Energy and Environment

Purpose: to help other instructors teaching the same course

Common Course ID: ENGR 302
CSU Instructor Open Textbook Adoption Portrait

Abstract: This open educational resource (OER) adoption replaces the traditional textbook Energy, Environment, and Climate (4th Ed.) with a curated collection of freely accessible, high-quality open resources aligned with course learning objectives. Implemented in an upper-division general education engineering course at California State University, Long Beach, this approach provides students with zero-cost access to core content while maintaining academic rigor and alignment with scientific principles. The adopted materials include OpenStax textbooks, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) resources, NASA climate science modules, and data-driven platforms such as Our World in Data. These resources collectively support interdisciplinary learning across energy systems, environmental science, and global sustainability. The primary motivation for adopting OER was to eliminate textbook costs (approximately $100–$150 per student), increase accessibility, and allow customization of materials to better match course outcomes. Students access all materials through Canvas and external open repositories, ensuring flexibility across devices and learning environments.

Course Title and Number
Brief Description of course highlights:  This interdisciplinary course explores the science of energy and its relationship with environmental systems and human society. Students examine renewable and non-renewable energy sources including fossil fuels, nuclear, solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass, while analyzing their availability, technologies, and environmental impacts. The course emphasizes global climate change, sustainability, and the societal implications of energy use, preparing students to critically evaluate energy systems and propose solutions to environmental challenges. Link to Catalog: 

http://catalog.csulb.edu/preview_course_nopop.php?catoid=5&coid=41486 

Student population: This course primarily serves upper-division undergraduate students fulfilling general education requirements. The population includes a wide range of majors, with many non-STEM students. Students are expected to have foundational college-level preparation but typically do not have advanced technical backgrounds in physics or engineering.
Learning or student outcomes:   

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:

• Explain fundamental energy principles, including energy forms, power, and thermodynamics
• Compare fossil, nuclear, and renewable energy systems in terms of technology and impact
• Analyze the causes and evidence of global climate change
• Evaluate social, economic, and political dimensions of energy use
• Propose solutions for sustainable energy and environmental challenges

These outcomes are aligned with Bloom’s Taxonomy, progressing from understanding to analysis and evaluation. 

Textbook or OER/Low cost Title: 

Brief Description: The course replaces the textbook with a structured set of OER resources, including:

• OpenStax (Physics and Astronomy textbooks)
• U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) educational resources
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) materials
• NASA Climate Science modules
• Our World in Data datasets and visualizations
• IPCC climate reports

These materials collectively replicate and expand upon the content structure of the Wolfson textbook, which covers energy systems, climate science, and sustainability. 

Please provide a link to the resource  

Chapter 1: A Changing Planet

• Link: https://openstax.org/books/astronomy-2e/pages/8-4-life-chemical-evolution-and-climate-change 
• Topic: Earth history, atmosphere, photosynthesis, climate change over geologic time
• Provider: OpenStax

 Chapter 2: High-Energy Society

• Link: https://ourworldindata.org/energy 
• Topic: Global energy consumption, energy access, energy use patterns
• Provider: Our World in Data

 Chapter 3: Energy: A Closer Look

• Link: https://openstax.org/books/college-physics-2e/pages/7-introduction-to-work-energy-and-energy-resources 
• Topic: Work, energy, power, units, estimation
• Provider: OpenStax

 Chapter 4: Energy and Heat

• Link: https://openstax.org/books/college-physics-2e/pages/15-introduction-to-thermodynamics 
• Topic: Heat, temperature, thermodynamics, entropy, heat engines
• Provider: OpenStax

 Chapter 5: Fossil Energy

• Link: https://www.energy.gov/science-innovation/energy-sources/fossil 
• Topic: Coal, oil, natural gas, formation and use
• Provider: U.S. Department of Energy

 Chapter 6: Environmental Impacts of Fossil Fuels

• Link: https://www.epa.gov/transportation-air-pollution-and-climate-change
• Topic: Air pollution, smog, health impacts, climate impacts
• Provider: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

 Chapter 7: Nuclear Energy

• Link: https://openstax.org/books/college-physics-2e/pages/31-introduction-to-radioactivity-and-nuclear-physics 
• Topic: Radioactivity, fission, fusion, nuclear applications
• Provider: OpenStax

 Chapter 8: Energy from Earth and Moon

• Link: https://www.energy.gov/eere/geothermal/geothermal-basics
• Topic: Geothermal, tides, waves, marine energy
• Provider: U.S. Department of Energy

 Chapter 8: Energy from Earth and Moon

• Link: https://www.energy.gov/eere/water/marine-energy-basics 
• Topic: Tidal, wave, and ocean energy
• Provider: U.S. Department of Energy

 Chapter 9: Direct from the Sun: Solar Energy

• Link: https://www.energy.gov/solar 
• Topic: Photovoltaics, CSP, solar resource
• Provider: U.S. Department of Energy

