Lesson 3.6
How can we use a mix of solutions to balance the carbon system and remove CO2 from the atmosphere?
Lesson Type:
Synthesize
Time:
90 min
The main role of this lesson is to engage in a culminating design task to combine both emissions-reducing solutions with plant-soil system solutions and develop a new plan to correct the imbalance of carbon in the atmosphere.
What We Do:
Use an interactive to test different solutions to see how they impact the carbon imbalance.
Argue for promising mixed-solution scenarios (combining solutions across carbon emissions reduction and carbon sequestration).
Discuss the trade-offs of different solutions and who they benefit and who they might not benefit.
Reflect on individual agency and perspective.
What We Figure Out:
A variety of solutions that reduce emissions and maximize carbon sinks are necessary to lower atmospheric carbon.
Some solutions have a higher impact than others.
Some solutions are more feasible for individuals, communities, and businesses than others; community context matters.
Lesson in Action
Students in Rebecca's class debate a variety of real solutions to rebalance carbon. They ran models of solutions using an interactive to find what they think can balance carbon and is most feasible to implement. They share their thinking about the feasibility of solutions given other societal constraints.
Examples of Student Work
NGSS Learning Goal
Design a suite of carbon rebalancing solutions that create a stable system to address how human activities have modified the environment.
Make and defend the effectiveness of a carbon solution scenario based on student-generated evidence that the new system has the desired effect of rebalancing carbon across the atmosphere, geosphere, and biosphere and is feasible when considering tradeoffs of time, costs, and other constraints.