National Environmental Education Week
Top Ten Energy Activities

According to the American Almanac Americans account for only 5% of the world’s population, yet they consume over 26% of the world’s energy.  Young people play a vital role in learning more about energy and taking action to conserve it on a daily basis.  Below are ten ways you can bring energy activities into your classroom during National EE Week: 

1. Take the 6◦ of Energy Efficiency Challenge.
Not sure how to get your students thinking about energy?  The 6◦ of Energy Efficiency website is a great place to start.  Students can take an online quiz to see how much they know about energy and pledge to take a few actions in their own homes and schools that will save energy, protect the environment, and reduce utility costs: www.sixdegreechallenge.org.

2. Conduct an energy audit. 
Encourage students to take their newfound knowledge of energy into their homes and schools by conducting their own energy audits.  The following resources provide great age-appropriate energy audit activities.
Elementary School.  Energy Hog Scavenger Hunt
Middle School.  What’s Up In the Environment: Energy Audit 
High School.  The Home Energy Saver

3.  Change a light. 
Want an extra hundred dollars in your school budget? Replace just four standard bulbs with compact fluorescent lights (CFLs), and you'll reduce your electricity bills by more than $100 over the lives of those bulbs! More importantly, you'll save energy and prevent the emission of five thousand pounds of carbon dioxide. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star Change a Light, Change the World campaign provides resources and promotional materials for how to engage in a Change a Light campaign in your own community.  Find out more at
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=change_light.changealight_educate

4.  Learn more about Energy Hogs. 
Some of the biggest sources of energy waste can be found right in our own homes, such as in drafty windows and old refrigerators.  The website www.energyhog.org offers fun and innovative ways for 3rd-6th grade students to locate the energy hogs in their own homes and take practical steps to reduce their own energy consumption.  The website also includes the Energy Hog Challenge, a set of classroom activities that can be downloaded for free.

5.  Plant a tree. 
Planting trees is one of the best ways to keep the air clean, mitigate global warming, and provide cooling shade during the summer and wind protection during the winter.  Schools can do their part by learning how to plant trees that are native to their area.  All schools that sign up as EE Week 2007 participants will receive a free tree planting kit and video from the National Arbor Day Foundation.  Check out www.arborday.org for more information on planting trees in your area.

6.  Move the thermostat 3 degrees. 
According to the Center for a New American Dream, heating and cooling represent one of the biggest chunks of home energy consumption in the U.S.  By simply turning the thermostat down three degrees in the winter and up three degrees in the summer, you can prevent the emission of nearly 1,100 pounds of carbon dioxide annually.  Classes or even entire schools can join New American Dream’s Turn the Tide Campaign and track their energy savings.  Go to www.newdream.org/tttoffline/actions.php to learn more.

7.  Skip a car trip. 
Did you know that skipping just one 20 mile car trip per week saves energy in the form of gasoline and reduces an individual’s annual emissions of carbon dioxide by nearly a thousand pounds? The Northeast Sustainable Energy Association offers K-12 curricula and resources on limiting car trips and saving energy.  Check out http://www.nesea.org/education/edmaterials/ for more information.

8.  Seek out solar. 
Solar power remains one of the cleanest alternative energy sources available.  Students can learn more about solar power and its many benefits, including how to build their own solar oven, by visiting http://www.re-energy.ca/pdf/solar-heat-lp.pdf.

9.  Create a school-wide energy strategy.
According to the Alliance to Save Energy (www.ase.org), many schools spend more on energy costs than on computers and textbooks combined.  Students can join together to reduce their energy costs by setting some simple goals for their school.  Check out the Alliance to Save Energy’s website at http://www.ase.org/content/article/detail/625 for some of the best ways to conserve energy at your school.

10. Find Energy Leakers and Energy Stars.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, 75% of the energy used for appliances in the typical home is consumed when the appliances are “turned off”. This power is consumed by features such as clocks and remote controls that are always operating but slowly “leak” small amounts of energy over time.  Encourage your students to document the number of Energy Leakers in their homes and school and then have them report back to the class.  Also encourage students to see if they can find the Energy Star label on their home appliances, a rating system developed by the Department of Energy for the most energy efficient appliances on the market.   Check out the Energy Star website at www.energystar.gov for more information.

Alliance to Save Energy
ASE provides K-12 curricula and other educational resources pertaining to energy consumption and conservation.

Energy Ideas Clearing House
The Energy Ideas Clearing House provides a wealth of links related to energy education and conservation.

Energy Star
Energy Star’s Change a Light, Change the World campaign involves middle and high school students in switching from regular incandescent light bulbs to more energy efficient compact fluorescents.   The campaign includes curricula, resources, and online pledge forms that students can use to track their progress in switching from regular to compact fluorescent bulbs.

Energy Kid’s Page
Developed by the Energy Information Administration, these resources on energy production and consumption are suitable for grades K-12.

Imagining Tomorrow: Alternate Energy Futures
A project of the Foresight Project, Imagining Tomorrow is a new and innovative national creative writing and video contest for high-school students that focuses on the subjects of clean energy and global climate.  The website contains Starting Points, questions, and resource links for students and teachers, as well as online publication of winning entries for additional discussion. Contest entries are due by March 31, 2007; $10,000 is committed for national awards. 

The NEED Project
The mission of the National Energy Education Development Project is to promote an energy conscious and educated society by creating effective networks of students, educators, business, government and community leaders to design and deliver objective, multi-sided energy education programs. Learn how to become a member of their educator network and gain access to their many energy education resources by clicking on the above link.

Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign
A program of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Plant for the Planet seeks to plant one billion trees around the world over the course of 2007 in an effort of offset energy usage and slow global warming.  The program provides information on how to plant trees locally and encourages schools, businesses, and community groups around the world to take part in the pledge.

Wisconsin KEEP (K-12 Energy Education Program)
KEEP's mission is to initiate and facilitate the development, dissemination, implementation and evaluation of energy education programs.  They offer educational resources pertaining to home, school, and renewables energy education, as well as online resources for professional development.

Click here to access suggested EE Week Energy Curricula
Click here to access General Environmental Education Resources

from http://eeweek.org/energyactivities.htm