Generating Interest In Energy (NAPSA)—Plugging in to some energy facts could help the environment and save you money. However studies show most Americans are oy unawareof current energy topics. For example, since 1992, the average number of miles most vehicles can drive per gallon of gas has decreased. Yet just 17 percent—or one in six adults—are awareofthis. In addition, two-thirds of Americans fail to recognize that the transportation sector is the largest petroleum user in the U.S. Fortunately, there are efforts to raise our energy I.Q. For instance, Project Learning Tree, an awardwinning educational program of the American Forest Foundation, recently introduced its Energy & Society program. Energy & Society supplementary materials help teach Pre-K to eighth-grade youth about energy and the environment. The program helps students learn ways to investigate energy’s role in society and develop critical thinking skills to make decisions about their own energy use. In addition to hands-on activities, the program integrates music and dancetofacilitate the learning process. Children learn energy concepts through fun, easy-to-remember music lyrics and dances. The program kit includes an activity Increasing your “energy IQ” can benefit the economy and the environment. guide, posters, a music CD and dancevideo. Energy & Society materials were developed to help teach students how to think about energy issues, not what to think—a skill considered particularly important in today’s economic and environmental conditions. Experts say energy may be the most important environmental issue of the times. Nearly all environmental concerns (air and water quality, land use, transportation, global climate changes, solid waste management) are somehow linked to energy—and each issue affects the daily lives ofAmericans. The energy kit is available to formal and nonformal educators. For more information, visit www.plt.org.
