{"id":441,"date":"2025-09-14T14:33:56","date_gmt":"2025-09-14T21:33:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/zarmstrong\/?page_id=441"},"modified":"2025-09-28T16:36:42","modified_gmt":"2025-09-28T23:36:42","slug":"etec-541","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/zarmstrong\/etec-541\/","title":{"rendered":"ETEC 541"},"content":{"rendered":"

Assignment 2 – Group project (Energy impasse)<\/span><\/h2>\n

Our group was tasked with creating a project on the topic of energy impasse. We decided to create a website to share with our classmates that dives deeper into four types of energy impasse as well as the solarpunk movement. Find our group project website here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Assignment 1 – Energy self-assessment<\/span><\/h2>\n

Personal connection to energy\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Before beginning, I\u2019d like to acknowledge where I live. I\u2019m a citizen of Canada, more specifically, an Albertan who currently lives in the Town of Cochrane. Cochrane is located on Treaty 7 territory. This land is the traditional land of the Tsuut\u2019ina, Niitsitapi peoples of Siksika, Piikani and Kainai First Nations, the Iyarhe Nakoda peoples of the Chiniki, Bearspaw and Goodstoney First Nations, and is located within the Rocky View M\u00e9tis District of the Otipemisiwak M\u00e9tis Government (Town of Cochrane, 2025). In the last 10 years or so, as a European settler, I\u2019ve tried to learn more about where I live, and the history of the land from an Indigenous perspective. Indigenous folks have always had a relationship with the land, and in turn, the Earth, that I\u2019ve admired and respected. I can only imagine some of the thoughts they have about the challenges we have brought upon our environment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Another lens I always consider in reference to my energy story is that I am both a mother and an educator. When I think of the futures of my son and my students, I can\u2019t help but become worried. There is so much potential for us as a human population to change our ways and effect positive change for our little ones, and yet, our actions indicate that this is not a priority for us. Since becoming a mother, the health of our planet has become something I\u2019ve thought of more than I used to before. I know that our consumption and use of fossil fuels actively contributes to the climate crisis we are experiencing and so, I\u2019m eager to learn more about how I can lead a life that will teach my son how important it is to care about energy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At this point in my energy journey, I don\u2019t know a lot. I\u2019ve got a few good habits that I consider to be energy-conscious and I\u2019m eager to learn more. For example, we have a 4Runner, in other words, a gas guzzler. My husband and I are avid lovers of the outdoors and wanted a vehicle that we could depend on in freezing temperatures and that would haul around all the gear for our growing family. Because of this, we also committed to getting a second card that was either electric or hybrid. Our Prius has been a great addition we recently made, and has allowed us to fill up the 4Runner tank much less frequently. When we bought our house, we sought out one that included solar panels. Though we currently are only able to cover about 20% of our electricity bill with the energy gathered from the panels, the house is equipped to one day support more panels that will hopefully cover the entire bill. Small habits like turning out lights, unplugging small appliances, and having shorter showers are also prioritized in our house. Like I said, I don\u2019t know a lot, but I think we are moving in the right direction.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As a middle school science educator, discussion about greenhouse gases, fossil fuels and climate change naturally occurs in my classroom frequently. As a middle school science educator in Cochrane, where much of the attitude is pro oil and gas sector, I am always pleasantly surprised with how open minded my students are. I don\u2019t consider myself an expert in these areas, though I am confident enough to have open conversations with my students that often involve a lot of Google and YouTube videos. In modeling to my students that I am also a learner when it comes to this area, my intention is that they might be compelled to bring these conversations home to their grown-ups and take on energy smart initiatives in their own houses or smaller communities. I\u2019m a big believer that a little can go a long way, and as <\/span>Yahgulanaa\u2019s (2013) Flight of the<\/span> hummingbird video taught us, we need to simply do what we can.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Functional relationship to energy<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The ways in which I functionally use energy are plentiful\u2026 From driving to and from work every day, living in a climate where our house needs to be heated most months of the year, traveling by plane at least once a year, eating a diet that consists of many animal products and bringing new humans into the world, my carbon footprint is something that I can easily overlook. My husband and I had a really authentic conversation following the calculation of my carbon footprint. I shared with him how the most effective way to lower your carbon footprint is to have one less child (Simple Carbon Calculator, n.d.). As a mother, who is in the midst of family planning, I took this really personally. Am I a bad person because I want a family? Of course not, but it does mean I have a responsibility to become more aware of the ways in which we consume energy as a family.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In Cochrane, we don\u2019t have an extensive public transportation system. This means I rely on my car to get around. We also spend a lot of time out in Kananaskis, Canmore and Banff. Again, our car is used to get to and from these destinations. Could I bike to work once a week? Could we decide to hang out locally one weekend per month? These are both options to consider and would teach our children the importance of being mindful of car use and gasoline consumption. We have a diet that consists of a lot of animal products. When we grocery shop, we don\u2019t read where the food is from or where it was made. Could we eat a plant-based meal once a week? Could we grocery shop at the farmer\u2019s market during the summer months instead of the grocery store? These types of habits would not only contribute to a smaller carbon footprint, but they would help our local economy. There are a lot of little habits that we could take on to become a more energy aware and energy literate family.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Areas for expansion<\/b><\/p>\n

