Author: Yue Hongyu, team promoter of low-carbon schools project

Carbon resume

Name: Carbon

Essential structure: Carbon is an element that constitutes the most substances, it exists in tens of millions of substances.

Motion mode: carbon exchanges in the biosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere of the earth, and circulates continuously with the movement of the earth.

Storage "warehouses": lithosphere and fossil fuels are the largest two storage warehouses, in which the amount of carbon stored accounts for about 99.9% of the total carbon on earth.

These two "warehouses" play the role of storage, because the migration and transformation of carbon in these two "warehouses" are slow.

Other storage "warehouses": carbon is rapidly migrated, transformed and exchanged among different substances in the atmosphere, water and organisms, which play the role of exchange warehouses.

(Images source: the Internet)

The infinite cycle of carbon in nature is called carbon cycle, which is extremely important to the earth.

Because the carbon cycle affects many biological processes, such as photosynthesis and respiration. In addition, the carbon cycle also directly contributes to the generation of fossil fuels, and has a great impact on the earth's climate.

(Images source: the Internet)

Have a role-play to explore the carbon cycle

What impact does the mysterious carbon cycle have on our living environment?

As it seeks to gratify the students' curiosity, the low-carbon project team organized a role-play of "carbon cycle" in some middle schools in Kunming City.

The participating students were divided into six groups, which represented the different ‘warehouses’ involved in the carbon cycle - atmosphere, ocean, plants, animals, soil and fossil fuels. In each group, there are students who play as the "carbon".

Everyone got their own task card. According to the card tips, they started to cycle the "carbon"!

Each student introduced themselves according to their character cards, and set different time scales and scenes for different "carbon" cycles.

Students participated in each round of cycle process through role play, explored their group's carbon cycle track, and discussed and shared after each round.

Soon, the secrets of "carbon" and "carbon cycle" were explored by the students. They also put forward their own solutions to the imbalance of the carbon cycle:

Reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and advocate to everyone to protect the natural environment and go on a green and low-carbon journey.

Eat less beef to reduce methane emissions for effectively dealing with climate change.

Restrict the use of disposable items and do not litter in the sea.

Save electricity and use renewable and new energy.

Zhonggong Secondary School

Chenggong Experimental Secondary School

Hengshui-Chenggong Experimental Secondary School

Tips:

In the industrial age, human beings have developed and exploited fossil fuels in large quantities, converting carbon stored in the earth into carbon dioxide and releasing it into the air. Then the carbon dioxide in the air gradually increases and the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere rises, destroying the original balance in nature, resulting in the enhanced greenhouse effect. The increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere leads to an increase in the amount of dissolved carbon dioxide in water, which in turn causes changes on the acid-base balance and carbonate dissolution balance in sea, finally it leads to an imbalance in the carbon cycle.

Understand carbon cycle and climate change, scan the QR code and follow the "carbon footprint", save points by answering questions, adopt e-pets and explore the mysteries of "carbon"!

Reference: http://www.xinhuanet.com/science/2018-05/17/c_137185175.htm

Project introduction:

Yunnan Low-carbon Schools Pilot Project is funded by the European Union and implemented by the People to People Foundation (Spanish member of HPP) in cooperation with FAIHPP (Switzerland) Yunnan Representative Office, Yunnan Academy for Science and Technical Information, Southwest Forestry University, Chinese Youth Climate Action Network, Green Kunming (Kunming Environmental Popular Science Association) and  Kunming Good Deed Public Welfare Community Development Service Center with a project cycle from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2023. The project begins by increasing partners’ awareness and advocacy on climate change mitigation and environmental protection, by raising climate change awareness among 600 schools, 70,000 students and teachers, determine the emission benchmark through basic calculation, and then implement emission reduction work in 50 Carbon Compliant Pioneer Schools. Use science, technology, innovation and other means to respond to “climate action” to accelerate environmental sustainability and promote the transition from green campuses to low-carbon and carbon-neutral campuses.

The project is funded by European Union.

Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author, and do not necessarily represent those of the donor.