World Energy Prep

Michele M. PutkoDepartment of Mechanical

EngineeringUMass Lowell

Agenda1. What we did

2. Why we did it

3. How it went

Climate Interactive provides cutting-edge tools that help people see what works to address the biggest challenges facing our lives on Earth.- World Climate- World Energy

World Energy Prep•Six upper-class mechanical engineering students enrolled as a technical elective

•Each assumed the role of a “mentor” in a sophisticated role-play exercise

•We conducted the exercise with prep schools in the area

World Energy Roles:1. Population and Consumption2. Energy Efficiency3. Energy Supply4. Land and Agriculture5. Climate Hawks6. Carbon Pricing

Fossil fuel industry (2/3 of your group)

Low-carbon and renewable energy (1/3 of your group)

Energy Supply Leaders

-Oil & Gas Companies (private and national)

-Technology suppliers

-Government energy ministries

-Electric utilities

-Coal companies

-Energy policy NGOs

-Clean energy startups

-Solar and wind companies

Exercise Goal

Achieve commitments to stabilize emissions by 2100 at a level that limits global warming to no more than 2°C above preindustrial levels

• The high school students were pre-divided into the six groups.

• The groups had two page information sheets concerning their roles.

• The college students mentored the high school students as they develop proposals which would impact the world energy and world climate systems.

• The proposals served as input into ENROADS simulation.

• ENROADS displayed resulting carbon emissions and GMST through 2100.

Typical WE session1. Introduction

2. Welcome to the World Energy Negotiations

3. Formulate and present initial proposals, input Round 1 information to ENROADS simulation

4. Negotiations

5. Proposals round two, input Round 2 information in ENROADS simulation

6. Debrief and feedback

Why

- Many undergraduate engineering students lack appropriate understanding of climate change

- Often engineering students fail to develop a systems thinking perspective

- An opportunity to engage local community

- The Climate Interactive tools are accessible and easy to use

How it went - Great!!Challenges: Steep learning curve for facilitators My students were not all natural teachers Many moving parts/ rigid time line Difficult to coordinate with prep schools,

need two hours and 24+ students Limited feedback from schools Unsure of school preparation and follow-up

How it wentSuccesses:

• Each prep school group got it!

• The exercise was extremely significant for may of the teachers and students

• My students reported a very meaningful learning experience

UMass Lowell Student Reflection

What I took away from this course is that communication, education and compromise are vital to solving the problem of anthropologic global warming. I learned that there is a wide variation in peoples understanding, awareness and interpretation of the scientific facts around climate change and this is further varied by peoples’ emotions and predispositions. Even among those that agree it is happening and that it is human induced, not all agree that we can or should do anything about it.

Student Reflection (2)

I am incredibly happy with my choice to take this class. I only wish there were more classes to take in the climate change and energy category to further my learning.

Thank you for the opportunity to participate in the World Energy prep, this had been one of the most rewarding classes I have taken in my time at UMass Lowell.

Professor Reflection

The coordination was challenging but worth the effort.

Climate Interactive’s tools and online materials made this learning activity doable

The experience was much more than a simple lecture or presentation.

It was amazing to see the interest blossom in my students.

We are not done yet!

Way Ahead

World Energy is a new part of the core curriculum in our Mechanical Engineering Program.

My students are now trained facilitators “for fun.” We will visit three schools during the spring semester.

Investigating opportunities to bring the exercise to faculty workshops.

Photo 1: This is your role

Photo 2: We have to make a proposal

Photo 3: Initial proposal

Photo 4: Results Round 1

Photo 5: Negotiations

Photo 6: Full Court Press

Final results

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Climate Interactive for providing the World Energy and ENROADS tools

Thank you to UMass Lowell Climate Change Initiative for the inspiration

Link to ENROADS

https://forio.com/simulate/climateinteractive/en-roads/simulation/#p=page23