Imagine if pigs or some wild grass could help you heat your house or fuel your car. Roeslein Alternative Energy System is doing just that. It produces renewable natural gas (RNG) from the anaerobic digestion of swine manure turning pig poop into power, and is also in the process of creating renewable natural gas from the digestion of native prairie plants.

Meet the innovators developing these new energy sources and see the science and engineering practices they are using to turn pig poop and prairie grass into power.

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Teacher Resources for the Video:

NGSS Disciplines Addressed in Standards Referenced Below:
• Life Sciences
• Earth and Space Sciences
• Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science

Discussion Questions:
• What examples of science and engineering practices do you see the innovators at Roeslein Alternative Energy using?
• Based on what you learn in the video, how effective do you think the use of pig poop or prairie grass could be as a source of energy? What benefits do you think these methods provide for the environment and users? What limitations do you see in these methods?

Activity Ideas:
• Use the video in a flipped learning activity. Have students come to class prepared to respond to the discussion questions above and/or share two insights they gained from the video and two questions they’d like answered through their own or class research.
• Use the video with a vocabulary activity focused on the terms below that are included in the video as well as others from the video you might select. Based on what they learn in the video, have students hypothesize the definition of each, share their ideas, and then finalize a definition based on their ideas and what they could also research.
• Use the video as part of a “green studies” unit in class. Have students research for “green” energy facilities/companies in their area. Contact the company to see if a tour is available or a representative could speak to the class. Use the video to help students prepare questions for the representative.
• Provide the video to students doing an independent project on alternative/green energy. How could they use information, and/or excerpts, from the video in their final product?

Vocabulary to Consider:
• Anaerobic Digestion
• Dekatherm
• Greenhouse Gas
• Impermeable
• Marginal Land

Resources for Additional Research:
• Learn more about Roeslein Alternative Energy at https://roesleinalternativeenergy.com/.
• Learn more about the NGSS Science and Engineering Practices at the NSTA website.

Unique ID for the Video: IinAction-65
• Use the unique ID as a shortcut for students to find this specific video. Click on Search and choose “By Video ID.” Type in the Video ID as it appears above.

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