An Alternative Energy Education Method
The most practical way of educating the younger generation about renewable energy production until this writer has ever witnessed could be the use with the PicoTurbine Company's kits, books, and projects. The PicoTurbine Company produces these things for the purpose of advancing the reason for renewable (alternative) energy and getting young people to look into the long run and see how the environment that's being seeded now will be the one they're going to inherit then. As the late, great Gerry Ford said, “Things tend to be like they are now than they have have you ever been before.” If we are to change the future world for the better, that starts right here and now with the advent of “green” energy systems.
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| An Alternative Energy Education Method |
One from the core concepts of PicoTurbine can be stated: Tell me, and I will forget. Show me, and I might remember a lot of it. Involve me, and I will master it. Based on this old tried and true adage, the kits how the company produces come with activity tips to get the young people into hands-on learning situations. One suggestion in the company is to demonstrate how heat may be produced by wind energy (the company's specialty) through utilizing a “picture wire” for the heating element. PicoTurbine has found that people typically think about wind energy to “cold” energy, and they are pleasantly surprised to determine how wind can be used for generating heat in your home. Another project suggestion the company offers is always to have different groups split off inside the classroom then compare their respective wind turbines they may have built. They can see which ones produce essentially the most or least electricity; those that start up with need with the least level of wind power; and then for very young children, those that have the most aesthetic appeal.
There is often a core curriculum that PicoTurbine has planned for teachers to instill in their pupils. Renewable, alternative causes of energy include solar, hydroelectric, geothermal, and biomass as well as wind-produced energy. When we use more alternative causes of energy, we decrease our nation's reliance upon foreign oil supplies, which regularly come from nations who cannot really be called our “allies”. Alternative energy is already becoming cost effective when set contrary to the fossil fuels that we are so just a few currently.
PicoTurbine indicates that wind farms and solar arrays already are letting their makers enjoy commercial success. In the last twenty years, the price of photovoltaic cells expressed when it comes to per-watt went from nearly $1000 to simply $4! It has been predicted by analysts that with the year 2015, the charge per watt should only be about $1 (in the current dollars). Students must also be taught in regards to the hidden cost of standard fuels: pollution and environmental degradation. Air pollution from burning classic fuels has been shown through studies to boost incidences of asthma attacks, heighten the results of allergies, and even cause cancer. Switching over to wash, green energy found inside the alternative forms would prevent pollution and help bolster the environment.
