Abstract:

Probably the biggest threat our planet faces today is climate change, which is mainly caused by careless and excessive energy consumption. We need to change our values and our habits and this type of change requires starting at the very beginning: at school. Schools are good test environments to implement efficient and sustainable energy systems, and there is an important added advantage: the whole school community can take advantage of the educational potential of a sustainable energy project. There is an increasing concern throughout world about the need to create a new energy culture drawing from different experiences in different countries, that will allow us to reach a balance between social welfare and preservation of nature resources.
In this paper the energy consumption problem is outlined, and some suggestions are given about how to incorporate sustainable energy consumption in the curriculum of our schools. This suggestions include the development of an energy plan for the school, setting up a renewable energy system which can also be used for teaching purposes, or the design of activities for students to learn about responsible energy consumption.

Keywords:

Sustainability in education, responsible energy consumption.