Australia’s energy supply is an important but controversial and complex issue involving choices that Australian people, parliaments and companies must make for their future. Current Commonwealth Government policy is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 43% of 2005 levels by 2030, and to have ‘net zero’ emissions by 2050.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) from energy is the main topic we hear discussed, but other greenhouse gases and other parts of the economy from industrial processes to waste management to agriculture and land management are also significant when added together.
There are no known alternatives for some sources of those emissions. The ‘net’ in net zero refers to permanent removal of CO2 from the atmosphere to cancel out those remaining emissions. The resources in this unit focus only on CO2, and only on CO2 from the energy sector, and mainly on the electricity industry.
While the largest category, teachers and advanced students should be aware that it is not the whole story. This transition has major economic, social, environmental and climatic implications for all Australians.
| Learning Outcomes: | 1. Students gain a knowledge and understanding of the variety of possible sources of energy, and their advantages and disadvantages 2. They develop the skills of critical analysis of websites to determine their believability 3. Students carry out guided research into one of the major sources of energy 4. They communicate their findings in visual form and, if chosen, by argument 5. They identify possible future developments in energy supply that will influence their world |
| Year level: | Year 9 Science & English Year 10 Science & English |
| Year 9 Science: | Identify sources of reliable data and use them appropriately. Examples might include the difference between sources and types of greenhouse gases. ACSIS174 Communicate scientific ideas and information for a particular purpose, including constructing evidence-based arguments and using appropriate scientific language, conventions and representations ACSIS164 Formulate questions or hypotheses that can be investigated scientifically |
| Year 9 English: | Research how people approach the challenges of climate change from different perspectives. ACELY1742 Interpret, analyse and evaluate how different perspectives of issue, event, situation, individuals or groups are constructed to serve specific purposes in texts |
| Year 10 Science: | Identify sources of reliable data and understand the meaning and context of the numbers being used. Connect the data with other scientific knowledge (e.g. on the combustion of methane or CH4 as natural gas to form CO2 and H2O) Understand the difference between emissions of greenhouse gases and their atmospheric concentration, and between atmospheric concentrations, observed temperatures, and the climate. ACSIS208 Communicate scientific ideas and information for a particular purpose, including constructing evidence-based arguments and using appropriate scientific language, conventions and representations ACSIS198 Formulate questions or hypotheses that can be investigated scientifically |
| Year 10 English: | Explore how people in different parts of society discuss and debate the challenges of climate change, the sources of information they use, and how they make their case. ACELY1752 Identify and analyse implicit or explicit values, beliefs and assumptions in texts and how these are influenced by purposes and likely audiences ACELY1754 Use comprehension strategies to compare and contrast information within and between texts, identifying and analysing embedded perspectives, and evaluating supporting evidence |
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