Module 3

In 2011, the total energy use per person in the United States was 91,438 kWh/year, which is the amount of power required to keep 174 60-watt light bulbs lit continuously for one year. Although it seems like a lot of energy, it is 1.3% less than the 2010 average and 13% less than the average in 1978, which was the year of the highest energy consumption since 1949.

You may be surprised to see how much energy people consume. Every time you buy something, you are also buying all the energy used to produce that thing. Every time you pay your taxes, you are paying for photocopies, business trips, and air conditioning in government offices. In fact, on average, every time anyone spends an American dollar, the energy equivalent of half a liter of oil is burned to produce what that dollar buys.

First:

1. Review the Introduction and Sources and Uses sections (pages 2-11) of What You Need To Know About Energy.
2. Watch the instructional video for the Personal Energy and Carbon Dioxide Calculator.
3. Follow the instructions and use the calculator to determine your personal energy use and contribution of CO2 emissions. Be sure to save your Personal Energy Calculator document (with your calculations) on your computer.

Next, post to the discussion board:

1. Your Personal Energy Calculator document as an attachment
2. Answers to the following questions:
   • Do you think that your energy use is too high? Is it higher than average in 2011?
   • Do you think you could reduce your energy usage and, if so, in what area?

Once you have posted your own discussion response, you are required to comment on the posts of at least two of your classmates. You can agree or disagree with their posts, but you must explain why you have chosen to do so. Remember, if you provide a quotation from a source (i.e., your textbook or the Internet), you must include the correct citation and reference. Also, be sure to read the feedback on your own major postings and reply to it throughout the module.

Your initial post is due by Thursday at 11:59 PM EST. Your responses are due by Sunday at 11:59 PM EST.

Compose your work using a word processor and save it, as a Plain Text or an .rtf, to your computer. When you’re ready to make your initial posting, please click on the “Create Thread” button and copy/paste the text from your document into the message field. Be sure to check your work and correct any spelling or grammatical errors before you post it.

Graded discussions are worth 30% of your total course grade and will be evaluated using the SLA Discussion Rubric [39.1 KB PDF file].