Fuel Efficiency and Sustainable Transportation
Grass-fed cars
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?
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
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?
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
The Story of Grass-Fed Cars
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?
Sustainable agriculture
What do we need to think about?
•
Ecosystem services
•
Biodiversity
•
Carbon footprint of biofuel production
Biodiversity of an agricultural system
What should we consider?
What area?
What organisms?
•
Plants
•
Insects
•
Birds
Extension.umn.edu
Plant biodiversity of prairie
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 to do about crop-eating pests
•
Natural predators =
ecosystem service
–
Birds
–
Predatory insects
En.wikipedia.org
NWF.org
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
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.
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.
President Trump's rollback of CAFE standards for fuel efficiency raises questions on the sustainability of US transportation fuel use. Explore different definitions of sustainability, consider impact on future generations, and evaluate energy sources for vehicles like biofuels and electricity.
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Presentation Transcript
Grass-fed cars Joyce Parker Craig Kohn 04.18.2017 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?
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
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?
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
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?
Sustainable agriculture What do we need to think about? Ecosystem services Biodiversity Carbon footprint of biofuel production
Biodiversity of an agricultural system What should we consider? What area? What organisms? Plants Insects Birds Extension.umn.edu
Plant biodiversity of prairie 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 to do about crop-eating pests Natural predators = ecosystem service Birds Predatory insects En.wikipedia.org NWF.org
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
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.
