies of the Resource Guide, which directs them to sites on the Internet with additional information they may need. Take time to review the headings in the Resource Guide so the students know which sites may have information about their particular fuels.

ACTIVITY 5 - TEAM RESEARCH AND PREPARATION FOR PRESENTATIONS

Learning to Speak about the Availability and Distribution of Alternative Fuels

Time
Three days

  1. Once the teams have been selected, refer to the handout Availability and Distribution: Guide to Fuel Team Research. Discuss where the students might find the answers to the questions. Much information is already available in the Fuel Fact Sheets. Some of the answers are found in encyclopedias. Additional information can be found at the web sites listed for the alternative fuels in the Resource Guide. Some organizations listed there provide 800 numbers or hotlines to call for additional help. Some questions require that students pull together information and form their own opinions. For question 4b, students may find a mechanic or recycling center helpful in thinking this through.

  2. Over the next three days, provide students with the opportunity to meet in their teams, to divide up the research tasks, and to decide how they will present their findings and who will do it. Encourage them to develop diagrams and other graphics to help present their findings. Remind them that these presentation aids may be further developed for a public presentation.

  3. Coach students as they do their research. It may be helpful for you to investigate some of the recommended web sites to have a better understanding of the information found there.

  4. Distribute copies of the handout Evaluating Team Reports and Presentations so that students will know in advance what is expected in their presentations.

ACTIVITY 6 - TEAM PRESENTATIONS AND CLASS DISCUSSIONS

Availability and Distribution

Time
Four days (10 to 15 minutes for each team's presentation and questions, plus 20 to 30 minutes for follow-up panel and class discussion)

  1. Make a list of stakeholders or special interest groups for the students to represent while listening to and evaluating the fuels being presented. Remind students that a wide variety of people are interested in these issues: diplomats, environmental advocates, the petroleum industry, and so on, as you discussed earlier in Who's Interested in AFVs? Who Cares about Availability and Distribution?

  2. Decide if the students will evaluate the presentations as individuals or as part of a review panel. Then assign (or have the members of the class select) the stakeholders or special interest groups they will represent. If they're working in review panels, allow the panel members to sit together.

  3. Refer students to the handout Fuel Review Worksheet: Availability, Distribution, and Pricing. They will use this worksheet as a guide for taking notes during a fuel presentation and writing down their (or their panel's) conclusions. (They will need one copy of this worksheet for each fuel presentation given.) Before the presentations, allow students time to make note of their interest group's chief concerns. After each presentation, allow them time to discuss and make note of their conclusions.

  4. Remind presenters to keep in mind the concerns of the stakeholders in the audience. Presentations should last 5 to 10 minutes, with additional time for the audience to ask questions. Encourage students in their audience to ask follow-up questions from the points of view of the stakeholders they represent.

  5. At the end of each day and again after all presentations have been given, allow time for the panels to compare the fuels and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each with respect to safety, availability, and social and environmental costs.

Resources:

Classroom Materials [PDF]

Web Sites

Source: "Cars of Tomorrow," Chapter 2, page 17, Northeast Sustainable Energy Association