Johniac: Musings of a 70-Something Geek: SmartPowerEd

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

SmartPowerEd

Shreya and Daniela started SmartPowerEd in Nov. ’09 to empower students to take on smart energy projects at their high schools. They started from nothing, were inspired by a lot of mentors, and learned as they went along. Learn a bit about their journey and how they went from watching a presentation to giving presentations!

Who started SmartPowerEd? When and why?

Shreya Indukuri & Daniela Lapidous, class of 2012 at the Harker Upper School in San Jose, CA.
March ’09: an incredible climate change presentation by the Alliance for Climate Education (ACE) inspires Daniela & Shreya to apply for a grant for green projects at Harker. They are now also members of the ACE Youth Advisory Board.
June ’09: they won $5,500 to work on installing smart meters, an organic garden, and window insulating film at Harker, and to try to inspire the student body to attack climate change head-on!
October ’09: Shreya & Daniela were invited to the Governor’s Global Climate Summit hosted by Governor Schwarzenegger, as two of 25 youth climate leaders, where they presented their project to the supportive governors of CA, Washington, and Oregon. Their work was also documented as part of the U.S. portion of a UNICEF documentary on youth activism against climate change.
November ’09: Smart meters were installed at Harker. The success of the project was realized. SmartPowerEd was founded.

Mentored by Alexis Ringwald.
- Co-founder of Valence Energy and IYCN
- Fulbright Scholar; researched renewable energy finance and climate change at The Energy Resource Institute in India
- Co-organized the Climate Solutions Road Tour to travel 2,400 miles across India in solar electric cars to document the best solutions to climate change, even ending up on MTV India!
- Worked at the German Parliament with the Environment Committee and at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris
- Holds a dual B.A. and Master of Environmental Management from Yale University.

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What is SmartPowerEd?
We are a network of schools implementing smart energy solutions to reduce energy costs and address climate change.

What is climate change?
Climate change has been accepted by top scientists as a phenomenon that is caused by human action and is warming the Earth over time. As the Earth warms, ecosystems change and are harmed. Sea levels rise. The environment is irreversibly damaged. To read more about what climate change is, click here. A great place to read about the excessive carbon in the atmosphere is at 350. Keep up with green news at Huffington Post, one of many online news sources with green sections. 10 quick facts on American energy use. Know it, own it, fight it!

What is smart energy?
Read and learn.

Why is this movement for smart energy important?
We are the young generation of America, and climate change will affect be our future. Solutions exist and we have the opportunity to implement them now.

The more schools join the SmartPowerEd network, the more information can be shared and the more energy savings can be made. In addition to climate change, when you save money on energy costs of school buildings, more money can go toward education itself.