Page 36 - Day of Action

7.1

Energy

Energy use is a worldwide concern. Living on the causes 60% of total global greenhouse gas emissions. fuel bills significantly while also reducing their CO2
earth today involves using a lot of energy. Lighting, Finding the balance between the need for economic emissions.
heating, electricity for appliances, industry, development and environmental protection is
agriculture, water treatment, transport, consumer a priority for most developed countries and an It’s also important to remember that energy is not
goods and waste - all use energy! Our modern increasing number of developing ones. Goal 7 of a topic to study in isolation. For example, there are
economy, infrastructure and way of life depend on it. the Sustainable Development Goals aims to ensure many links with other aspects of the environmental
access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern performance of schools, such as water consumption,
Our energy comes from transforming one form of energy for all. waste and recycling.
energy into another that is more useful to us. For
example, car engines convert the chemical energy Everyone, including schools, has an important role to The Eco-Schools objectives in this area are:
in petrol into heat energy, and then to kinetic energy play in finding more efficient ways to manage energy
that moves the car forward. This transformation and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. By investigating • to raise awareness of the importance of
produces waste. The waste produced from the energy topic, all members of a school can work monitoring energy consumption by regularly
transforming fossil fuels like petrol into useful energy together to increase awareness of energy issues and tracking the school’s use of gas, electricity or oil
includes the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2). change habits to improve the energy efficiency within • to make pupils aware of the link between
the school and at home. energy supply, energy use and the potential for
Energy use increases with the state of a country’s environmental damage
economic development. As poorer countries become Traditionally, energy has been studied under the • to make pupils aware of the link between energy
more developed, their need for energy increases. curriculum, but management of school energy use use and financial cost
In countries with very large populations, such as left to the site managers and visiting engineers. • to establish partnerships with energy providers,
India and China, the enormous increase in energy However, separating these functions is no longer helping to put into place effective energy-saving
production has severe implications for climate an option. Educational, environmental and financial measures
change, particularly if the new energy requirement pressures are highlighting the importance of having a • to show that simple low-or no-cost measures to
is met mainly by fossil fuels. Worldwide, over 80% of single whole school policy for energy. conserve energy can be effective and bring about
energy used for heat, electricity and transport comes significant savings
from burning fossil fuels like petrol, coal and natural In a typical school, the main uses for energy are • to consider using alternative sources of energy
gas (The Pod EDF Energy). heating, lighting, cooking, hot water and electrical
appliances. Surveys show that through simple low- Complete the Energy section of the
According to the United Nations, energy generation cost and no-cost measures, schools can reduce their Environmental Review Let’s go