Welcome to MidAmerican Energy Company's e-SMARTnews—a newsletter designed for teachers and students to learn more about energy and how to use it responsibly. e-SMARTnews includes stories, facts, activities and ways that you and your students can make a difference in the community. We hope that you enjoy this issue and share it with your class and your colleagues. And, for more energy education resources, visit www.midamericanenergy.com/esmart.

Did you know the annual energy bill to run America’s primary and secondary schools is a staggering $6 billion? That’s more than what’s spent on textbooks and computers combined.

Students and teachers can do a lot to save energy in their schools. By being more energy efficient, schools can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save money from improved energy performance. The savings can be used for projects that improve the learning environment, like building improvements and new textbooks.

Below are some tips you can implement in your classrooms to save energy:

• Create “Save Energy” signs to hang near classroom light switches as a reminder to turn the lights off when not in use.
• Pick an energy monitor to make sure lights and computers are turned off before recess, lunch and after school.
• Make sure books or furniture don’t block the vents in your classroom.
• Encourage students to keep doors and windows closed when heat or air conditioning is running.
• Remind students to turn off the water in the bathroom when they are finished using it.
• Ask students to report water leaks to you or the custodian.

When students learn to be more energy efficient at school, they can bring what they’ve learned home. Ask your students to use our energy-saving tips and the Home Energy Inspection to identify and implement more energy-saving behaviors.

It’s that time of year again—when temperatures fall and thermostats rise. The average American home uses more energy on heating than anything else. In fact, it makes up 31 percent of the energy used in a home.

Draft Detectives
Teach your students to be draft detectives by searching out areas where heat escapes their home. Hands are a perfect tool for identifying drafts. Ask students to use their hands to feel for breezes. Or, to detect even more subtle breezes, students can tape a tissue to a ruler (like a flag) and hold it in front of conspicuous areas.

• Windows: Do you feel air coming in through edges of the window and window frame? If so, hang heavy curtains or a blanket over the windows. You can also place towels in window sills to keep the cold air from coming in.
• Doors: Use your hand or tissue to inspect all edges of the door. Hang a blanket or sheet over problematic doors, and if there are large gaps under the door, place a towel underneath in addition to hanging the blanket.
• Wall Plugs: Run your hand or hold a tissue in front of all wall plugs in your home. If you find drafts, ask your parents to buy draft stoppers for the plugs and ask if you can help install them.
• Attics: Heat rises and can easily escape through the attic. Ask your parents to check for cool air coming in through attic stairs. Insulation should be added to prevent additional heat loss through the ceiling.

As an exercise, explore windows, doors, wall plugs and other areas around the classroom or school. Additionally, have your students explore areas around their house and document and report their findings. Discuss what can be done to fix problem areas and improve energy use.

When you consider the entire history of human beings, the use of electricity is fairly new, yet it has accounted for so many dramatic changes in our lives. Benjamin Franklin's research in the mid-1700s led the way for inventions and applications that were amazing in their times.

The first electric motor was invented by Michael Faraday in 1821. Thomas Edison developed the first electric light bulb in 1879. And it wasn't until 1954 that color television was available in American homes.

What would Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Edison think of all the modern electric conveniences we have today? Could they have imagined that one day you would be able to call someone, send a message or watch a movie on a portable phone that fits in your pocket? Or that you could store and listen to thousands of songs on a music player the size of a playing card? Or cool an entire house with a flick of a switch?

Think about what life would be like without electricity. No TV, radio, portable phones, MP3 players, electric stoves and refrigerators, air conditioners or computers. Can you think of any other things that run on electricity and are really important to us?

Be Smart about Using Electricity
Because engineers, scientists and inventors are developing new uses for electricity every day, our electric usage is increasing all the time. For this reason, it's a good idea to always think about ways to save electricity. You don't have to stop using electric devices, just be thoughtful about it.

Turn off lights, televisions and music players if you're not using them. Make sure dishwashers, clothes washers and dryers are full when you run them. Use your smartphone or cell phone only when you really need to (you use electricity in charging it).

There are also products, like light emitting diodes (LEDs) and compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), that use less electricity. They use only a small fraction of the electricity of incandescent light bulbs.

One more thing to remember: At most power plants, it takes fuel—oil, gas and coal—to produce electricity. So when you're saving electricity, you're helping to burn less fuel. That's good for the environment.

We should all enjoy and appreciate the convenience that electricity has brought to our everyday life, but we should be mindful in its use so that it's available for everyone today and tomorrow.