Hi, Mrs. Lomas here.

I'm a primary school teacher whose favourite subject is geography.

So it's lucky, isn't it, that I'm going to be joining you for your geography lesson today.

So, let's find out what we're going to do, shall we? So, today's lesson is all about using energy wisely, and it's part of our Sustainable world: does it matter how we live unit.

By the end of today's lesson, you will be able to identify ways to reduce the use of fossil fuels and explain why this matters.

We have four keywords in today's lesson.

They are transport, inequality, renewable, and energy.

Let's do my turn, your turn.

Ready? Transport.

Inequality.

Renewable.

Energy.

Well done.

Let's have a look at what they mean.

Transport is a way of travelling between places.

Inequality is when something is not shared evenly between everyone.

Renewable means that something can be re-used and will not be used up or run out.

Energy is the power used to make things work.

So look out for these words in today's lesson.

Today's lesson is split into two parts: Why is it important to use energy wisely, and How can we use energy wisely? So, let's get started with Why is it important to use energy wisely? The availability of energy has had a dramatic impact on humanity.

Since the days of the Industrial Revolution, people have relied on energy to give them the power to do things.

What do humans use energy for? Humans use energy to power vehicles to transport them around the world.

From cars to aeroplanes and trains, these all need energy to power them.

Humans use energy to power vehicles to transport them around the world.

From cars to aeroplanes and trains, these all need energy to power them.

We use it for heating.

Warmth is a basic human need.

Energy can be used to heat our homes and schools.

And cooking.

Gas and electricity power our ovens and hobs.

Electricity.

Humans rely on electricity to power our appliances.

Industry uses that energy to create products such as chemicals and iron and steel.

And we also need energy in manufacturing to create products that we use in our everyday lives, like cars and sofas.

Historically, countries have relied on fossil fuels to generate energy.

Fossil fuels like oil, coal, and natural gas are dug up and burnt to generate this energy.

In 2022, fossil fuels accounted for 80% of global energy.

The other 20% comes from renewable sources, for example, wind, waves, hydroelectricity, nuclear power, biomass such as wood and charcoal.

Our use of fossil fuels has had a huge impact on the environment.

By digging up and burning fossil fuels, humans have increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

We now know that by adding more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, people are supercharging the natural greenhouse effect.

All of the extra heat energy trapped in our atmosphere is causing major changes to our climate and producing more extreme weather.

This is not sustainable.

So let's have a quick check, shall we? Why do fossil fuels have an important role in global sustainability? A, their use increases the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, B, their use keeps CO2 stable in the atmosphere, or C, their use decreases the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere.

Pause the video, have a go, and come back when you're ready.

How did you get on? If you said that the answer was A, their use increases the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, you would be correct.

Well done! Energy use, including electricity, heat, and transport, accounted for more than 60% of all global carbon emissions in 2020.

If we look at this pie chart, we can see that almost half of these carbon emissions are created by energy used for electricity and heat.

20% of the emissions are a result of energy being used for transport, such as petrol for cars and flying planes.

The energy needed to manufacture goods or for construction accounted for 17%.

Smaller amounts of carbon were released as a result of buildings, industry, and in other ways.

It is clear why energy is so important in reducing our carbon footprints.

Does everyone create the same amount of emissions from fossil fuels to generate energy? There are massive global inequalities in emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

This map shows emissions from burning fossil fuels and industry.

The dark red areas show high CO2 emissions, whereas the lighter colours show lower emissions.

Which countries have the highest emissions? Pause the video, have a class discussion, and come back when you're ready.

How did you get on? If you said China and Japan, the United States, India, and Russia had the highest CO2 emissions in 2022, you would've been correct.

But why might they emit the most CO2? These countries are wealthy and consume many resources.

Countries in Africa had some of the lowest emissions in 2022.

In Africa, on average, people consume fewer resources and therefore produce lower emissions.

Some of the wealthiest countries emit 100 times more per person than the poorest.

So let's have a quick check, shall we? Do all places emit the same amount of CO2 from burning fossil fuels? A, no, most people in poorer countries emit more CO2.

