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The Energy
Literacy Project's (ELP) goal is to achieve a cultural change in
how society views energy. To accomplish this objective the
ELP is filling the role of facilitating, consolidating, and
coordinating educational and informational material that will
enhance public understanding and appreciation of energy and how
it affects society's economic wellbeing and quality of life.
This effort is targeted at building broad based, balanced
programs from the hundreds of currently available products.
Only when the ELP finds that is not bringing the desired balance
to the development of such material with intention of partnering
with existing organizations to deliver these products to the
public.
In this role,
the ELP initially defines specific educational concepts as
listed in this document, and then recruits participants from the
energy industry, the government, and other interested
organizations to fund the required development work.
In the current
phase (Phase II) of the project, the ELP has planned to field
test its concept of a balanced approach linking energy, the
economy, and the environment by building new curriculum material
for the school systems. If this test is successful, the
next phase (Phase III) would be to repackage the same message
for all of society.
In the future,
the ELP hopes to contribute its programs, concepts, and advice
to a national public energy education program. Such a
program is currently being discussed at various levels of
government. The ELP is actively encouraging any such
effort (see Public Outreach).
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| Current
Project/Program Evaluation |
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The current projects and programs the ELP supports are an
ongoing research effort at the
Colorado School of Mines (CSM) that is funded
through a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. This research is aimed at
reviewing and identifying currently available programs which offer the
recognition of the interlocking nature of energy, the economy and the
environment - the 3E's. The study's initial findings show that no
programs bring all 3E's in adequate balance into their product. Many programs are very good in
their own right in one E or another, and may even meet various
educational standards, but they lack balance and do not offer
the total picture that teachers seem to want. The
Currently Recommended Programs will be continuously updated as new material
is reviewed. This
section contains information about the project's assessment of
currently available educational materials. It offers links to current educational and informational material that
meets the ELP's standards and rationale, the
National
Science Education Standards as applied to K-12 material, and approaches the
ELP's objective of balance. The primary objective of the current program
evaluation is to identify the material that could be merged into
new curriculum programs for K-12 based on the 3 E's. While
the ELP is researching various resources, educators can refer to
the current results of this evaluation in the current program
evaluation results section of this site.
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| K
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The primary objective of this
research is to identify material that could be merged into new curriculum
programs for K-12 based on the 3E's. This would be the field test
of the effectiveness of the 3E's message to be used in this and other
programs. While the ELP is completing this research, educators can build
their own balanced programs from the
Currently
Recommended Programs.
Energy is a great case study or example to teach
history, economics, earth sciences and social sciences, etc. The ELP's
surveys have shown that teachers demand "good science," that is,
science that includes alternatives and cost-benefit analysis in any topic,
especially energy. The 3E's can be a continuing thread throughout the
educational experience.
For
example, geography is a subject that could use
energy and the 3E's as a means to teach the subject.
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Where is energy located? The answer is
geographic.
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Does a society have an endowment of energy or
are pipeline or wires running through its back yard? These are the
socio-economic issues that help make the geographic topic real for
students.
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All economic activity (and the activities
of civilization) requires the consumption of some energy, what is the
impact of civilized activity on the planet and our quality of life? This
is the environmental link of the 3E's.
The ELP will be constructing new programs from
those currently available materials identified in the project's ongoing research
that will be based on the balance of the 3E's. These repackaged programs
will be promoted through credible educational organizations. Avoiding the
reinvention of the wheel and using existing delivery systems will allow this
program to be very cost-effective.
Depending on the ELP's success at fund raising, we
plan to launch these products in 2003. In the meantime, educators are encouraged
to use various programs identified in the CSM Study.
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Visualization
Facilities |
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The
Board of Trustees at CSM has initiated an energy emphasis in the programs and
services offered on campus and to the nation. The ELP is partnering in
this effort to bring its talents and resources in areas of public outreach.
This partnership is designed to integrate the 3E's in these programs.
One
specific application is a Visualization Facility that will design software to
project 4D images of the Earth's subsurface, surface, and interaction with the
atmosphere. The facility is similar to a planetarium, with the viewer
looking at such phenomena as tectonic plate movements, the migration of oil and
natural gas, the environmental impact of natural seeps, or human exploitation of
natural resources. This facility will be used not only for research and
instruction for CSM students, but will have a significant goal of public use and
K-12 education.
Following this permanent facility is the development of a semi-portable facility
to be used around the country for energy education. Specifically, the ELP
is proposing to base such a facility in Washington D.C. The National
Geographic Society (NGS) has expressed interest in having such a display at
their headquarters. A D.C. base would also allow some customized programs
for government officials, etc. In addition several totally portable
(semi-trailer based) facilities will be built to take this technology and
message to schools and public locations around the country.
The
ELP plans to use this outreach effort as a base to design various other
programs.
The
outreach effort will require additional funding. For further information,
see the CSM web site or contact the Petroleum Engineering department directly at
(303) 273-3740.
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Sesame Street |
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Without waiting for the field test
of Phase II, the ELP has been invited to produce a special issue of one of the
Sesame Workshop's publications based on the 3E's, targeting Sesame
Street's pre-school segment of society and especially pre-school parents.
Following a successful
publication, the ELP will work with the Sesame Workshop to promote an energy
message through one of its characters or by way of a new character. The
energy message could include, but is not limited to:
- Safety - Stoves are hot,
don't put fingers in electric outlets...
- Conservation - Turn off
lights, keep the fridge door closed...
- Where energy comes from -
Follow electricity, natural gas, or heating oil back through the wire or
pipelines.
- Environmental issues -
Investigation of the choices to be made. Examine new science and
technology.
Such an approach would enhance
the beginning of scientific inquiry that is the basis of the National Science
Education Standards and is already present in much of Sesame Street's work.
This project will also require
additional funding.
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Teacher Training |
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The Jason Academy has asked the
ELP to design and help conduct a five week accredited teacher-training course
aimed at middle and high school teachers on the 3E's. This course
is to be offered on the internet and is recognized by the National Science
Teachers Association. The ELP will build this course from resources and
partnerships such as the Environmental Literacy Council and CSM programs, etc.
The design of this program will also be used to enhance traditional training
programs offered through CSM and other organizations.
Teacher training will also require
additional funding.
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Models |
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The ELP is developing various
hands on models that demonstrate aspects of supply and demand balance (See
Fungibility of Commodities), exploration risk and the value of information (See
the Jellybean Game), and flow constraints from upstream raw energy production
downstream to the consumer (under design at this time). These models are
designed for use in school systems and also the general public. The
costs of these models remain to be determined, however, they should be less
than $200 per unit and in some cases less than $10.
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Fungibility of Commodities |
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The ELP has designed this hands-on
model to let the user experience the impacts of changes in world supply or
demand on the world energy markets. This is the concept of fungibility of
a commodity in general and energy (BTU's) or oil in particular.
Fungible: of such a kind or nature that on specimen or part may be used in
place of another specimen or equal part in satisfaction of an obligation.
Interchangeable.
Once a commodity is produced
and enters the world markets, it is indistinguishable from any other unit of
that commodity produced anywhere.
The Fungibility Model, along
with demonstrations can be seen by clicking
here. |
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The Jelly Bean Game |
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The ELP has developed a
participatory example for an audience of 15 to 50 that demonstrates the relative
value of information, competitive bidding and the financial and geologic risks
in natural resource exploration in a free enterprise environment. This
exercise has been successfully performed for audiences from middle school to
meetings of the AARP.
Setup
Explain the Process
The Decisions |
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Linking energy, the economy, the environment