Demonstrate how a family could fuel energy for their home by using a week's worth of organic trash from a home compost. Compost should be fermented so it will be muddy. Strain 2 gallons into a large pressure cooker with a cheesecloth. Place the lid on the cooker, attaching 10 feet of copper tubing running from the top of the lid into a coffee can with ice cubes. Punch a hole near the bottom of the coffee can big enough for the tube to fit through for drainage. Run the tubing through this hole so it will lead the distilled liquid into a small bowl placed at the end. Heat the pressure cooker to 173 degrees Fahrenheit. The condensation of the fermented liquid combines with the ice cubes, creating the distilled alcohol, which collects in the small bowl. Measure this liquid for the amount of alcohol, calculating if energy needed for a home can be replaced with this organic trash. Compare with statistics found online in "ABC's to AFV's", a pamphlet by the California Energy Commission.
Create a project that shows how discarded waste can be used for heat. Put on a pair of gloves and go through the trash, gathering paper plates, paper towels, napkins or other paper products that are not too dirty. Soak them in a shallow dish with water until soggy, then drain and place them in a baking pan lined with aluminum foil. Stop layering when the pile is 3/4 inch high. Dry it out by baking at 200 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour. Once dry, the waste burns like wood and can be used in fireplaces or for campfires.
Show how cities across the United States are reducing greenhouse emissions by converting gas from garbage into power. According to the EPA, the number of landfill projects increased from 399 in 2005 to 519 in 2009. Have students consider designing a graph that shows the number of landfills that emit methane gasses and compare those with the number that are involved in efforts for creating a cleaner environment. Using a map of the United States, stick colored tacks in metropolitan areas that are using Recovery Act funds. Signed in 2009, the Recovery Act is designed to aid the economy of the United States, allocating a portion of the funds for investing in the renewable energy industry. Suggest other towns and cities that would benefit from turning landfill waste into energy.
Demonstrate how hydrogen can be produced from organic waste by attempting this project. Using a quart container filled with dirt, bake at 200 degrees Fahrenheit for one hour in a large, metal baking dish. Chop and boil a cornstalk, then mix along with the dirt into a 2-liter soda bottle. Top the bottle with a balloon for collecting bio-gas. When the balloon is full, trap the air inside for testing by tying it shut. Run a full scan using a mass spectrometer, which can be borrowed from the high school science department, and test the amount of hydrogen produced inside the balloon. Record the findings and present the results.