Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Gulliver and I'm so happy that you are joining me today for this geography lesson.

Today, our lesson is called Energy Use and Climate Change, and it's from our unit on Energy: How We Power the World.

By the end of today's lesson, you will be able to explain the links between energy use, fossil fuels, carbon emissions, and climate change.

Now, some of this learning may be a bit new to you today, but that's okay.

I'm going to be here the whole time to help you along the way.

We've got four keywords for our learning today, so I will say them and then I will give you a turn to say them.

So our first one, manufacturing.

Great.

Climate change.

Emissions.

And finally, greenhouse gases.

Well done.

So we'll be learning about these throughout our lesson, but we'll just have a quick look at their definitions.

So manufacturing.

To manufacture something means to make it in a factory, usually in very big, large quantities.

Climate change is a large-scale and long-term change in the planet's climate, including weather patterns and average temperatures.

Emissions, an emission is something that is released into the world, and greenhouse gases are gases in the Earth's atmosphere that trap heat.

Carbon dioxide and methane are both examples of greenhouse gases.

Our lesson today is going to be split into two parts.

So we will get going with our first part of our lesson about how energy is used.

We're gonna think about four main ways that we use energy around the world today.

So manufacturing, farming, transport, and domestic or home use are all major areas of energy use.

We are gonna a look at each of these in turn.

So in the manufacturing sector, energy is needed to run machines and power factories.

A huge range of items are manufactured in factories.

Can you think of any examples? Have a think with the person next to you.

Did you come up with lots of ideas? Here are some of the ways I thought of.

Furniture can be produced in factories, as can medicines, electronics, food items, clothes and vehicles.

So all things that we often use that can be produced in factories, that are manufactured.

Out of these three items, what would not be manufactured in factories? Is it A: clothes, B: cars or C: wheat? Well done.

Wheat would not be manufactured in factories.

We're going to have a look at our second area where energy is used and that's farming.

Farms use energy for machinery in the fields and for milking.

They also need energy to heat stables and greenhouses, as well as in the production of fertilisers and pesticides.

So all different ways that farms use energy as well.

The third way we're gonna have a think about is transport.

How many different forms of transport that use energy can you think of? Did you come up with lots of ideas? I had a think about energy that is used in transport that is oil powered and I thought about cars, planes, boats and trucks and lorries, and they're all forms of transport that use oil to power them.

I also thought about forms of transport that are powered by electricity, trams, trains all around the world, cars and the tube in London are all ways of transporting ourselves that are powered by electricity.

I've got another check for you.

Which method of transport can be powered by both electricity or oil? Have a think.

Well done.

Cars can be powered by oil and other cars can be powered by electricity.

Well done.

And the fourth way that we use energy around the world is domestically at our homes.

How do you and your family use energy at home? Maybe you might create a mind map to list all the different ways you use energy at home.

Some of the key ways I thought of that we use energy at home are to heat our houses, for washing, to light our houses, to cook, and hobbies, such as watching the TV or playing on computers.

Another check for you.

I'd like you to match the images to the correct area of energy use.

So which image matches to manufacturing? Which image matches to farming? Which image matches to transport? And which image matches to a domestic use of energy? Let's have a look.

Well done, that picture of a car matches to our transport energy usage, and cooking to domestic, farming matches to powering tractors, and manufacturing to using machinery.

Well done.

Now around the world, there are big differences in the amount of energy that is used.

And I've got a map here, and the colours on the map are used to show differences in the average energy use across the world.

And you can see that the darker the colour on this map, the more energy that is used on average per person.

Because of course, in any country, some people might use a lot of energy and some people might use a lot less energy.

So this is showing on average how much energy is used per person in these countries.

Now, Democratic Republic of Congo is a large country in the centre of Africa, and we're gonna have a quick think about whether people in the Democratic Republic of Congo use more or less energy, on average per person, than those in the UK.

So here's the UK, I've circled it for you there on that map.

And here's the Democratic Republic of Congo.

And you can see that the UK is a far darker shade of red, whereas the Democratic Republic is a far lighter shade of yellow on the other end of the scale.

So the people in the United Kingdom use more energy per person in the United Kingdom than people in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Now I'd like you to identify some other countries which have very high energy use or countries which have very low energy use per person.

Have a think with the person next to you.

So for high energy use, I found all of these countries, and you can see that I've pointed to Canada and America, in North America.

I've pointed to the UK, Norway, France, and Spain, in Europe.

I've also pointed to Australia and New Zealand in Oceania.

And then in Asia I've pointed to China, Saudi Arabia and Iran.

And they are all countries around the world where there is quite high energy use on average per person.

Then for the low energy use per person, I found these countries and you can see that lots of them are in Africa.

And some of the countries that I identified were: Madagascar, that's the island off the coast of Africa there.

And then within Africa I also found Somalia, Tanzania, Zaire, Chad, Niger and Ethiopia.

And then in Asia I also found Afghanistan, which has got quite low energy use per person.

And there are lots of different reasons why energy use is different between countries.

And I thought of four main reasons why there's different amounts of energy used in different countries.

Can you have a think what any of those four reasons might be? I've got Jacob here to help me.

And he says one of the reasons why there's different energy used in different countries is if there's high levels of industry and manufacturing in a country, then more energy will be needed.

If there are high levels of car ownership in a country, more energy will be needed.

If there are homes which have got lots and lots of electrical appliances, again, more energy will be used.

And finally, climate of a country might affect how much energy is used.

If temperatures in a country and the climate is very cold, then lots of energy will be used for heating up the houses and buildings.

Equally, if a country is very, very hot, then there might be lots of energy that's needed to be used in air conditioning and to cool buildings down as well.

True or false? The same amount of energy is used in all countries around the world.

