This video shows how some European cities, such as Paris, have lowered their greenhouse gas emissions by using energy efficiently.
Students will learn about energy use, green transportation infrastructure, and efficient ways to use public and personal spaces.
The video explains how the United States could adopt many of the energy-saving methods used in Europe.
Teaching Tips
Positives
This video explains how cities can address complex problems using solutions on a societal and personal level.
Students will learn that, on average, Europeans use far less energy than Americans.
The video description contains links to references.
Additional Prerequisites
Students should understand that burning fossil fuels causes climate change.
Differentiation
After watching this video, students could brainstorm ideas for a project to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the class, school, or community level.
Other resources on city design include this video on biking infrastructure in Paris and this video on the differences between cities designed for cars and cities designed for pedestrians and cyclists.
This resource examines the sources of energy and lifestyle differences between France and the United States. On average, France, and the majority of the European Union, use half as much energy per capita as the United States. All of the data and figures in this resource have been verified and it is recommended for teaching.
Standards
College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards
Dimension 2: Civics
D2.Civ.12.6-8 Assess specific rules and laws (both actual and proposed) as means of addressing public problems.
D2.Civ.13.9-12 Evaluate public policies in terms of intended and unintended outcomes, and related consequences.
Dimension 2: Geography
D2.Geo.12.6-8 Explain how global changes in population distribution patterns affect changes in land use in particular places.
D2.Geo.10.9-12 Evaluate how changes in the environmental and cultural characteristics of a place or region influence spatial patterns of trade and land use.
Dimension 4: Taking Informed Action
D4.7.9-12 Assess options for individual and collective action to address local, regional, and global problems by engaging in self-reflection, strategy identification, and complex causal reasoning.
