BioFutures
|
|
|
|
| About KEEP |
Professional
Development |
Resources |
Student
Involvement |
Networking |
Funding Opportunities |
| BioFutures: Biomass Energy Activity Guide |
Understanding energy issues can help students prepare for the future in Wisconsin, the United States, and global communities. Wisconsin does not contain oil, coal, or natural gas reserves and is at the mercy of other states and nations for our energy needs. As the shift to renewable energy approaches, Wisconsin has to take stock of the renewable resources that are available. The most utilized renewable energy resource is wood burning in homes and industry.
Wisconsin is rich in biomass resources including closed landfills, animal manure, crops such as corn and soybeans, and forested land. Biogas is currently being produced at waste water treatment facilities, closed landfills, and large dairy farms. The use of ethanol, an alternative fuel made from corn, is increasing due to the increased cost of gasoline and pollution regulations placed on six southeastern counties in Wisconsin. Biodiesel is being made in large facilities and by motivated individuals throughout the state for their own use. The uses of more biomass energy forms are likely to increase as time passes. This biomass curriculum will help you teach your students about the pros and cons of biomass energy use in Wisconsin!
It is very important that students experience activities which will enable them to understand renewable energy and biomass energy concepts. Moreover, it is crucial that students gain an appreciation for renewable energy resources at an early age. This early awareness will support their further explorations of biomass energy resource development and use.
BioFutures includes several activities that will support awareness of biomass energy resources.| Activity Support |
Photosynthesis Promenade
Books
Joanna Cole. The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds:
A Book About How Living
Things Grow. New York: Scholastic, 1995.
Joanna Cole. The Magic School Bus Gets Planted:
A Book About
Photosynthesis. New York: Scholastic, 1997.
Bobbie D. Kalman. How a Plant Grows.
Web sites
Newton's Apple Web Site
North Carolina Ag in the Classroom
Would You Heat With Wood?
Report
Heating with Biomass: A Feasibility Study of
Wisconsin Schools Heated with Wood
Web sites
Heating Your Home with Wood Pellets
Heating Your Home with Wood
Story Writing Tips for Kids
How to Write a Story
Advertising Biodiesel
Books
Joshua Tickell. From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank:
The Complete Guide to Using
Vegetable Oil as an Alternative Fuel. New Orleans:
Joshua Tickell Media
Productions, 2003.
Greg Pahl. Biodiesel: Growing a New Energy
Economy. White River Junction:
Chelsea Green Publications, 2005.
Web Sites
Biodiesel from Seeds
National Biodiesel Board
Make Your Own Biodiesel
Veggie Van
Biodiesel Now
Community Design - It's a Gas
Don't Waste Waste
Web sites
TFF Eco-Links
Wood Utilization
Biomass
Books
Klass, Donald. Biomass Renewable Energy, Fuels,
and Chemicals. Academic
Press, 1998.
Brown, Robert. Biorenewable Resources:
Engineering New Products from
Agriculture. Iowa State Press, 2003.
Graham, Ian. Geothermal and Bio-Energy.
Austin, TX: Raintree Steck-Vaughn,
1999.
Hayhurst, Chris. Biofuel of the Future: New Ways
of Turning Organic Matter
into Energy. New York: Rosen Publishing, 2003.
Grasses for the Masses
Web sites
Biomass Energy Resource Center
Focus on Energy Biomass Fact Sheets
Pellet Fuels Institute
United States Department of Energy
Roadside Renewables
Web sites
Renewable Energy from Landfill Waste - Waukesha, WI
How Stuff Works
WI DNR
Biofuel Beliefs
Books
Helen Cothran (Ed.). Energy Alternatives:
Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego:
Greenhaven Press, 2002.
Francis S. Sterrett (Ed.) Alternative Fuels and
the Environment. Boca Raton:
Lewis Publishers, 1995.
Neil Schlager and Jayne Weisblatl (Ed.).
Alternative Energy. The Thomson
Corporation.
Web sites
Making Ethanol
Powering Cars with Ethanol
Ethanol Across America
All About Ethanol
Renewable Fuels Association
Ethanol Promotion and Information Council
Opposition to Ethanol
Ethanol Articles
Limits
of BioFuels (Pimentel article)
Energy
Balance of Corn Ethanol (pages 1-10)
Biomass Gazette
Web sites
National Corn Growers Association
Wisconsin Ethanol Coalition
EPA Alternative Fuels
Corn in Your Car
Web sites
Alternative Fuel Data Center
How Stuff Works
Send comments and suggestions to KEEP, energy@uwsp.edu or call 715-346-4770.
Copyright 2001 KEEP