 Chapter 10: Indirect from the Sun: Water, Wind, Biomass

• Link: https://www.energy.gov/eere/water/hydropower-basics 
• Topic: Hydropower, wind, biomass
• Provider: U.S. Department of Energy

 Chapter 10: Indirect from the Sun: Water, Wind, Biomass

• Link: https://www.energy.gov/eere/wind/wind-energy-basics 
• Topic: Wind energy
• Provider: U.S. Department of Energy

 Chapter 11: Energy Carriers: Electricity and Hydrogen

• Link: https://www.energy.gov/eere/fuelcells/hydrogen-fuel-basics 
• Topic: Electricity, hydrogen as carrier, fuel cells
• Provider: U.S. Department of Energy

 Chapter 12: The Science of Climate

• Link: https://science.nasa.gov/climate-change 
• Topic: Greenhouse effect, evidence, climate system
• Provider: NASA

 Chapter 13: Forcing the Climate

• Link: https://science.nasa.gov/climate-change/evidence/ 
• Topic: Climate forcing, greenhouse gases, drivers of warming
• Provider: NASA

 Chapter 14: Is Earth Warming?

• Link: https://science.nasa.gov/climate-change/evidence/ 
• Topic: Observed warming, temperature records, impacts
• Provider: NASA

 Chapter 15: Future Climates

• Link: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_SYR_SPM.pdf 
• Topic: Climate projections, risks, mitigation pathways
• Provider: IPCC

 Chapter 16: Energy and Climate: Breaking the Link

• Link: https://ourworldindata.org/energy 
• Topic: Decarbonization, clean energy transition, mitigation
• Provider: Our World in Data

Authors: NA. The selected OER materials provide:

• Conceptual explanations of energy principles (OpenStax)
• Real-world policy and technology insights (DOE, EPA)
• Climate science evidence and modeling (NASA, IPCC)
• Data-driven analysis tools (Our World in Data)

Pedagogically, the resources support inquiry-based learning, data interpretation, and real-world application which are key goals of the course.

Student access:  Students access materials through:

• Canvas LMS
• Direct external links to OER platforms
• Downloadable PDFs for offline access

Supplemental resources: Additional materials include:

• Interactive simulations (PhET, data tools)
• Open datasets for projects
• Instructor-created guides and summaries
• Discussion prompts aligned with Bloom’s taxonomy

Provide the cost savings from that of a traditional textbook.

• Traditional textbook cost: ~$100–$150
• OER cost: $0
• Estimated savings per class section: significant cumulative savings across all enrolled students

License*: Resources are distributed under various open licenses, including:

• Creative Commons (OpenStax, OWID)
• Public domain/government use (DOE, EPA, NASA)

OER/Low Cost Adoption Process

Provide an explanation or what motivated you to use this textbook or OER/Low Cost option. The primary motivations for adopting OER were:

• Eliminating financial barriers for students
• Increasing accessibility and equity
• Allowing customization of course content
• Incorporating up-to-date, real-world data

How did you find and select the open textbook for this course? Resources were selected through:

• Review of OpenStax and OER repositories
• Alignment with course learning objectives
• Evaluation of accuracy, clarity, and relevance
• Integration with existing module structure

Sharing Best Practices: 

• Start by replacing one module at a time
• Align resources directly with learning outcomes
• Use multiple sources rather than relying on a single OER
• Incorporate real-world data and case studies
• Maintain consistent structure in LMS delivery

Describe any key challenges you experienced, how they were resolved  and lessons learned.

• No single OER fully replaces the textbook
• Variability in depth and style across sources
• Additional instructor time required for curation
• Need to ensure alignment across modules

Instructor Name 
Ehsan Madadi, Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, California State University, Long Beach. I am a MAE professor at the College of Engineering in the California State University, Long Beach. I teach Energy and Environment: A Global Perspective, Engineering Thermodynamics I, Heat Transfer Systems Design, Gas Dynamics, and Advanced Fluid Dynamics I.

Please provide a link to your university page.
https://www.csulb.edu/college-of-engineering/mechanical-aerospace-engineering/page/dr-ehsan-madadi
Please describe the courses/course numbers that you teach.

• ENGR 302 – Energy and Environment: A Global Perspective
• MAE 330 - Engineering Thermodynamics I
• MAE 431 - Heat Transfer Systems Design
• MAE 533 - Gas Dynamics
• MAE 537 - Advanced Fluid Dynamics I

Describe your teaching philosophy and any research interests related to your discipline or teaching.

When the professors are excited about teaching (and learning), the students get excited about learning… and that is the ultimate goal: Teaching (and Learning) for Success! My research focuses on the development, implementation, and validation of accurate and tractable computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools for multiphase and turbulent flows, and environmental fluid modeling. He has generated new computational algorithms that improve our ability to model complex physical processes of fluid flow and transport for computational modeling of multiphase, turbulent mixing, and reacting flows.

Please attach a photo of you (or link to where it appears)