1. Introduction
The consumption of gas has enormously increased, despite that the prices have gone historically high, leaving us wandering if we should drive at all or if we should step in and participate in the democratic process of trying to change things. Gasoline and diesel consumption are just some of the causers of air pollution, respiratory illnesses and increment of the air quality index. The social manipulation of media contributes enormously to the feeling of "I need a car," and therefore the anxiousness of buying a new one increases at a similar rate than the variety of advertisement in the media.
The reasoning that drives me to write this curriculum unit is to provide a contribution to the educational system, showing how research can help us to understand the problems related to our environment, and, therefore, through a set of lessons, teach our students about these problems. The solution to the problems may arise with combined efforts from all sectors. Topics about pollution, combining science, math, politics and history are wonderfully teachable and need to be exposed to the general population. The amount of current data recorded about problems caused by pollution and overuse of energy, plus, their link to health conditions make us wonder if more regulations are needed. All the scientific studies have accumulated enough data to create readable charts and graphs compatible with the teaching standards that are taught at a high school level, more precisely, Algebra-1 and Algebra-2, which are ultimately my focus of concentration.
The 1,185 student population in the school where I teach is richly racially and ethnically diverse. Forty-four percent are Hispanic, thirty-three percent Filipino, four percent African American, three percent Chinese, three percent Samoan, three percent White, and ten percent from other ethnicities. Our student body is comprised of immigrants from over thirty-two different countries. Approximately seventy percent of Jefferson students come from families where English is not their primary language and sixty-five percent of Jefferson students participate in the subsidized lunch program.
After having several conversations during the school year with students and families, I found out that the American dream for many of these young students is to own a brand new car, own a house, and, to have a secure job. In my calculations I suddenly have 1,185 students who will own a brand new car after they graduate, meaning that the number of cars will increase yearly in around 1/4 of 1,185 ( equals to 296.25 cars) on a regular basis.
This fact made me think that I should share with my students the pros and cons of having a gasoline operated car, versus a diesel, a hybrid, electric one or a compressed natural gas vehicle (CNGV). The number 237 is just a little portion of what reality is. There are thousands of schools, plus, there are other consumers that are not even included, for which, my thoughts really scared me. How much pollution can mother earth take?
In terms of efficiency, the use of CNG represents big savings. For instance, a regular medium size vehicle uses 100 soles (around $40 US) to fill up a tank with gasoline, while a full tank of CNG is only 16 soles (around $7 US). In both cases, the amount of miles covered per tank is the same. The efficiency of mileage per gallon, per dollar has turned Peru in one of the pioneers in the industry of CNG motors. Currently Toyota has just launched a plant in Peru that specializes in converting motors from gasoline to CNG. It seems that the business is growing up very quickly.
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