From Middle School to College, Educators Explore Teaching Sustainability; Advanced Biofuels USA Consults on Power of Renewable Transportation Fuel Options -- Your Contributions Are Welcome

February 20, 2020

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by Joanne Ivancic* (Advanced Biofuels USA) At Hood College just blocks from Advanced Biofuels USA’s headquarters, the Biology Department’ Sustainability Work Group has proposed a new undergraduate major in Sustainability Studies. At Independence, Ohio’s middle school, teachers are exploring putting together a course dedicated to sustainability. Advanced Biofuels USA has learned much from consulting on program development like these.

Talking about renewable fuels at Independence, Ohio, Middle School

What I've Learned

“What I’ve learned at events where students and faculty gather, such as EnergyPath in Pennsylvania, and at schools where I’ve been invited to speak,” begins Advanced Biofuels USA executive director Joanne Ivancic, “Is that Environmental Science and Sustainability courses so often leave out the role that renewable fuels can play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions—at all, let alone how they can do it quickly and affordably using existing vehicles. They rarely incorporate the idea that renewable fuels can and should be used more while we wait for electric mobility to become affordable, available, powered by renewables using fair trade batteries.”

She continues, “I’ve seen the results of this lack of education about renewable fuels not only in casual conversations with friends and family, but also in meetings with groups working on GHG reduction policies on the local, state, regional, national and international levels. That’s why I’m so happy to share our resources with those working on these programs, to help those developing teaching modules about making transportation systems greener and cleaner. I’m excited to give the current and the next cohort of public and private decision-makers a broader understanding of sustainability in transportation.”

Educational Resources on Advanced Biofuels USA Website

As a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to promoting the understanding, development and use of advanced biofuels as an economic development, energy security, military flexibility, climate change mitigation and pollution control solution, Advanced Biofuels USA has created and gathered educational resources, posted them on our website and distributed them via a monthly educational newsletter.

Here are where you can find some of these online:

In the “Education” category along the right margin of every page of the website (AdvancedBiofuelsUSA.org)

Education

Using the “Biofuels Basics”, “Resources”, and “Education” buttons on the home page. The drop-down boxes include, among others:

What Is Lacking? Role of Renewable Fuels in Sustainable Transportation

Ivancic has been asked if any modules exist that cover the topic of sustainability in transportation. She can point to many programs that have developed elements of the topic, but none that brings them all together with a focus on sustainable transportation, finding that teaching materials usually focus on one type of fuel, one geographic area or on energy in general.

Many of these resources are listed in the FOR TEACHERS page, but may be out of date. She would like to create comprehensive training materials that, like Advanced Biofuels USA, are feedstock, process and product agnostic; that include examples of renewable fuel development and use from around the world and that can be tailored to many grade levels, from elementary school through college, and that can also be used by community/civic/faith organizations.

What Can You Contribute?

If you have developed and would like to share renewable fuels educational materials or materials about sustainable transportation that includes the role of renewable fuels, Advanced Biofuels USA would like to know about them and consider them for inclusion in their online resources. You can contact Joanne Ivancic via info@AdvancedBiofuelsUSA.org or via the website contact page.

Looking Forward

Here’s a draft outline for a course on renewable fuels in transportation sustainability that has been developed from feedback from teachers, students and others who have expressed an interest in knowing more about the renewable fuels elements of sustainable transportation options.

Your comments, suggestions and contributions are welcome.

Ideas/Outline for Sustainability Course Content from Renewable Fuels Perspective

Introduction: Why Are Renewable Fuels Important? What Value Do They Have?

Cleaner burning (air pollution control)

Climate change mitigation

Environmental benefits of growing, using waste, recycling carbon, compared to mining, fracking

Energy Security

Military Flexibility

Economic Development

Bob Kozak guest lecturing about engines and octane as part of high school mechanics training course

Engine Overview

Spark ignition

Compression ignition

Fuel cells

Hydrogen

Ethanol

Electric

Jet/Aviation

Compressed Natural Gas Engines

Maritime Engines

Rockets

Other

Properties or Characteristics Important for Fuels Used in Engines

Octane

Oxygenation

Other Relevant Chemical Composition and Combustion Items

Definition of Hydrocarbon

Hydrogen

Soot/Black Carbon

Compression Ratios

Heat of Vaporization

Fuel/Engine Optimization

Renewable Fuels

What are they?

Reprise of Why Are They Important

How are they used?

Yesterday (Rudolf Diesel and peanut oil; Henry Ford and ethanol)

Today

Tomorrow

How are they made?

Feedstocks

Conversion Technologies

Logistics

Distribution/Use

Retail

Fleets

Airports

Reprise of engine section

Role of Markets and Policy in Helping or Hurting Wider/Increased Use of Renewable Fuels

Market Forces that Help or Hinder

Policies that Help or Hinder

Environmental Justice (For example, use of carbon tax for infrastructure providing cleaner, more affordable fuels in high pollution and low income areas)

Conclusion/Summary

Each section can include mention of the types of jobs related to that section.

Each section could also include a list of questions for small group discussion that focus on the three elements of sustainability: environmental, economic and social. Such questions would lead to students thinking of community or research projects that they might do if they want to help increase the use of renewable fuels, incorporate fuels into a circular economy, etc.

Examples of questions:

Environmental: How can growing crops, using forest products, growing algae, using waste from agriculture, food processing or municipal waste help and/or hurt the environment?

Economic: How will we economically produce and transport feedstock to biorefineries and fuel to customers? What are uses for biofuels in the near future? How do we integrate renewable fuels into daily life?

Social: How do we use land for food/fuel/feed/fiber and fun? Who gets to decide how land is used locally, nationally, internationally?

Include how any of these sections relate to standard curriculum elements and standardized testing elements.

What do you think? We'd like to know. Also, if you want to contribute to this effort, contact: Joanne Ivancic, Executive Director, Advanced Biofuels USA 301-644-1395 / info@advancedbiofuelsusa.org