The Global Environmental Problems can be Solved: Preparing Elementary and Middle School

Students to Envision a Better Future.

• The Problem is Real

• The Problem is Huge

• The Problem Can be Solved

• What Elementary and Middle School Students Need to Know

Today’s Children Must Solve The Problem of Global Warming

• The Problem is Real

• The Problem is Huge

• The Problem Can be Solved

• What Elementary and Middle School Students Need to Know

World Annual Carbon Dioxide Emissions: 1980-2000

http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/international/total.html#IntlCarbon

4,500

5,000

5,500

6,000

6,500

1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000

Mil

lio

n M

etr

ic T

on

s C

arb

on

Eq

uiv

ale

nt

2.15

2.39

2.63

2.87

3.11

Co

nc

en

tra

tio

n I

nc

rem

en

t (p

pm

v)

The Rosetta Stone2100 Mt(C) = 1 ppmv(CO2)

Fossil Fuel Emissions

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

1750 1950 2150 2350 2550

Year

Em

iss

ion

s (

GtC

/yr)

"Data""Logistic Fit"

7x

6x

5x

4x

3x

2x

1x

5600 GT carbon consumed = 80% of FF reserves.

2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000Year

2000

1800

1600

1400

1200

1000

800

600

400

200

pC

O2

(p

pm

)

Atmospheric pCO2 vs YearBAU10% Injected25% Injected50% Injected100% Injected10% Removed25% Removed50% Removed100% Removed

Surface Air Warming (°F)

2xCO2 Climate

4xCO2 Climate

GFDL Model (Manabe & Stouffer)

Growth Rate of Carbon Reservoirs

ED US Land Use History

Primary Crop Pasture Secondary

Today’s Children Must Solve The Problem of Global Warming

• The Problem is Real

• The Problem is Huge

• The Problem Can be Solved

• What Elementary and Middle School Students Need to Know

S500 Stabilization Scenario

300

350

400

450

500

550

2000 2050 2100 2150 2200

Year

Atm

osp

her

ic C

O2

(PP

M)

Yearly Emissions of Carbon

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050

Year

Em

issio

ns (

GT

Carb

on

)

IS92A BAU

S500

2050 Emissions Reductions = Emissions Today

0

2

4

6

8

10

2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050

Year

Emis

sion

s R

educ

tion

in G

T C

arbo

n

Today’s Children Must Solve The Problem of Global Warming

• The Problem is Real

• The Problem is Huge

• The Problem Can be Solved

• What Elementary and Middle School Students Need to Know

Carbon Mitigation Initiative at Princeton, 2001-2010

Carbon CaptureCarbon Capture

Carbon ScienceCarbon Science

Carbon StorageCarbon Storage

Carbon PolicyCarbon Policy

$20,100,000 funding from BP and Ford.

• Combustion: 2H2 + O2 = 2H2O + Energy

• Fuel Cell: 2H2 + O2 = 2H2O + Electricity

CO2

4H2

2 H2O

CH4 CO2

Steam Reforming

Fuel cell or Combustor

Geologic Sequestration

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY

PEI / CMI

Biomass Energy

Conservation

Wind Energy

Solar Energy

Nuclear Fission

Enhance Natural Sinks

Nuclear Fusion

Reductions Required by 2050 = ~ 6 GT

Geologic Sequestration

3500 Algeria or Sleipner projects

@ 1 MT CO2/year

Leakage

(a) Global

(b) Local

Deep microbes

Nuclear 1500 1 GW power plants (5X current level)

Nuclear proliferation and terrorism, nuclear waste

Efficiency 8% of 2050 fossil BAU energy None

Wind

Solar

Biomass

Wind: 150 x current level

Solar: 2000 x current level.

Biomass: 200 x 106ha = US Agriculture

Wind: regional climate change?, NIMBY

Solar: None

Biomass: Biodiversity

Forest Sinks 250-500 x 106ha =

1X – 2X US Forest Area

Biodiversity

Mitigation Size of 1 GT Global Business Risk

Magic bullets after 2050: Fusion, solar CO2 CH3OH, solar splitting of water.

