Energy is very important. It is something that kids need and use every day at home and at school. In fact, some form of energy is used just about anywhere that you can imagine! It is also something that adults talk, worry, and have concerns about. One of the things that they worry about is called energy conservation. When you hear the words “conserving” and “conservation,” it means to use less of something. If you are using less of something, then you are saving it: If you are conserving energy, that means you are saving it by using less of it. Energy conservation is just as important as energy itself. It is also something that kids can help with.

Saving energy is a big deal. It’s important for people, and it is important for the planet, too. Why is it important? To make energy, natural resources are used. Natural resources are things that are found in nature, such as water, natural gas, and oil. Many of the natural resources that are used for energy are called non-renewable. Non-renewable means that there is only a limited amount in the world. Once that limited amount is gone, there will be no more to replace it. Because using too much energy uses up natural resources, it is important to conserve it.

Another important reason to use less energy is pollution. When chemicals and other nasty things get into the air or the water, it is called pollution. Pollution can make people and animals sick and cause problems with plants. The use of certain resources, like gasoline in cars, helps spread pollution by releasing gases and chemicals. It also helps cause the earth to get warmer than it should. When this happens, it can make the weather change when it shouldn’t or create really bad rain, heat, or snow. This can cause problems with plants and animals, too. By using less energy, you’re creating less pollution.

Kids can do a lot to help conserve energy at home. Video games, watching television, and using other electronics is fun, but they use a lot of energy. Watch less TV and play games less by going outside to play more often. When you watch TV or play video games, turn them off when you are done. If there are lights on in empty rooms, turn them off, too. If you’re getting food from the refrigerator, know what you want and be as quick as you can. The longer the refrigerator door is open, the more energy it uses. If the air conditioner is on, close all of the doors and windows in the house. When they are open, they make the air conditioner work harder than it needs to. If it isn’t too hot, ask your parents to open the windows instead of using the air conditioner. Keep the windows and doors closed on cold days to keep the colder air outside and the warm air inside. Don’t just let hot water run in the sink – that uses a lot of energy, too!

Energy makes it possible to do a lot of things, including fun stuff. But it won’t last forever, and using it too much can be bad for plants, animals, and even people. Kids can do a lot to help conserve energy. When less energy is used, there will be more of it left for the future. Using less energy also helps keep the earth and everything in it healthier.

If you want to learn even more about conserving energy at home, click on any of the following links.

• Energy Star Kids: Pick an energy-saving activity on the Energy Star website for kids. On this page, kids can learn fun facts or the definition of global warming with a click of the mouse. Kids can also choose to learn how they can make changes to help the environment.
• Saving Energy: The California Energy Commission has great tips on how to save energy when at home. On this page, there is also information on how to save energy when not at home and how to recycle.
• Energy Kids – Saving Energy: The difference between energy conservation and energy efficiency is explained.
• Use Less Energy: Click this link for great advice on saving energy. On the page, there are more links to further information about the subject.
• Climate Kids – What Can We Do to Help?: The Climate Kids website is a NASA website. On this page, read about ways that kids can help protect the environment, reduce their carbon footprint by saving energy, and reduce their trash pile and water use.
• Lights Out the Energy Saving Game: By clicking on this link, kids are opening an online game about saving energy. Instructions on how to play are also found on this page.
• How You Can Save Energy: Find out how kids and their families can use less energy. This Tennessee Valley Authority article includes links to other websites about energy and energy conservation.
• Top Ten Rules for Saving Energy: Rules can make it easy for the whole family to save energy in the home. Click on this link to read ten helpful rules on saving household energy.
• Zoo America – Kids Conserve: Zoo America wants to teach kids how to help protect the environment. This page gives tips on saving energy, conserving water, and other advice, including recycling.
• Just for Kids – Conserving Energy: Lighting: Kids can learn about conserving energy by using lighting correctly. On this page, there are also additional links to energy conservation tips that involve appliances and carpooling, for example.
• Energy Saving Tips: Kids can get great tips on how to save energy while at home and while at school. Click on this link to read these easy-to-remember tips from the Ann Arbor Public Schools.
• What You Can Do – Energy Saving Tips for Kids: Click on this link to read a PDF about how kids can help the environment by saving energy. This page also talks about climate change, what it is, and why it’s serious.
• How Energy Efficient Are You?: This link opens up a fun quiz where kids can learn how well they save energy. The game also gives tips on how kids can save energy even more!
• Energy Experience – Save Energy: Click on this link for an interactive game that teaches what wastes energy and how to fix it. Play the game by clicking on items in the room that may be wasting energy.
• Energy Tips for Kids: On this page, kids can learn ways to conserve energy. The page reviews activities that kids can participate in other than watching television. Tips for the whole family and ways to save water are also on this page.
• Kids Korner – Energy Efficiency: Kids who click on this link will learn what it means to be energy-efficient. They’ll also learn about ways that they can be efficient every day.