Overview
The Secret Lives of Energy site is devoted to the intelligent, efficient, and environmental friendly way of utilizing our energy resources. Energy is considered as almost being alive, from its birth at the creation of the universe, in its evolution as it constantly changes from one type into another type, and finally as it ages and loses its ability to be used efficiently.

The site is broken down into three sections as follows.

* The Energy Story
This section contains content material on the definition of energy, the many types of energy that exist in nature, energy's ability to change from one type into another, and how we use these energy changes to generate the types of energy that we need. There are also a number of exercises and games mixed in.

* The Energy Problem
In this section, the content material outlines the difficulties involved in providing all of the energy that our civilization requires. Not only are the supplies of energy finite as our energy use continues to climb, but there are economic and political difficulties as well. And along with energy use comes pollution. The content leads up to a series of sometimes controversial questions that must be discussed so that the major decisions concerning our energy resources can be made in an intelligent fashion. These decisions will have serious impacts on how our civilization fares in the future.

* The Energy Solution
Many people, after discussing our energy problems, will conclude that we need to change our lifestyles or the way that we use and generate energy. This section provides ways to get started in accomplishing those goals.

Intended Audience
The three sections above were written for student use at the high school level and were designed to be "read" in a linear fashion. There are web links and exercises or labs included in those web links that are not required in order to continue along this linear sequence.

More information for teachers is included in the Teacher Guide section of the site..