Why Teach About Energy?
Here are a few good reasons why it's important to teach students about energy issues.
- Energy use affects us all—our pocketbooks, our environment, and even our national security. Many Americans don't realize that we're now importing more oil than we did during the oil crisis of the late 1970s. And the use of fossil fuels for energy contributes significantly to air pollution.
- Educating the public, including students, about the economic and environmental costs of energy use is one of the best ways to help curb energy waste.
- It's important for students to learn about their energy choices along with the advantages and disadvantages of each choice. For example, fossil fuels are convenient and readily available, but their supplies are finite and their use is environmentally damaging. Meanwhile, renewable energy sources are inexhaustible with many environmental benefits, but they aren't necessarily as convenient, readily available, nor able to meet all our nation's energy needs.
- Helping students understand all aspects of a particular energy source—its availability, benefits, and monetary, environmental, and social costs—will help them make informed decisions about energy at home and at work.
- Students who can make energy smart decisions will be more conscientious about wasting energy in their lifetimes. For example, the amount of energy wasted through poorly insulated windows is equivalent to the oil pumped through the Alaskan pipeline each year. They can learn that preventing energy loss is often very simple, can save money, and in many cases, can benefit the environment by reducing pollution and conserving our natural resources.
- Studying energy is an excellent way to introduce students to science concepts and processes included in the National Science Education Standards.
For a further, but brief, exploration into why energy efficiency and renewable energy are important, see Clean Energy Basics, a Web site developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
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