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Creating Energy sustainably.

Outcomes:

the language outcomes are students learn vocabulary related to energy use and pollution such as generator, emissions, fuel, to power, greenhouse gas, photovoltaic panel, sustainable

the skills content is that learners recount to each other about a sustainable way of creating energy

the content outcome is students learn about sustainable ways of producing energy

Materials:

internet connection and projector. One copy of one of the texts below for each student.

Procedure:

Ask students to tell each other about their last night out.

Tell students they are going to watch a video about a place for a night out. As they watch it, they should find out why it is special. Show the video. Feedback ideas.

Put the following table on the board and ask students to copy it. And fill in the section about the disco.

| |Sustainable disco |Bicycle cinema |Solar-powered usb charger |Kite-powered cargo ship |

|What is it and how does it | | | | |

|work? | | | | |

|Why is it good? | | | | |

|Are there any disadvantages | | | | |

|with it? | | | | |

|Who would use it? | | | | |

|An interesting fact is: | | | | |

|An interesting piece of | | | | |

|vocabulary | | | | |

Split the class into three groups and give each group one of the texts below. They read it an fill in the information in the table above.

Form new groups in which people have read the different texts. They help each other to complete the table by asking and answering questions. Feedback to class.

Put the following words from the texts on the board (plus any other items of vocabulary from the text you wish to focus on): generator, emissions, fuel, to power, greenhouse gas, photovoltaic panel, sustainable. Divide the words among the groups and they use dictionaries to get definitions which they explain to the other groups.

Pedal power at open-air cycle-in cinemas

Cycle-in cinemas are popping up all over the UK, promoting the value of electricity and the joys of cycling

[pic]

Cinema-goers can hook their bicycle to the generator and power the performance. Photograph:

Imagine how a a love of cycling might be combined with a British version of the great American drive-in cinema screening. . Welcome to the outdoor cycle-in cinema, where people rock up on their bikes, and connect them to a generator that powers the show.

The UK's first cycle-in cinema appeared at The Big Chill in 2007, provided by Magnificent Revolution, a collective of about 10 engineers, artists, and environmentalists. Since then, screenings are popping up at festivals and in arts spaces all over the country. Check out Manchester-based Pow Wow Pedal Power, The Bristol Bike Project and Electric Pedals, which has taken cycle-powered cinemas to Brighton, Womad festival and locations around London.

On Sunday night I went to see – and participate in – a bicycle-powered showing of The Princess Bride at Hackney city farm, London. A stable of 12 bicycles in a field were hooked up to the projector and speakers, and set up to the sides of a large open-air cinema screen. You can bring your own bike to these events.

Each cyclist generates about 50 watts, which is enough to light up a low-power incandescent lightbulb. The projector and sound system on Sunday night were using around 400W. In theory you could get away with eight cyclists, then, but the organiser, Walker explained that having 12 bikes made it easier.

It turns out that The Princess Bride was a good choice of film for the event in more ways than one. "It needs to be quite fast-paced so people keep the momentum up. If you wanted to show a German expressionist film it just wouldn't work," Walker said.

There does appear to be potential for a practical application of the concept in human-driven gyms. Such gyms already exist in Portland, Oregon and Hong Kong. It seems silly we are not already powering the lights in the gym when hundreds of people are already expending energy on rowing machines and fitness bikes.

Solar-powered usb charger

Shades of the ’60s! Call it flower power or solar power, by any name this sweet little device—a solar photovoltaic panel in the shape of a daisy blossom—brings a powerhouse of energy to your workspace, be it a desk, an easel or a drawing board. In fact, it offers such a range of charging choices for your electronic connectivity, from a mini-USB input to a USB output, you may forget you’re working in the Serengeti Desert or wherever.

Called the XD Design Solar Sunflower, the 10-centimeter (3.93-inch) blossom atop a 23-centimeter (9-inch) stalk and flowerpot represents a 5-volt (1000 mA, or 1 amp) charging station with a 2500 mAh (2500 milliamp hours, or 2.5 amps per hour) rechargeable lithium battery, it’s enough to charge your cell phone or MP3 player—and really, what else is essential to life in the 21st Century?

Two indicator lights show low battery and battery charged status. Two green leaves one on each side of the stalk—do nothing but remind one that this is a “sun” flower, if not actually a sunflower. The Solar Sunflower, a manageable 0.39 kg (13.75 ounces, or just under a pound, compared to the thousands of pounds for MIT’s version of a solar flower) also comes with a mini-USB charging cable, and the solidly plastic construction assures that your sunflower won’t wither or die if you leave it alone over the weekend.

From XD Design, the creators of useful products in whimsical shapes, sizes and colors that integrate seamlessly with the real world, and from the imagination of XD Design guru Ryan McSorley, this sturdy flower in black, white and verdant green—no soil and water needed—will bring a smile to even the sternest of visages. Try one on your boss.

The Solar Sunflower is available through design3000.de for €59.50 ($78.40).

Sails for ships

Shipping company Cargill plans to use giant sails to reduce its fuel consumption.

Cargill signed an agreement with Hamburg-based SkySails GmbH & Co. to use its 320 sq m kites, which fly ahead of vessels at a height of 100 to 420 meters. The kites generate propulsion which can reduce the consumption of bunker fuel by up to 35 percent.

This December, Cargill will install a kite on a vessel, which weighs between 25,000 and 30,000 tons. It will be the world’s largest vessel propelled by a kite, Cargill said. The two companies hope to have the system fully operational by the first quarter of 2012.

Cargill is currently helping SkySails develop and test the technology and has identified a ship-owner with whom it will partner on the project.

The SkySails kite will be connected to the ship by rope, and an automatic control system will adjust its flight path. All information related to the system’s operation is displayed on the monitor of a SkySails workstation on the ship’s bridge.

“We are excited that our technology will shortly be used on a handysize vessel for the first time and see great potential to incorporate it on larger ships in the future,” SkySails managing director Stephan Wrage said.

The freight sector represents about 25 percent of U.S. transportation sector emissions, or about eight percent of all U.S. emissions, according to the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). Since 1990, emissions attributed to freight have climbed 60 percent, compared to 27 percent for passenger travel.

Kites are one major method of reducing ships’ greenhouse gas emissions, the EDF has said. Other methods being used by shipping companies include heat recovery and running at slower speed.

A United Nations (International Maritime Organisation) study found that up to 100 million tonnes of carbon dioxide could be saved every year by the broad application of SkySails’ technology on the world merchant fleet, SkySail said.

“For some time, we have been searching for a project that can help drive environmental best practice within the shipping industry and see this as a meaningful first step,” said G.J. van den Akker, head of Cargill’s ocean transportation business. “We are very impressed with the technology and see its installation on one of our chartered ships as the first part of an ongoing, long-term partnership.”

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