There is an urgent need to educate today’s America’s youth – the next generation of energy users, on energy & environmental stewardship. The National Society of Energy Scholar program offers a comprehensive and systematic course of study on the principles of energy, its relationship to our environment, principles of personal, family and community stewardship, and how they can enable responsible energy use and respect for environment resulting in increased energy productivity and reduced carbon foot print.
The program will empower students to learn practical and permanent ways to take ownership and responsibility for their own personal energy use and local environment. It will enhance a student’s personal awareness of responsible energy use, its benefits to their environment with strong reinforcement of their positive behavior. Upon successful graduation, the student would become a National Energy Scholar and help transform their communities, one home at a time.
Rising energy costs (for heating, cooling, lighting, and transportation) and rapid global warming are requiring American families to seek effective ways to curtail their energy wastage and help protect their environment. Regulators and policy makers at the national/local levels continue to debate a variety of alternatives including exploration of new sources of fossil fuels, renewable energy resources and aggressive conservation efforts using public transportation.
While some of the proposed short term solutions for consumers such as installation of solar panels or upgrading home appliances require high initial capital costs and often result in much longer payback periods, many of the longer term initiatives often require even higher upfront investments, complex regulatory changes and government subsidies.
Studies indicate that, (a) merely throwing expensive technology at consumers (at significant direct or indirect costs to the tax payers) does not necessarily result in desired outcomes when they fail to complement their behavior and lifestyles, (b) to be effective, successful energy conservation programs require more permanent behavioral changes through increased levels of awareness and positive reinforcement of good behavior, and (c) these changes of enhanced personal responsibility & a keen sense of stewardship at the individual, family & community level, must begin at a very young age – at the high school & college level – so the next generation of energy users would learn more responsible ways to use energy and protect their environment.
While fear and guilt are often used as the tools to create change in human behavior, the results are usually temporary, create confusion and anxiety among uninformed citizens. The primary objective of this program is to build courage and confidence in youg adults to educate their communities on the practical ways to change every day energy use habits, its impact on local environment and climate action – to result in a more permanent, intelligent and responsible choices that citizens can make for themselves. We would explore ways to kindle their passion for change, inspire creative intelligence and nurture their love for energy and environment.
Increasing awareness and encouraging energy stewardship at the personal, family & community levels is the quickest, most economical, and the cleanest way to bring about this change. Each of us MUST to do our share to make this objective successful. Our goal is to teach the next generation of eneryg users to “Walk the Talk”, versus simply “Talk the talk”!
