Teaching our kids about saving energy and the environment is very important to me and Alicia. The U.S. Energy Information Administration has an extremely useful site aimed at teaching kids about saving energy called energy KIDS. The information is very useful for adults as well. It provides a good overview of how energy is generated and used in the US.
A couple of my favorites sections of the site are:
- Energy Sources Recent Statistics provides useful facts about US petroleum production and consumption. Did you know that in 2008 the US imported almost 10 million barrels of crude oil every day and another 3 million barrels of other petroleum products?
- Using & Saving Energy In Homes shows what we use energy for in our homes. It also discusses from where energy like natural gas and electricity comes. Did you know that 84% of single-family homes have air conditioning (either central air, window units or both)?
- Using & Saving Energy For Transportation shows that transportation uses 28% of all the energy in this country and what percentage of each fuel type (e.g. diesel, gasoline, etc.) is used. Did you know that automobiles (not including light trucks) use 32% of the transportation energy? That’s a lot of gasoline.
The site has tons of additional information about what is energy as well as teaching tools including lesson plans. You will also find useful energy calculators, a glossary and games.
Go check out the EIA energy KIDS site and share it with a kid or two. I’m sure you will learn something along the way too. I know I did.
Happy Greening!
Jon
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