The documentary Kilowatt Ours was made by Nashville's own Jeff Barrie. 

 

It's a film about the harmful effects of the coal mining industry and the mountaintop removal in areas of West Virginia. It focuses on our Southeastern region, but he has also paid tribute to nationwide issues in his film. At the beginning, there are options to view the regional format, the full-length format or the classroom version.  The class version is 30 minutes long and hits the highlights -- perfect for classroom viewing. 

 

His sister, Jennifer, also lives here in Nashville. She is the youth initiative director for the Kilowatt Ours project, and she manages school programs that educate kids about environmental sustainability. She even came to my environmental sociology class! She gave us a brief presentation, which consisted of tips on greening your home. I emailed her some questions before she came to our class, and she came prepared to answer every one. 

 

She explained about the importance of insulating your water heater because in winter, it can lose a lot of heat. She also described a simple system for insulating the water pipes. Her best prop was her electricity meter box, which had a compact fluorescent bulb and an incandescent bulb attached. Watching the meter readings for each bulb when the electric switch was turned on was fascinating -- the incandescent bulb took twice the amount of electricity to run. It was a great learning tool, as we could see the difference directly on the meter. 

 

Go here to get information on the documentary, including how to host a public viewing. I also know that Jennifer wants to train those willing to do more school presentations on environmental sustainability!