Home Electrification

In this module, students will thoroughly explore these issues and uncover the fact that adopting home electrification, which involves transitioning our residential and commercial gas appliances to electric alternatives, mitigates these risks. During the culminating design challenge, students assume the roles of interns working for Peninsula Clean Energy, tasked with creating a marketing campaign that counteracts the propaganda propagated by the fossil fuel industry.

Module Overview: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oNhzfLcHA50iwLm8p49vvkmebaayco8YEJ6THzBZ6DI/edit?usp=sharing 

For the lessons that include slide decks, please make sure you check the notes at the bottom of individual slides for instructional recommendations and suggestions. 

Natural gas is primarily composed of methane gas, and the release or burning of methane gas has a negative impact on health and the environment. During this lesson, students learn about what methane gas is, what are its sources, and how it is produced from the breakdown of organic matter. 

Lesson Plan

Slide Deck

During the previous lesson, students learned about the structure of methane gas, its sources, and its role as a greenhouse gas. In this lesson, students will focus on how humans use methane gas, the potential dangers of methane gas use, including impacts on human health and the environment, and how the reduction of methane gas use can be a short term solution for climate change. 

Lesson Plan

Slide Deck

With the increase of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the United States comes more frequent and more intense earthquakes in regions that do not normally experience them. During this lesson, students learn how to locate geographic areas and major historic earthquakes based on latitude and longitude, about the process of fracking, and why an increase of fracking leads to increases in the frequency and intensity of earthquakes. 

Lesson Plan

Slide Deck

Although methane gas is the primary component of “natural” gas, there are many other hazardous chemicals which are either found within the gas or are produced when the gas is burned incompletely. During this lesson, work in pairs to research one of those chemicals, and present their findings to the class. By the end of the lesson, students should be better informed about the risks associated with piping in and burning “natural” gas within our homes.  

Lesson Plan

Slide Deck

During this lesson, students will learn about the risks and dangers of using methane gas in the home, how to prevent those risks, and how the fossil fuel industry pays social media influencers to promote the use of fossil fuels in the home. During this lesson, students learn about the San Bruno pipeline explosion that took place in San Bruno, CA on September 9, 2010. The explosion, which killed eight people, was due to a rupture in a gas pipeline owned by Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E).  

Lesson Plan

Slide Deck

In this lesson, students first explore gas appliances commonly found in homes, identify their electric alternatives, and discuss their benefits and drawbacks. They engage in an interactive discussion about the appliances in their homes and learn about the concept of electrification, its importance for environmental sustainability, energy efficiency, and safety. Then, students delve deeper into the topic by focusing on the transition from gas cooktops to induction cooktops. They learn the principles behind induction cooking, its benefits, and get to experience it first-hand by cooking a simple dish using an induction cooktop. The session concludes with a discussion about their observations and experiences, reinforcing the advantages of electric appliances and induction technology. This lesson provides students with a practical understanding of home electrification, promoting more sustainable and energy-efficient choices.

Lesson Plan

Slide Deck

Beauty brands, clothes, shoes... whatever the product, social media influencers wield serious selling power on Instagram and YouTube. That's because people trust their opinion as experts in their field. But what happens if they are being paid by companies to market products they don't even like or use? How much can we trust social media influencers' recommendations? During this lesson, students will reflect on social media sponsored content (“sponcon”) and the power of social media influencers on the choices we make. 

Lesson Plan

Slide Deck

The purpose of this module is to inform students about the negative health and environmental impacts of methane gas, the need for residential and commercial electrification, and how the fossil fuel industry uses social media influencers to prevent this transformative movement. During this lesson, students will learn how innovation reduces the risk of business failure and can lead to the improvement of society. Students also learn how the fossil fuel industry actively promotes its own products and protects its profits to the detriment of the environment by spreading disinformation.  

Lesson Plan

Slide Deck

During this lesson, students continue to explore sponsored content by learning about this strategy through the lens of the fossil fuel industry, which pays social media influencers to promote the use of methane gas in the home. Students also learn about other propaganda strategies that make attempts to influence the public. The lesson concludes with students visiting a website that has them review images and videos and rate them according to how “helpful” or “harmful” the propaganda is.

Lesson Plan

Slide Deck

During this lesson, students will briefly review what they learned during lesson six, and then work with a partner to apply their knowledge of sponsored content to create their own Instagram post that promotes the replacement of gas stoves with induction stoves.  

Lesson Plan

Slide Deck

Background: Social media has become a powerful tool for influencers to share their ideas and promote products. However, it's important to use this platform responsibly and promote messages that benefit society as a whole. Methane gas, a potent greenhouse gas, is commonly used in many industries but poses a significant risk to the environment. Electrification, on the other hand, can provide sustainable solutions that reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and promote a cleaner future.

Challenge: Students act as interns working for Peninsula Clean Energy’s marketing department tasked with creating a marketing campaign that promotes the benefits of electrification and convinces people to switch from gas to induction stovetops. This campaign should combat the existing propaganda produced by fossil fuel companies to promote cooking with methane gas.

Lesson Plan

Slide Deck