Navigating the Environmental Politics of Energy Production: Using Mathematical Modeling as a Tool for Educating Science Teachers for Sustainability

Abstract

This chapter describes the results of a professional development (PD) workshop conducted for inservice science teachers. The PD focused on local energy sources and the environmental politics that must be navigated in order to make decisions about which energy sources are most environmentally friendly and/or most sustainable. The teacher participants were taken on numerous field trips to energy extraction and production sites including coalmines, hydroelectric dams, wind farms, and nuclear power plants. At each site, the participants were exposed to differing perspectives on the environmental costs and benefits of the source of energy. These perspectives ranged from positive views expressed by representatives of the energy sector, mixed reviews by environmental biologists who exposed the impacts to wildlife, and negative views expressed by groups who opposed the energy source. Additionally, timely representations of some energy sources in the mainstream news media (e.g., Deepwater Horizon oil spill, fracking for natural gas, Fukishima nuclear power plant meltdown) were also explored. Group discussions allowed for sharing of participants’ thoughts on each perspective and mathematical modeling was used as a tool for evaluating the various sources of energy to determine the relative environmental costs and benefits of each. This chapter closes with challenges that participants faced in using mathematical modeling to evaluate energy sources and their shifting perspectives on various sources of energy over the course of the PD.