Start a Local Energy4me Program!

Author: Darci Ramirez; Published: Jan 25, 2011; Category: Classroom materials, Classroom presentations, Education outreach, Energy Education, Energy sources, Engineering Careers, SPE members, Uncategorized, Volunteering; Tags: Careers, Children, Education, Energy, Energy4me, Engineering, Engineering Careers, School, SPE, Speaker, Student, Teacher, Volunteer; Comments: Be the first

If you’re an SPE member, starting an Energy4me program for your section could be a great way to connect with young people and get the word out about important energy topics. You may even inspire a talented future engineer!

Energy4me makes it easy. Start by gauging your section’s energy education interests. You can do this by conducting member interest surveys through your section newsletter or by brainstorming with section subcommittees. Are your section’s members more interested in working “behind the scenes” or interacting face to face with students? Would they rather have an energy program that is active throughout the year, or one that hosts one or two large annual events?

Once you’ve determined your section’s interests, you can put Energy4me’s resources to work. We offer tips on how to make fantastic classroom presentations, information on how to start a scholarship program, and free handouts that you can give to students (career brochures, bookmarks and more). You can even purchase Energy4me Kits, which are full of educational materials, for local teachers, and if you give a classroom presentation, we’ll donate a copy of our colorful “Oil and Natural Gas” book to the classroom in your name.

Energy4me makes it easy for SPE sections to make a difference in students’ lives! 

Energy4me’s educational materials are also available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish.

Happy new year from Energy4me!

Author: Darci Ramirez; Published: Jan 5, 2011; Category: Classroom materials, Classroom presentations, Education outreach, Energy, Energy Education; Tags: Children, Classroom Instruction, Education, Energy, energy challenges, Energy4me, School, SPE, Student, Teacher, Volunteer; Comments: Be the first

Thank you for supporting SPE’s Energy4me program during 2010! We appreciate the time and dedication of volunteers like you who have contributed to the success of our program.

We hope you’ve had a chance to visit the new energy4me.org website for ready-to-go classroom presentation activities, customizable PowerPoints, technical videos, and other educational resources. We’re excited to now offer many of our materials in Arabic, Chinese, French, Italian, Russian, and Spanish.

Be sure to check our blog often to participate in discussions on current energy education topics. Or contact us to be a guest blogger on our website. We would love to share your expertise with others as well as how you may have energized a classroom in your community!

We welcome your feedback on any of our materials. Let us know how we are doing at energyed@spe.org.

France: A Nuclear Success Story

Author: Darci Ramirez; Published: Dec 21, 2010; Category: Energy, Energy Conservation, Energy Education, Energy sources, Environment, Uncategorized; Tags: Education, Energy, energy challenges, science, Technology; Comments: Be the first

Nuclear power has provided electricity around the world for decades, but it has been especially successful in countries like France, where other energy sources are scarce. In fact, when asked why the country has so much nuclear power, the French have been known to answer: “No oil, no gas, no coal, no choice.” France depends on nuclear power for 79% of its electricity generation and has more than 50 nuclear power plants. In comparison, nuclear provides less than 20% of the United States’ power.

So what makes nuclear more popular in France than in other countries? In a report for the Public Broadcasting Service’s news program Frontline, French ministry official Claude Mandil said the country is more accepting of nuclear power for three reasons:

1. They are independent and don’t want to rely on foreign energy sources.
2. They favor taking on large projects and hold scientists and engineers in higher esteem than many other countries do.
3. The French government has carefully marketed nuclear energy, its benefits and risks, and encourages people to tour facilities to learn more about them.

According to surveys, the French have the same safety concerns about nuclear power as Americans –accidents, negative health effects from radiation and more. But they also recognize that their lives would be more difficult without nuclear power. Plus, the country has a very good safety record, with just one serious accident in 1992 in which three untrained workers were contaminated and injured. — three power plant executives were jailed for not taking proper safety precautions.; This safety record also helps people feel more at ease with the country’s reactors.

Many countries have plans for new nuclear power plants in the future, including Egypt, Indonesia and Kazakhstan, all countries that have never used nuclear power before – so time will tell whether these countries welcome it with France’s enthusiasm!

See Energy4me’s energy source comparison to see how nuclear stacks up with other fuel sources.

Engineers or Super Heroes!

Author: Darci Ramirez; Published: Nov 11, 2010; Category: Energy, Energy Conservation, Energy Education, Energy sources, Engineering Careers, Environment, Renewable energy, Technology, Volunteering; Tags: Energy Conservation, Engineering, Engineering Careers, Environment, sustainability, Technology, Volunteer; Comments: Be the first

Engineers create plenty of high-tech gadgets, buildings and mechanisms that make life easier for people around the world. But many engineers also put their skills and training to good use by helping people in developing countries have access to electricity, clean water and other human necessities.

The organization Engineers Without Borders (EWB), which has over 250 chapters and 12,000 members in the US, works on hundreds of projects in countries including Kenya, India and Guatemala. These dedicated engineers – both professionals and students – aim to make a more stable and prosperous world by helping people in need.

EWB’s projects are born from proposals that come directly from the communities, which ensure that the residents’ needs will be met. Engineers travel to the community, assess what the people need and want and then, during subsequent visits, implement a plan to make the community’s goals a reality! Projects have ranged from building a health clinic in Peru to restoring an ancient dam and irrigation system in Cambodia. EWB provides training for local residents so they can maintain and operate the new buildings or systems, and a financial plan is put in place to make sure the project is economically viable for the future.

The recent rescue of coal miners in Chile also highlighted the importance of engineers. The rescue efforts used technologies developed and perfected in the oil industry, including drilling equipment and gyro guidance instruments to get to the target. Several members of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, the sponsor of Energy4me, participated in the rescue.  This event shows how engineers can make a world of difference!

Think you might be a future engineer? Check out Energy4me’s careers section to find out if engineering is for you!

Solar Power in Your Everyday Life

Author: Darci Ramirez; Published: Nov 5, 2010; Category: Energy, Energy Conservation, Energy Education, Energy sources, Environment, Renewable energy, Technology, Uncategorized; Tags: Children, Earth science, Education, Energy, Energy Conservation, Environment, Renewable, sustainability, Technology; Comments: Be the first

You might use solar power more often than you think. It’s used in all kinds of everyday objects like calculators, cell phones and more!

Many calculators have small solar panels across the top that provide power, sometimes in combination with a battery. These solar panels work just like solar panels you may see on the roof of a house or office building, collecting the sun’s energy and storing it for when you need it. The solar panels must be recharged (by being exposed to sunlight) regularly in order for the calculator to work.

Solar power is used for cell phones, too. It can be especially useful in developing countries where electricity is not always available. For example, in Kenya, mobile phone company Safaricom Ltd. released a phone in mid-2009 that charges itself using the sun’s rays, even on cloudy days. About 17 million Kenyans use cell phones, but only about 1.3 million of the country’s residents have access to electricity to charge their phones. Some people use generators powered by bicycles to charge their phones; others pay businesses a fee to charge their phones for them.1 Solar-powered technology could be a huge help for many people. Solar phones are also being introduced in India, Latin America and other spots around the world.

Today, solar vehicles are primarily demonstration vehicles and engineering exercises, or in solar car races such as the World Solar Challenge and the North American Solar Challenge. These are electric vehicles powered by solar electricity. One day, solar power may be used more in cars as technology progresses, especially in hybrid models.

Learn more about solar energy.

1. “Solar Cell Phones Take Off in Developing Nations,” Moni Basu and Faith Karimi, CNN.com, 21 Aug., 2009; http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/08/21/solar.cellphone/index.html