Well done.

We saw that was false.

Here's some statements to help you justify your answer.

Would you use A: Energy used varies considerably between countries, dependent on population size, car ownership, level of industry, and other factors.

Or would you choose B? Energy use is broadly the same in every country.

Well done.

That would be A: Energy use varies dependent on population size, car ownership, level of industry and other factors.

Great job.

Now I've got your first task of the day.

I'd like you to talk to your partner about some of the different ways that energy is used in the following areas.

So how is energy used in manufacturing? How is energy used in farming? How is energy used in transport? And how is energy used domestically at home? When you've done that, I would also like you to return to the maps that we've been using this lesson.

I would like you to identify and label three countries where there is high average energy use per person, and three countries where there is low average energy use per person.

You might need an atlas to help you with that task.

And then your final task like number three, I'd like you to list at least two reasons why average levels of energy use may vary between countries.

Good luck, have a go at those three tasks and I'll see you soon.

I'm sure when you were talking to your partner, you came up with loads of ideas for each of these areas.

So you might have come up with some of the same ideas as me.

For manufacturing, I said the energy would be used for lighting, to run machines, and to power factories.

For farming, I said energy would be used to run tractors, to heat the stables and to make fertilisers.

For transport, I said energy would be used for cars and lorries, power planes and power boats.

And finally, domestically at home, I said energy might be used.

Oh, sorry, for transport I also said it might be used to power trains and trams. Domestically, so at home, I said that power could be used, energy would be used for heating and cooling homes, for lighting homes, for doing washing, and for cooking.

For question two, so first of all, I was finding countries where there is high average energy use per person, and I found Canada, which has got high average energy use, I found China, which has got high average energy use, and I found Australia.

You might have found the same countries as me or you might have labelled some different ones.

Then for countries where there is low energy use per person, I found Chad, the Democratic Republic, and I found Ethiopia.

And again, you might have found the same countries as me or you may have found different countries.

Then for question three, I had to list at least two reasons why levels of energy used may vary between countries.

And you might have included some of the same reasons as me.

Number one, that there might be high levels of industry and manufacturing in a country.

So it needs more energy, it uses more energy.

You might have said there might be high levels of car ownership, which would use more energy, that homes with high levels of electrical appliances also use more energy, and that the climate of the country can affect how much energy is used.

Great job.

So the second part of our lesson is to think about how energy use impacts on climate change.

In 2022, fossil fuels, coal, oil and gas, accounted for 82% of global energy consumption.

So the vast majority of energy that was used around the world in 2022 was powered by burning fossil fuels.

And to produce energy, fossil fuels are burnt in power stations, and when they're burnt, greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide, are released.

And now these greenhouse gases are in the atmosphere.

They're found naturally, but we are adding more by burning these fossil fuels.

And as we add more, we are trapping more and more of the sun's heat and stopping it from escaping back out into space.

So some heat does escape, but when we add more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, less and less of the heat is able to escape.

And we do need these greenhouse gases around our planet.

They're essential for us because without them, Earth would be too cold to support life.

So we do need the greenhouse gases.

I've got a check for you.

True or false? Greenhouse gases increase temperatures by trapping the sun's heat and stopping it escape.

Well done, that's true.

And here's some sentences to help you justify your answer.

Would you choose A: the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is increasing, so the temperature is increasing, or B, the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is falling, so the temperature is increasing? Well done.

That one would be A.

Now, human activity, so things that we are doing, like burning fossil fuels, releases more of those greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and so more heat is being trapped.

And as a result of this heat being trapped, the Earth is getting hotter, which is causing climate change.

I've got a check for you.

How does the production of energy impact on climate change? And choose all of the statements below that apply.

A: burning fossil fuels releases carbon emissions.

B: Energy allows us to carry out many of our daily activities.

And C: An increase in greenhouse gases is causing the planet to warm up.

Which of those are impacting on climate change? Well done.

A and C are impacting on climate change.

Now climate change is leading to a range of problems for humans, wildlife, and the planet.

And there are three key problems that climate change is causing.

Have a think with your partner.

Do you know any of the problems that are being caused by climate change? Did you think about melting ice? Because the planet is gradually getting warmer, more and more of the ice around the planet is melting.

Now partly because of this melting ice, sea levels are also rising.

And finally, we're also experiencing lots of more extreme weather in areas.

Final check for today.

What problems is climate change leading to? Is it A: more earthquakes, B: rising sea levels, C: extreme weather? And you should choose all that apply.

Well done.

Rising sea levels and extreme weather.

Now your final task for today, I would like you to create an explanation which shows how burning fossil fuels to produce energy is contributing to climate change.

And you can see there's three steps I'd like you to explain.

I'd like you to explain about burning fossil fuels, I would like you to explain about the greenhouse gases, and I'd like you to explain about how that is leading to climate change.

And you might include some of the problems of climate change that the world is experiencing.

I can't wait to see your explanations.

I'm sure you really tried hard with all your geography facts and knowledge to create a brilliant explanation.

This is how I explained each of these three steps.

So I said fossil fuels are burnt to produce energy.

When coal, oil and natural gas are burnt, they release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

An increase in greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere mean more of the sun's heat is trapped.

The Earth is gradually warming up, leading to climate change and problems such as melting ice, and rising sea levels.

I'm sure you did a brilliant job with your explanation.

Now let's just summarise our learning for today about energy use and climate change.

So we've learned that manufacturing, farming, transport, and domestic use are all major areas of energy consumption.

We've learned that there are big differences in the amount of energy most people use in different countries.

And we've also learned that burning fossil fuels to produce energy is increasing carbon emissions in the atmosphere and contributing to climate change.

Thank you so much for working so hard with me today.

I hope to see you soon.

Bye.