This article explores research into developing offshore wind energy along the West Coast, and the obstacles that come with this endeavor.
Students will learn that the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has unearthed economic and geographical issues that come with developing offshore wind farms on the West Coast.
Teaching Tips
Positives
This article is concise and filled with timely information.
This article gets into some detail about wind turbine construction and is linked to the scientific report for additional exploration.
Additional Prerequisites
Students should have a basic understanding of electricity transmission through wires.
Students should know that wind energy is a form of renewable, clean energy and why clean energy matters in the context of climate change.
Differentiation
Students could evaluate and discuss after reading this article (and portions of the attached report) if federal funding for this research is an effective way to fight climate change.
Civics classes could use this article and report to analyze how global climate change has caused some governments to increase their focus on developing wind energy.
This article could supplement a lesson about how wind turbines provide energy for communities and how it can compliment other types of renewable energy.
For a language arts class, have students determine the central ideas or conclusions of the article and then compare them to the conclusions of other articles about wind energy.
Scientist Notes
This brief article from Jefferson Public Radio discusses the research surrounding proposed wind farms offshore of Oregon and California, the challenges they face, and the possible impacts to the environment. This article would be a great addition to a classroom discussion about climate change and some of the challenges we face in trying to reduce our carbon footprints. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Standards
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
ETS1: Engineering Design
HS-ETS1-3 Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics, as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts.
College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards
Dimension 2: Civics
D2.Civ.5.9-12 Evaluate citizens' and institutions' effectiveness in addressing social and political problems at the local, state, tribal, national, and/or international level.
Dimension 2: Economics
D2.Eco.3.9-12 Analyze the ways in which incentives influence what is produced and distributed in a market system.
Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)
Reading: Science & Technical Subjects (6-12)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.2 Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; summarize complex concepts, processes, or information presented in a text by paraphrasing them in simpler but still accurate terms.
