Winter 2011 / Vol. 11 No. 4
Discussion Questions
- Where does the energy used in your house come from? What about for your school?
- What is a carbon footprint? What is your carbon footprint?
- What are the benefits of the plan discussed in this article for making cement? What are some concerns about the plan?
- What kinds of renewable energy sources are you aware of in general? Which ones play a role in the energy portfolio for your community/region/state? What can you do to encourage their use?
Websites for Further Information
- Carbon Footprint Calculator: http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/calculators/
- US Department of Energy Carbon Sequestration Research Program
- Pew Center on Global Climate Change: Coal and Climate Change Facts: http://www.pewclimate.org/global-warming-basics/coalfacts.cfm
Carbon Sequestration in the News
- The illusion of clean coal: The world is investing too much cash and hope in carbon capture and storage (The Economist, March 5, 2009): http://www.economist.com/node/13235041?story_id=13235041
- Does carbon-eating cement deserve the hype? (Grist, April 2, 2009): http://www.grist.org/article/2009-04-02-carbon-eating-cement-hype/
- Capturing carbon emissions…in cement? (WorldWatch Institute, January 26, 2009): http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5996
Key Concepts
- Carbon emissions
- Carbon markets
- Carbon sequestration
- Climate crisis
- Biomimicry
- Carbon footprint
