Rationale
Over the hundreds of years of history of the Hayward-Rogers Creek Fault, there have been about twelve large earthquakes (above a magnitude 6.3), with an interval of approximately 138 years. The last large earthquake occurred in 1868, which means the fault is “overdue” for the next big one. Over the years since the last large earthquake, the fault has occasionally ruptured, releasing energy on this transform, or strike-slip boundary. Scientists predict there is a one in three chance the fault will produce a large earthquake in the next 30 years. My school lies within miles of this and other fault zones, as do many schools in California. The artist known as plate tectonics has painted the beautiful topography of the west coast of the United States. The landscapes are constantly changing; and as inhabitants of this region, we need to be prepared for what this could mean. Across the country, natural disasters can include earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc. and can happen anywhere in world. Energy security has become a top priority for world leaders and the task of ensuring the continued availability at a low cost has influenced geopolitics. The world is on a quest for energy independence, to an attempt to curtail the geopolitical implications of not being energy dependent. Cold War politics has been put aside for energy. The ability to extract this energy in the amounts needed to fill the demand has made for a higher standard of living for many people in the world. As a population, we enjoy travel, our televisions, cars, and smartphones, all things that require an energy source. It is only when these natural disasters strike do we come to realize our reliance and consumption of energy.
The population today is reliant on energy to power the technologies that run the applications we rely on day in and day out. Where does this energy come from? How would the loss of energy impact our daily lives? I want my students to start thinking about the environmental impact of this rate of consumption, research viable clean renewables for different regions in the world. It will culminate with an enrichment project where the students use their gained knowledge to engineer a contraption that will cook food and create potable water in the event of a natural disaster.
An interesting side note is California teacher pensions are invested in energy futures (namely coal and oil), with the thought that the energy crisis will increase prices and yield a positive return. In this unit, teachers and students will learn why this is a bad idea and it is time we move in a different direction. The direction we need to move is toward clean renewables.
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