This year’s Earth Day theme is “Our Power, Our Planet.” And with good reason. The way we produce and use energy has far reaching implications on air pollution, habitats and biodiversity, human health, and of course climate change.
Energy Consumption on the Rise
Despite the rapid growth of renewable energy in recent decades, climate change causing fossil fuels like oil and coal still make up 82% of the world’s energy supply. Moreover, energy use around the world is on a steady climb. In fact, 2023 marked a record in total consumption of fossil fuels, and energy-related greenhouse gas emissions exceeded 40 gigatonnes for the first time ever. This growth will likely continue to soar as diets that include energy-intense foods rise, economies develop, and mass data processing centers (like those needed to support AI technology) fly onto the scene.
Teaching About Energy
In an effort to boost commitment and action around renewables, Earth Day 2025 is specifically calling for the everyone, everywhere, to “unite behind renewable energy, and to triple the global generation of clean energy by 2030.” Here at PopEd, we want to join in the effort, and help you do the same. That’s why for the next three months, we’ll be focusing on all things energy. We’ll share resources that will boost your own knowledge on energy-related topics, including all of the nuance, challenges, and successes. And most importantly, we’ll share loads of lessons and tools for teaching energy topics with your students, whether you teach elementary grades or AP-level high schoolers.
Energy Education Resources for Your Classroom
Here’s a look at what will be shared on our channels in the coming weeks:
- Register today for our free webinar, K-12 Earth Day Lessons for a Sustainable Energy Future. Happening on April 9th, this cross-curricular teacher webinar will share lessons that will help you teach topics like changing energy use over time, how mining fossil fuels impact the environment, and how renewable energy can help build sustainable communities.
- Follow us on socials for reliable and interesting articles, videos and teacher resources that highlight relevant energy issues in digestible formats. Perfect for sharing with students or for honing your own background knowledge. See the samples below for sneak peek! Follow along at #PopEdEnergy – Facebook | BlueSky | LinkedIn
- Virtual Field Trip: Powering the Planet- Renewable Energy – Students come along for an engaging journey while they visit the Palmyra Atoll, a remote cluster of islands, and the Mojave Desert, to learn about innovative sustainable energy solutions. The accompanying guide includes technical information as well as teacher and student resources that can be used before, after, or during the field trip.
- CLEAN (Committed to Climate and Energy Education): Bringing Energy Topics into Your Classroom – The CLEAN project, part of the National Science Digital Library, provides a collection of carefully reviewed resources, coupled with the tools to enable an online community built around the teaching of climate and energy science.
- The PopEd blog is another great way to get classroom resources and ideas for teaching all-things energy. We will have posts on the history of energy use, the economic benefits of clean energy and more, all which highlight unique perspectives and give links to high-quality lessons for energy education.
- And last but not least, we’ll put a spotlight on PopEd resources that teach energy topics. We’ll share lessons about energy poverty, climate justice, transportation trends, and more, along with student readings, infographics and additional tools from the PopEd library.
#PopEdEnergy
Teaching about energy sources, consumption trends, and the successes and challenges in this ever-evolving field may feel overwhelming. But as one of the most significant human impacts on the planet, it’s important to find a way to incorporate it into student learning at all grades. We’re here to help, and we can’t wait to share loads of great resources over the coming months.
Image credits: Energy consumption chart (Global primary energy consumption by source by Our World in Data); Virtual fieldtrip screenshot (Virtual Field Trip Video: Powering the Planet | Nature Works Everywhere © 2016 The Nature Conservancy)