B, yes, people in all places emit CO2 equally.

Or C, no, most people in richer countries emit more CO2.

Pause the video, have a go, and come back when you're ready.

How did you get on? If you said that C, no, most people in richer countries emit more CO2, you'd be correct.

Well done.

We've seen how carbon dioxide emissions vary globally, but what is happening in your own home or school? We use energy in many different ways in our schools and classrooms. We use electrical energy to power appliances.

The first question we should think about is how do you use energy in your classroom? Can you see any appliances or devices that use electricity in these photos? Can you see any more in your classroom? Pause the video, have a go, and come back when you're ready.

How did you get on? I spotted the lights, a computer, your teacher is probably using one to present this slide, and you are probably watching it on an interactive whiteboard.

Heating.

Maybe your school has radiators, which might be heated by gas or maybe you have electrical heaters that blow out hot air.

And do you have any devices like iPads? Where are they stored? Are they in a trolley, charging up? So when do appliances actually use electricity? When appliances or devices are turned on, they use energy.

Some appliances remain on standby when you turn them off with a remote or controller.

If they have a standby light on, then they are still using power.

To turn a device off completely, you need to switch it off at the plug.

Remember though that some devices are better left on even when people are not in the room, for example, computer servers and Wi-Fi routers, fridges and freezers.

Can you think why? Pause the video, have a class discussion, and come back when you're ready.

How did you get on? We definitely don't want to turn our fridges or freezers off, do we? Otherwise all the food would melt in the freezer and go mouldy and smelly in the fridge.

Nobody wants that.

So, let's have a quick check, shall we? Which of the following appliances are using power? A, a TV that is switched off and unplugged, B, a games console that was turned off with the controller but on standby, and C, an iPad plugged in to charge.

Pause the video, have a go, and come back when you're ready.

How did you get on? If you said that these appliances are using power, B, a games console that was turned off with the controller but on standby, and C, an iPad plugged in to charge, you would be correct.

Well done.

Okay, it's time for Task A.

For your first task today, I would like you to conduct some field work to investigate electricity use around your school.

This will let us know what you are using energy for and then we might be able to suggest some ways to reduce our energy use.

You might want to look around your classroom to complete this task, or if possible, maybe even around your whole school.

Every time you see an appliance that uses electricity, note it down on the table along with its energy status; that is, whether it is turned on, is on standby, or is switched completely off.

Finally, put a tick or a cross in the end column to record whether the appliance was being used at this time when you were doing the audit.

This audit can be completed without touching any of the devices.

And remember that plugs and switches can be dangerous, and always ask an adult before you enter any other rooms at school.

Come back when you've had a go.

How did you get on? This was a quick audit I did in my classroom.

The lights were on and in use, the laptop was on but not in use, and the interactive whiteboard was on standby, but also not in use.

Make sure you keep your results handy, because we're gonna need them later on in the lesson.

So we've had a look at Why is it important to use energy wisely? Let's have a look at How can we use energy wisely? This is a reminder of my small energy audit.

Look through your own audit as we go through this example.

How many devices did you record in total? In my example, there were three: the lights, a laptop, and an interactive whiteboard.

I only had time to check one classroom.

You might have gone further on your field walk and had a walk around the school, so you may have lots more data.

This might also help tell you which places energy is being used more carefully than in others.

What was the energy status of each appliance? All of my devices were using power, as two were on and one was on standby.

And the most important question of all: were the appliances being used at the time of the audit? In my example, the lights were being used because there were people in the room.

But even though the laptop and interactive whiteboard were using power, no one was using them.

So are we using energy wisely? No, I don't think we are, are we? But we can use energy wisely by not wasting it and only using it when necessary.

This would help to reduce the carbon footprint of our school.

What would using energy wisely look like in our school? Pause the video, have a class discussion, and come back when you're ready.

What ideas did you think of? The main idea is to try to use less energy.

Andeep, Izzy, Jacob, and Jun are sharing their ideas on how to use less energy at school.

Andeep suggests turning off devices when they are not in use.

