This commentary discusses SSIs in relation to environmental ethics. In their article, Augusto Macalalag Jr., Joseph Johnson and Michelle Lai note tensions between SSIs and environmental education and investigate educational experiences that address some of these tensions. The discourse associated with SSIs generally does not consider…

This article is a response to Kassam, Avery, and Ruelle's insights as presented in this forum on rural science education. Topics considered include troubling the urban/rural divide in the context of Indigenous knowledge and expanding to include the common Canadian notion of the "remote," a designation rooted in our national colonial…

In the wake of superstorm Sandy and a presidential election in which the candidates from both major parties essentially ignored climate change, this author states that it is time that schools begin to play their part in creating climate literate citizens. He contends that Hurricane Sandy, and the superstorms that will certainly follow, are not…

Carbon dioxide from automobiles is a major contributor to global climate change. In "Virtual Rewards for Driving Green," Josh Pritchard proposes a computer application that will enable fuel-efficient drivers to earn "green" dollars with which to buy digital merchandise on the Web. Can getting items that exist only in cyberspace actually change a…

The development of a "sustainability agenda" in higher education (HEFCE 2009) is, it seems to the author, a classical example of supercomplexity in action. In this article, the author argues that the challenge for universities in responding as organisations to the demands of sustainability--which must, in the end, mean reducing fossil…

Economic changes and the machinations of the treadmill of production have dramatically reduced the number of jobs provided by extractive industries, such as mining and timber, in the United States and other affluent nations in the post-World War II era. As the importance of these industries to national, regional, and local economies wanes,…

This article presents the author's critique on Stephen L. Baird's article in the November 2008 issue of "The Technology Teacher", which describes a contemporary debate about opening more U.S. land and coastal regions to oil and gas exploration and production (E&P). While Baird's thesis epitomizes the goal of a technologically literate citizen, his…

Recently, the price of gasoline seems to keep going up and up with seemingly no limit in sight. Accordingly, the price of a barrel of oil is in excess of sixty dollars today, when just a few years ago it was around twelve to fifteen dollars a barrel. There are many intertwined answers as to why the price of oil and gasoline are increasing.…

The realization of dwindling fossil fuel supplies and their adverse environmental impacts has accelerated research and development activities in the domain of renewable energy sources and technologies. Global energy demand is expected to rise during the next few decades, and the majority of today's energy is based on fossil fuels. Alternative…

Many people are invisible within and to the wider society. An adjunct aspect of that situation is that the marginalized are also invisible to one another. This "mutual invisibility" undermines the possibilities of cooperative transcommunal alliances. It is Cedric Sunray's ("Similarities between Tribes and the Ninth Ward,"…

The predictions by the Department of Energy indicate the maximum of the rate of supply of oil will be reached around 2021, but this neglects the effect of the rapid growth of China and India. It will be necessary to use coal, natural gas, nuclear power, or renewables to supplement, and, after 2021, to replace oil. If coal is used, it can be…

A 450-ppm equivalent CO[2] target by 2050 is an often-proposed goal under a future global emissions agreement, but there is considerable high side risk in global-warming models due to cloud formation, feedbacks in dissolved organic carbon from peat bogs in polar regions, and unaccounted solar dimming by particulates. The 450-ppm figure is…

The second part of the article published in "American School and University," December 1984 (EA 518 236), outlines specific steps administrators need to take to determine whether or not a direct purchase of natural gas is going to benefit their schools. (MLF)

Discusses themes and ideas for social studies teachers to use in teaching about energy. Addresses energy transitions, the rate of technology change, energy and economic growth, and comparing and developing new energy sources. Concludes that students need a historical and social context for understanding the environmental and economic problems that…

Direct purchase of natural gas may help schools and universities avoid increases when price controls on new natural gas are removed. For an educational institution to take advantage of the new regulations, gas must be purchased and transportation arranged, either individually or through a consortium. (TE)