Joyce Parker 04.18.2017 Craig Kohn MSU Grass-fed cars Today we are going to talk about how we can make cars run on this (switchgrass). We’re going ask if doing so would help us deal with environmental issues. While we investigate that Q, we will address a number of NGSS standards having to do with humans’ impact on the environment and we are going to work through some hands-on activities available from GLBRC. Joyce Parker 04.18.2017 Craig Kohn MSU

Fuel Sustainability Last month President Trump rolled back the CAFE standards – the standards for fuel efficiency of cars sold in the US. Current US transportation fuel use is ~200 billion gallons per year. Is this use of transportation fuels sustainable? Why or why not? Write down some of audience’s answers and their definitions of sustainability. We are now going to get a very brief taste of some the activities related to human use of resources and sustainability available from the GLBRC. These activities use 3d teaching to address 6 middle and high school standards.

Dictionary definition Merriam Webster Dictionary definition of sustainable (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sustainable): able to be used without being completely used up or destroyed involving methods that do not completely use up or destroy natural resources able to last or continue for a long time Compare answers to definitions.

Defining sustainable The dictionary definition is not very specific or complete. How long is “a long time”? Beyond destroying (using up) natural resources, what else should we consider? Here’s a different definition that helps us think about our impact on other people and the future: “Meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” What other considerations does this make you think of? Swedish Prime Minister’s definition points out that it might not just be the loss of the natural resources that is the problem. We may interfere in other ways with future generations’ ability to meet their needs.

What energy sources do we have for moving vehicles? Fossil fuel products Biofuels – ethanol Grain Cellulosic Electricity from coal Electricity from natural gas Electricity from renewable sources On the GLBRC website is a lesson plan for exploring the environmental effects of all of these, but today we want to focus on Biofuels. Electricity is an interesting alternative to biofuels, but we are a very long way from being able to move heavy trucks and planes on electricity.

The Story of Grass-Fed Cars Do story wall

Asking Qs What would you need to know to be able to better judge the value of biofuels in the fight against global climate change? One of the important aspects of teaching about complex issues like human impact on the environment is that they are complex. What I just told you is a bare bones, big picture view of biofuels. If our students are to become scientifically literate, they are going to need to know how to evaluate claims and push deeper. They need to ask Qs. So what would you need to know to be able to better judge the value of biofuels in the fight against global climate change? Record Qs and comment on available GLBRC materials that might answer the Qs

Sustainable agriculture What do we need to think about? Ecosystem services Biodiversity Carbon footprint of biofuel production Sustainable agriculture is not only an issue for biofuels. Global population is predicted to increase 28% between now and 2050. Food production, however, will have to increase 100% to keep up with the demand of developing countries to eat like developed countries – with meat, dairy, and eggs as the main sources of protein. What do we need to think about when evaluating the sustainability of agriculture? Get audiences answers and comment on related GLBRC materials. Today we are going to look at ecosystem services and biodiversity.

Biodiversity of an agricultural system What should we consider? What area? What organisms? Plants Insects Birds What area? Turns out need to look beyond the field itself. What is in the margins matters. Extension.umn.edu

Plant biodiversity of prairie Helping students get past the a-weed-is-the-same-as-any-other-weed syndrome Why does plant diversity matter? Everything else depends on it. Extension.umn.edu

Insect biodiversity 3 Activities Bee biodiversity Sweep nets Pitfall traps En.wikipedia.org NWF.org

What to do about crop-eating pests Insecticides/pesticides Neonicotinoids Linked to colony collapse Recently found in drinking water Banned in Europe Chlorpyrifos EPA – harm to children Not banned En.wikipedia.org NWF.org What can we do about crop loss due to insects?

What to do about crop-eating pests Natural predators = ecosystem service Birds Predatory insects En.wikipedia.org NWF.org What can we do about crop loss due to insects?

Data Dives Scientific & engineering practices Planning & implementing investigations Analyzing data Developing arguments from evidence

Data Dives Biodiversity by biofuel crop Biomass yield by crop Carbon footprint of different fuels Handout with data sets

Other Resources – glbrc.org Making ethanol Research stories – GLBRC scientists (+ videos) Farm experiments Entomology detectives The relationship btw science & engineering as it relates to the study of engineering Biofuels vs Fossil fuels Sustainability

Fuel Sustainability MS-LS2-5: Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystems services. MS-ESS3-3: Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment. HS-LS2-2: Use mathematical representations to support and revise explanations based on evidence about factors affecting biodiversity and populations in ecosystems of different scales. HS-ESS3-3: Create a computational simulation to illustrate the relationships among management of natural resources, the sustainability of human populations, and biodiversity. Some of the performance expectations having to do with sustainability – Fall into life and earth sciences, middle and high school