That makes sense.

If you've finished using a laptop, you should shut it down.

Izzy says, "Don't leave any appliances on standby." Lots of devices in school, like interactive whiteboards and laptops, can be left unattended, and rather than switching off, they are left on standby.

Jacob suggests turning off lights in empty rooms. That's a great idea, as long as there is some natural light to help someone see in case they enter the room in the dark.

Some classrooms even have motion-activated lights where the lights only come on if people are moving.

They sound fun! Jun has gone even further and has suggested having a switch-off day where you don't use any electricity at all.

I wonder if you would like that, no devices or interactive whiteboard.

I wonder if your teacher would like that.

Remember, not all energy is made by burning fossil fuels.

Solar, wind, geothermal, and hydro power are just some of the ways that energy can be generated from renewable natural sources.

Generating renewable energy creates far lower emissions than burning fossil fuels.

Time for a quick check.

Which type of energy production creates higher carbon emissions? A, wind, B, coal, C, geothermal, or D, solar.

Pause the video, have a go, and come back when you're ready to check your answers.

How did you get on? If you said B, coal, you would be correct, because it is a fossil fuel, and when it is burnt in power stations to generate electricity, it releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

The other types of energy are renewable and do not burn fossil fuels.

They use natural resources to generate electricity and heat.

We know that energy generated by fossil fuels contributes to climate change and is non-renewable.

It is not a sustainable form of energy.

So what can we do to make sure we are using energy wisely? We can try to reduce the total amount of electrical energy we use and not to waste any, even if it is renewable.

Many schools now have sensors, so if nobody is in the room, then the lights go out automatically.

Do you have these in your school? If so, perhaps you have sometimes had a surprise if the lights have gone out when everybody was being very still.

Use as much renewable energy as possible.

Does your school generate any renewable energy? Maybe you have a wind turbine on the field, heat pumps on the walls, or some PV panels on the roof.

If you do this, it will be creating energy that does not release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

But it is likely that even if it has panels or a turbine, your school is still using at least some energy from fossil fuels.

And reduce electrical energy waste.

So, let's do a quick check, shall we? Complete the ways that we can use electrical energy wisely.

Switch to energy, electrical energy use, and reduce electrical energy.

Pause the video, have a go, and come back when you're ready to check your answers.

How did you get on? If you said switch to renewable energy, reduce electrical energy use, and reduce electrical energy waste, you would be correct.

Well done.

Time for Task B.

I want you to create an energy saving action plan to suggest how you can start using energy wisely in your home or school, and use the table to record your ideas.

So you're gonna have the aim, the action, and how will you know if your plan has worked.

Pause the video, have a go, and come back when you're ready.

How did you get on? Here's some ideas I had.

So let's have a look at the first one.

The aim was to reduce the electricity wasted by devices and lights left on when not in use.

The action is to create posters to display in the locations where energy was being wasted to remind people to switch off.

And how will I know if my plan has worked? I'll repeat the energy audit in one month and see how many devices or lights have been left on.

My next aim is to reduce the electricity wasted by devices and lights when not in use.

My action is to nominate class energy monitors to turn off lights and devices.

And how will I know if my plan has worked? I will repeat the energy audit in one month and see how many devices or lights have been left on.

And the last aim is to reduce electricity use.

My action is to have a switch-off day every month where no devices are used.

How will I know if my plan has worked? I'll collect electricity metre readings each week to see if usage has decreased.

If you think one of these ideas is really good or there's an extra little note from here that you want to add into your action plan, now is your chance to pause the video, add it in, make any changes, and come back when you're ready.

Well done on today's lesson, everybody.

So, today you have learnt that electricity, heat, and transport account for more than 60% of carbon emissions worldwide, monitoring electricity usage around the school can reduce energy use, and generating renewable energy creates far lower emissions than burning fossil fuels.

Well done today, everybody.

That was some great geography, and I hope when you come back and check if your aims have worked or not in your action plan, you see lots and lots of success.

Hopefully I will see you soon for another geography lesson.

Bye.