Discussion Ideas
Chapter 8
Using the Energy from Sunlight
Discuss with your students how it might be possible to gather a greater proportion of the energy from sunlight and incorporate it into the food chain in order to feed the growing populations of people (presently, plants manage to incorporate less than 1% of the available sunlight into organic compounds). Is it possible to genetically engineer plants to be more efficient at gathering the energy from sunlight? Ask students whether this is the real problem with feeding people.
What alternative uses of the energy from sunlight can students think of? How many use any form of solar power for heat or other source of energy? What are the advantages and disadvantages of using solar power? (Advantages: no pollution, quiet, inexpensive once in place. Disadvantages: cloudy days, not available at night, collectors may be aesthetically unappealing, high initial setup cost.)
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