Tag archives for Energy
Posted by 
Saturday, March 23, 2013 marked the seventh year that people around the world participated in Earth Hour. From 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., businesses, individuals and governments around the globe turned off the lights, computers, and TVs.
Hundreds of millions of people in 7,001 cities in 153 countries across the continents participated this year! With people on all 7 continents pledging to do their part and create a sustainable future, we can reduce the energy footprint on Earth.
Did you and your family participate in this year’s Earth Hour?
Phenomenal Friday Fact
Around 10,000 homes in the U.S. run exclusively on solar electricity.
Check out a contest where students compete to build the best solar-powered house.
Just one recycled can saves enough energy to run a small radio for more than ten hours.
National Geographic’s Environment website has created a new Personal Energy Meter tool to help you and your family measure the amount of energy you use. Ask your mom or dad to help you figure out what your carbon footprint is based on where you live. The site also gives you tips on how you can reduce your energy use!
Check out the Great Energy Challenge and the Personal Energy Meter.
Get more tips on how you can Save Power.
You want to save energy and help the environment? Why not start with your school? DoSomething.org and Hewlett-Packard want to see your ideas for making your school more energy efficient and they are handing out some cool prizes!
Check out a video with Nick Cannon explaining the program and find out how you can get involved. Check out Increase Your Green.
Photograph courtesy DoSomething.org
Did you know that your cell phone charger still uses energy if you keep it plugged in after your phone is charged? That is one of the amazing facts you can discover on the Energy Star website created by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. You can find ways you can save energy, watch a slide show about global warming, and learn how your school can get involved and become more energy efficient.
Visit the Energy Star website.
Did you know that not all watermelons are sold for food? An incredible one-fifth of watermelons go to waste because they have too many scars or are shaped oddly. Wouldn’t it be great if something could be done with these rejected watermelons?
Wayne Fish, a chemist with the Agricultural Research Service in Lane, Oklahoma, and his team were working on a project using watermelons when they realized that watermelon juice could be used to make ethanol, which can be used as fuel for cars. It doesn’t matter how the watermelons look, because only the juice is used. Could watermelon juice be the fuel for a car you might drive one day?
Read more about this green (or is it red?) fuel on National Geographic News.
Put your own words into a photo of a woman eating watermelon on National Geographic Kids.
Photograph by Gareth Richards, My Shot
Saving energy is important. But what is energy, exactly? How is it measured? And how do we use it in our daily lives? Get answers to these questions and much more on the Energy Kids website. Play games, answer riddles, and get ideas for science fair projects while you brush up on your energy knowledge.
Get tips on how to save power on National Geographic Kids.
Learn how we can get energy from cows! Read Cow Power.
The poor neighborhoods of Cairo are harnessing the power of the sun and microbes to find new sources of energy in the city. Since 2003, Thomas “T.H.” Culhane, an urban planner and NG Emerging Explorer has been working on these projects with a nonprofit called Solar CITIES.
Using simple materials and waste from kitchens, he and Solar CITIES have installed 34 solar water heating systems and five biogas reactors to help residents get clean energy in their homes.
(Pictured: Solar CITIES project leader T.H. Culhane (right) and
organization intern Omar Nagy stand next to a solar-powered water
heater.)
Learn more about the Solar CITIES project on National Geographic News.
Play Recycle Roundup.
Photograph courtesy T.H. Culhane
