Yearly Change in Energy Use: Fossil Fuels vs. Low-Carbon Energy
Data, Graphs, and Maps
Grades6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12Science, Geography, Mathematics
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Provided by Our World in Data
What it is
- This interactive graph and table from Our World in Data show students the change in energy use between fossil fuels, renewable energy, and nuclear from 1966 to the present.
- The graph also combines data from renewable energy and nuclear.
Teaching tips
Positives
- The data is updated often, so students can compare past data to recent data.
- Students will also be able to zoom in and isolate the data to limit distractions and irrelevant information.
Prerequisites
- There are multiple layers of data to explore and navigate. Teachers should familiarize themselves with the various capabilities of the interactive. For instance, the chart can be viewed as world data or as individual country data. Selecting the "play" arrow will move through the chart to show how the data has changed over time.
- Because the interactive provides so many options for viewing the data, students may need to be provided with clear instructions as to which dataset they should explore and interact with.
Differentiation & Implementation
- This interactive can be used in a geography class as students explore energy use in different geographic regions or in a history course as students explore how energy consumption has changed over time.
- This interactive also lends itself to exploring ratios and percentages, so it can be used during math lessons.
- Students or small groups can be assigned a country and explore how the country's data compares to the world's data.
From the scientist review
Low-carbon energy (nuclear+renewables) is compared with energy consumption from fossil fuels. Students can explore to understand energy consumption from the selected countries. The resource is valid and recommended for teaching.
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Hosted on ourworldindata.org
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