Today’s Children Must Solve The Problem of Global Warming

• The Problem is Real

• The Problem is Huge

• The Problem Can be Solved

• What Elementary and Middle School Students Need to Know

The Problem Is Real

300 60 90 120 150

Ca

rbo

n in

Liv

ing

Tre

es

Years Since Abandonment

Indoor Alternative: Grow plants in pots, dry them in an oven, weigh them and divide by 2. This yields the carbon that came from the atmosphere. Multiply by 44/12 and you have the total mass of CO2 that was taken from the atmosphere.

On average a US citizen produces roughly 20 tons! of CO2

The CO2 that comes from your tailpipe weighs 3 times asmuch as the gasoline you put in.

The global average per capita production of CO2 is only 4 tons.

Personal carbon accounting. How much greenhouse gas is produced by your family’s car, by heating your house, by the electricity your family uses, by your school, etc.? How much do people in other cultures produce?

To prevent dangerous global warming, global production of CO2 must stabilize through 2050, and this means that US consumption must drop as other societies industrialize.

Global Warming:IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change):

http://www.ipcc.ch/

CMDL (Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory):

http://www.cmdl.noaa.gov/

GFDL (Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory Home Page):

http://www.gfdl.gov/

NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research):

http://www.ncar.ucar.edu/ncar/

Hadley Centre:

http://www.met-office.gov.uk/research/hadleycentre/index.html

Fuel Cell Cars

Geologic Sequestration

Wind Power

Solar Power

Biomass Energy

Conservation

Nuclear Power

Solutions:

DOE – Kidspage:http://www.netl.doe.gov/coalpower/sequestration/kidspage/main.html

CMI (Carbon Mitigation Initiative)http://www.princeton.edu/~cmi/

Stanford GCEP website:http://gcep.stanford.edu/

Hydrogen and Fuel Cells: http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/Electrochemistry/doc/fuelcell.htmlhttp://www.jpl.nasa.gov/releases/97/fuelcel3.htmlhttp://ethics-www.jpl.nasa.gov/releases/2002/release_2002_94.htmlhttp://www.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/RT2000/5000/5830palaszewski1.htmlhttp://www.daimlerchrysler.com/index_e.htm?/news/top/1999/t90422a_e.htmhttp://www.autobytel.com/content/research/index.cfm?id=4;4&aid=90&action=showarticle

Geologic Sequestration: http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2002NC/finalprogram/abstract_32351.htmhttp://www.netl.doe.gov/coalpower/sequestration/geologic.html

Bioenergy:http://www.eere.energy.gov/state_energy/tech_biomass.cfm?state=NJhttp://www.ott.doe.gov/rbep/organization.htmlhttp://weboflife.ksc.nasa.gov/currentResearch/currentResearchHardware/bpsAmes.htmhttp://www.ott.doe.gov/biofuels/http://www.ott.doe.gov/biofuels/history_of_biofuels.htmlhttp://www.ott.doe.gov/biofuels/links.htmlhttp://www.bioproducts-bioenergy.gov/http://www.ott.doe.gov/biofuels/environment.htmlhttp://bioenergy.ornl.gov/bfdpmain.htmlhttp://www.ott.doe.gov/biofuels/energy_security.html

Solar Energy:http://www.eere.energy.gov/state_energy/tech_solar.cfm?state=NJhttp://www.eere.energy.gov/state_energy/technology_overview.cfm?techid=1http://geo.arc.nasa.gov/sge2/applitech/spsolar.htmlhttp://www.solarquest.com/schoolhouse/Task.asp?id=1348http://www.eere.energy.gov/solar_decathlon/kids.html

Wind Energy:http://www.nrel.gov/clean_energy/wind.htmlhttp://www.eere.energy.gov/state_energy/tech_wind.cfm?state=NJhttp://geo.arc.nasa.gov/sge2/applitech/renew.htmlhttp://www.buffalopix.com/windmills.htm

Nuclear Fission and Fusion:http://nepo.ne.doe.gov/page1.htmlhttp://www-spof.gsfc.nasa.gov/stargaze/Snuclear.htmhttp://wwwofe.er.doe.gov/http://www.ofes.fusion.doe.gov/More_HTML/About%20Fusion.htmlhttp://www.ofes.fusion.doe.gov/Education.htmlhttp://fusedweb.pppl.gov/FusEdWeb-menu.htmlhttp://fusedweb.pppl.gov/FusEdWeb-home.html

Today’s Children Must Solve the Problem of

Global Warming

•The Problem is Real

•The Problem is Huge

•The Problem Can Be Solved

•What Elementary and Middle School Students Need to Know