In this TED video, Cory Combs discusses why airplanes are so bad for the environment and how his companybdevelops electric hybrid planes to reduce emissions.
Students will learn that plane travel pollutes the environment, but electric airplanes could make flying cheaper, cleaner, and less noisy.
Although a fully electric commercial plane has not been invented yet, installing solar panels at airports, using electric transport vehicles, and plugging planes in at the gate could help reduce emissions.
Teaching Tips
Positives
A full video transcript is available in 17 languages.
Resources for further reading are linked below the video.
Additional Prerequisites
Students should have some background knowledge of electric vehicles.
The video mentions buying carbon offsets, which students can read about in this article.
When this video ends, a new video will start automatically.
Differentiation
Engineering classes could discuss why electric planes are harder to make than cars.
Science classes could make a list of industries, besides aviation, that could be partially or completely electrified.
Other resources on this topic include this article on global warming and the aviation industry and this video on the cost of electric cars.
Scientist Notes
This TED video from Cory Combs highlights the biggest impact a person can have on cutting personal carbon emissions: air travel. To meet the goal of limiting global warming, we must find a way to drastically cut down the emissions from air travel. This source is recommended for teaching.
Standards
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
HS-ESS3-2 Evaluate competing design solutions for developing, managing, and utilizing energy and mineral resources based on cost-benefit ratios.
HS-ESS3-4 Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces impacts of human activities on natural systems.
ETS1: Engineering Design
MS-ETS1-1 Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.
HS-ETS1-1 Analyze a major global challenge to specify qualitative and quantitative criteria and constraints for solutions that account for societal needs and wants.
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 4: Communicating and Critiquing Conclusions
D4.5.9-12 Critique the use of the reasoning, sequencing, and supporting details of explanations.