I feel like a novice in the area of energy literacy and because of this I know there are so many different areas that I could expand my knowledge base throughout this course. The first area I\u2019d like to focus on is daily habits. Examples of habits I am already doing include turning off the lights when I leave a room, shutting off a tap when I don\u2019t need it to be running, unplugging any gadgets that can be when going on vacation and choosing to drive our Prius over our 4Runner for everyday needs, among others.\u00a0 Though this is a great start, there are likely so many more habits that could be integrated into my daily life, and the daily life of my family, that could have a positive impact on our environment and our carbon footprint. I look forward to finding examples of these, and trying them out. As Martins et al. (2020) remind us, \u201cIt is necessary that people be able to translate this knowledge into concrete actions\u201d (p. 454).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Another area I would like to explore in this course is renewable energy. As a resident of Alberta, I know that historically, renewable energy has not been an industry popular amongst everyone. It feels like every second truck I see has an \u201cI heart Canadian oil and gas\u201d sticker. Learning more about different types of renewable energy, both the positives and negatives could be really beneficial in having authentic conversations with not only my students, but my peers too. Renewable energy allows me to feel hopeful and being able to bring that feeling to others is something pretty powerful. Knowing how renewable energy is created, stored and used is something I want to become aware of and learning about why people can be opposed to it is also something I\u2019d like to learn about throughout this course.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lastly, I\u2019d like to learn more about the politics of energy. Who is making the decisions? Who is creating the policies? How are different communities, especially Indigenous communities in Alberta, affected by the choices made for them about their land? I\u2019d like to deepen my understanding on how governments engage with community leaders when making decisions about energy. Whose voices are not being heard? Having answers to these types of questions will help me to think more critically about who is really benefiting from our energy systems. When we consider our transition to more renewable energy sources, who is accounting for how this might impact lower socio-economic areas? These are all considerations that I know very little about. To be a more energy literate citizen, I need to equip myself with a stronger awareness for how these transitions affect more than just the people in my own neighbourhood.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, as a starting point, I think I\u2019d give myself a passing grade. Reflecting on my energy literacy shows me that I\u2019ve got a lot to unpack, a lot to learn and a lot to unlearn. I look forward to being able to upskill in many areas and feel more confident about having energy conversations with my students and my community.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

References:<\/span><\/p>\n

Martins, A., Madaleno, M., & Dias, M. F. (2020). Energy literacy: What is out there to know?<\/span> Energy Reports<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>6<\/span><\/i>(Suppl. 1), 454\u2013459.<\/span><\/p>\n

Simple Carbon Calculator. <\/span><\/i>(n.d.). Power to the People.<\/span><\/p>\n

Town of Cochrane. (2025). <\/span>History of Cochrane. <\/span><\/i>Cochrane.ca. https:\/\/www.cochrane.ca\/community-culture\/history-cochrane<\/span><\/p>\n

Yahgulanaas, M.N. [mnyhaida]. (2013, April 8). <\/span>Flight of the hummingbird\u2014Haida Manga by Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 [Video]. YouTube.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Assignment 2 – Group project (Energy impasse) Our group was tasked with creating a project on the topic of energy impasse. We decided to create…<\/p>\n

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