Heating and cooling account for 50-70% of the energy consumed in the average American home. Heating water accounts for another 20%. A poorly insulated home loses much of this energy, causing drafty rooms and high energy bills. This fact sheet discusses how to determine if your home needs more insulation, the additional thermal resistance (called…

An energy audit is an effective method to determine how much energy a home uses each year, whether the energy is being used efficiently, and where a home wastes energy. This fact sheet describes tools and techniques used for home energy audits, as well as how to perform a do-it-yourself audit. It discusses professionals who conduct home energy…

According to 1986 U.S. Department of Energy data, 48% of our residential energy is used to heat and cool our homes, 16% goes for heating water, 12% is used to refrigerators and freezers, and the remaining 24% goes into lighting, cooking, and running appliances. This booklet contains tips for saving energy, including sections on: (1) draft-proof…

Stategies for organizing data on a district's energy use are presented in this guide, originally intended for use in California schools. Also presented are methods of communicating this information to those involved in planning, in recordkeeping, and in motivating staff and students to save energy. The energy accounting system offered in the first…

This curriculum guide is intended for educators who want to help young people become wise stewards of the environment and who believe that education about energy is an opportunity to achieve that goal. This guide aims to help educators in the curriculum planning process. This guide furnishes a visual overview of resources in chart format.…

This document was developed as a training manual for people interested in various types of appropriate technologies related to improved cookstoves. The three types of cookstoves included in the manual are earthen, ceramic, and metal (or a combination of metal and ceramic). The training sessions described deal with: (1) an orientation to the…

Environmental education should lead children, as future citizens, to acquire a more objective view of the way human societies function. It should also encourage an individual to take an active part in the community and to arouse the desire to take a responsible attitude regarding natural resource management. This experimental teaching module…

This curriculum guide is designed for educators who want to teach youths aged 5-18 about the interactions among energy, economics, and the environment. This guide contains five chapters of activities, each focusing on a different topic related to this interaction as well as several sections that guide session leaders in helping youth along the…

These item specifications were developed as a part of the Arkansas "Minimum Performance Testing Program" (MPT). There is one item specification for each instructional objective included in the MPT. The purpose of an item specification is to provide an overview of the general content and format of test items used to measure an…

These item specifications were developed as a part of the Arkansas "Minimum Performance Testing Program" (MPT). There is one item specification for each instructional objective included in the MPT. The purpose of an item specification is to provide an overview of the general content and format of test items used to measure an…

Reducing school energy costs can increase the discretionary dollars available in the school budget. The first part of this guide introduces the key elements of an effective energy management program. Through an evaluation of nearly 150 California school district programs and a detailed review of 22 exemplary programs, the 12 following elements…

This guide was prepared for a program designed to provide non-academic disaffected students as well as college-bound high school students with a meaningful and positive educational experience in science in order to bridge the gap between science and the citizen in a technological world. The program, designed as a full year elective course,…

This document contains detailed curriculum outlines and teacher support materials for the General Curriculum Options (GCO) stream of the Certificates of General Education (CGE) for Adults in Victoria, Australia. The following topics are discussed in the introduction: purpose of the guide, details of GCO subject areas, accreditation framework and…