Let’s face it: kids have more energy than older folks. If you’ve ever spent time with a seven-year-old, you know what I’m talking about. They’re just brimming with energy — twisting and turning and tumbling and talking — my, how they can talk! Yakkety, yak, yak, yak…So here’s a great idea: how about harnessing all this EXCESS energy and putting these active young minds to good use while helping save the planet?
The U.S. Department of Energy and the Ad Council have partnered in “What’s Your Excuse?” It’s an educational TV campaign aimed at kids ages 8-16 showing how easy it is to make energy-saving changes at home and encouraging kids to learn more, then share what they know with the adults in the household to help save money and energy while doing good things for Mother Earth.
You’ve probably seen one of the commercials. My favorite is with the boy about age ten who’s tell his friend girl of the same age that power adapters for cell phones use energy even when the phone isn’t plugged in. She says, “I don’t have a cell phone,” and then you hear her cell phone ringing in the background and she has to cop to the fact that not only does she have a cell phone but that her power adapter is plugged into the wall unused right behind her! Classic since we can all remember a time when we’ve said, “Oh, no, I’d *never* do that,” but our fingers are firmly crossed behind our backs since we know we’re not being totally honest with ourselves or the Universe.
Energy Circle has a great project for kids called “Moolah Maker” that shows kids how they can work with their parents to save energy by going over the family’s energy bill each month and then the kids earn moolah when they help decrease the bill. Here’s the link to their website for more info:
http://fivepercent.us/2009/08/04/a-fun-incentive-for-your-kids-to-save-energy-moolah-maker/You
And of course, PowerDown is encouraging kids to participate in our Compete for Energy Efficiency group at Facebook.com because you never know where the winning idea will come from. There are no age restrictions for the contest and everyone knows that great things come in small packages.
To email Editor-in-Chief & Contributor Diane Bliss: dblissinkc “at” gmail.com
To email iPowerDown: igreene “at” fas.harvard.edu
Tags: conservation, conserve, efficiency, energy, global warming, green, ozone, planet
