With high unemployment and structural changes to industry, workforce development in the United States is a growing concern. Many semiskilled workers lack knowledge, skills, and abilities to be competitive for reemployment to green jobs. Nebraska's syNErgy research grant was introduced to address the training needs of unemployed and underemployed…

Colleges and universities have been among the leaders nationwide in adopting green initiatives, partly due to their demographics, but also because they are facing their own budget pressures. Virtualization has become the poster child of many schools' efforts, because it provides significant bang for the buck. However, more and more higher…

The Afterschool Alliance and MetLife Foundation are proud to celebrate a fifth round of the MetLife Foundation Afterschool Innovator Awards. For the past five years, we have collaborated to highlight the work of quality afterschool programs that support children, families and communities across the nation. This compendium is a compilation of four…

A new building has been engineered by its engineer-owner tenants with provisions for two gas-oil hot water generators and for an electric boiler, so that operating personnel could switch to whatever fuel is available. (Author/MLF)

Ways in which colleges can conserve energy are discussed. Reduction in the use of heat and light can be accomplished by taking several steps, such as reducing the amount of fresh air introduced into heating systems, turning off ventilating fans at night, cutting temperatures back during vacation periods and breaks, lowering the temperature of the…

As the first step in a district energy conservation program, the Blair (Nebraska) Community School District installed a load programmer in 1980 to control power usage in the 144,000 square foot junior-senior high school. The cost of the load programmer was less that $8,500, including installation, and during the initial year of operation, the…

The Nebraska Home Economics Energy Management Guide is composed of 25 individual lessons in 5 units plus a resource section. The introductory unit discusses basic principles in decision-making, the historical development of energy sources and use, and the rationale for energy management. The next four units focus on energy management in housing,…

Nebraska school districts are advised that they need to prepare for a potential future shortfall in energy, particularly in liquid fuels. This document was written as a guide for planning and policy development concerning energy emergencies in the schools. Energy emergencies are divided into three categories. A phase 1 emergency would be a…

This leader's guide is designed for units 2 and 3 of the Nebraska 4-H Energy Project. The goals of the project are to: (1) help young people understand energy problems related to life styles; (2) use energy resources carefully; (3) guide members in choosing their own energy alternatives; and (4) to enjoy together the challenges and creativity of…

This activity and record book is designed for unit 1 (ages 9-11) of the Nebraska 4-H Energy Project. In this project, members are required to: (1) use energy wisely by closing doors and turning off lights; (2) inspecting homes for energy use at least once; (3) judging the best use of lighting in a home; (4) sharing ideas about energy use in a…

This activity and record book is designed for unit 2 (ages 12-14) of the Nebraska 4-H Energy Project. Aims, energy attitudes to be developed, and instructions are provided for each activity. Activities include: (1) a word search of energy-related words (with definitions provided); (2) determining fuel waste; (3) reading electric/gas meters and…

This guide is designed for leaders of the Nebraska 4-H Energy Project. The goals of the project are to: (1) help young people understand energy problems related to life styles; (2) use energy resources carefully; (3) guide members in choosing their own energy alternatives; and (4) enjoy together the challenges and creativity of finding energy…

Recommended for grades 9-12 science and/or social studies classes, this 13-14 day unit is designed to allow students to explore coal and its properties, examining the nature of coal, where it is found, materials made from coal, and the role of coal in the past and its promise for the future. The unit consists of 11 activities with rationale,…

Recommended for grades 7-9 science and/or social studies classes, this 8-10 day unit provides students with experiences in conserving energy through small conservation activities and practices. The unit consists of 11 activities with rationale, objectives, and instructional strategies provided for each activity. Students are given information on…

To determine the success of Nebraska's 3-year effort in energy education, an evaluation was conducted to solicit data concerning the effectiveness of on-going energy curricula using teacher responses. These curricula include "Energy Conservation Activity Packets" (ECAP) for elementary programs and "Basic Teaching Units on…