To stay a top competitor in today’s global economy, we need to make sure that students who aspire to be the next generation of America’s scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs can get the hands-on experience and training they need to lead our industries and businesses.

The Energy Department takes an active role in cultivating the leaders of tomorrow in the field of clean energy. This role has probably never been more important as more and more people understand the need to expand our use of renewable energy and energy efficiency to tackle the challenges we face as a global community.

The Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy supports a number of workforce development and training programs that you might have heard of already, and others that might be new to you. Here’s a list of a few of the ones I’ve been following recently:

• The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon challenges 20 teams from colleges and universities across the United States and from around the world to build solar-powered, highly energy-efficient homes that combine affordability, consumer appeal and design excellence. Energy Secretary Steven Chu recently announced the 20 collegiate teams selected to compete in 2013 and unveiled the competition’s location, the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, California.
• EcoCAR 2: Plugging in to the Future is a unique competition that helps train students and engineers to become the next generation of workers the U.S. needs to lead the global auto industry.
• America's Home Energy Education Challenge helps educate students about the benefits of energy efficiency, motivates them to play an active role in how their families use energy, and inspires young people to pursue studies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
• Using the National Training and Education Resource, DOE is partnering with the Manufacturing Institute, an affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers, the Ford Partnership for Advanced Studies, and Macomb Community College to explore opportunities to provide students with highly interactive and engaging materials in a variety of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) areas, as well as virtual technician training.
• The National University Clean Energy Business Challenge supports six regional competitions that will inspire, mentor, and train students from across the country to develop successful business plans to create a new generation of American clean energy companies.
• The Industrial Assessment Centers enable promising engineering students around the country to conduct energy assessments in a broad range of manufacturing facilities, providing skills and experience that prepares them to compete in today's economy while helping local companies and factories to reduce energy waste, save money, and become more economically competitive.
• The Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Postdoctoral Research Awards offer recent PhD recipients the opportunity to conduct applied research at universities, national laboratories, and other research facilities.
• Wind for Schools helps students gain not only practical knowledge in wind turbine technologies, but also get hands-on experience installing turbines, and kick-starts careers for U.S. students entering science and engineering fields.
• The National Geothermal Student Competition is an intercollegiate competition that challenges students to advance their understanding of geothermal energy's potential and provides students with opportunities to gain important industry knowledge, skills and experience.
• The Hydrogen Student Design Contest challenges university students to design hydrogen energy applications for real-world use and showcases the talents of students in many disciplines, including engineering, architecture, marketing, and entrepreneurship.

All of these efforts open opportunities for the students of today to become the leaders of tomorrow. Pass along these ideas to others, and help a young mind prepare for an exciting career in clean energy.

Eric Barendsen is a communications specialist and former Presidential Management Fellow with EERE's Communications and Outreach office in Washington, D.C.

For many of us, particularly those living east of the Mississippi river, President’s Day weekend is not just a time to honor the birthday of our country’s founding father, it’s also the final escape from dreadfully cold and snowy days. However, those of us with pestering consumerist habits to feed always ensure our return to the metropolis by Monday, as the day is quickly taking on a new reputation: Second best shopping day of the year, after Black Friday.

By now you’re asking, “What does any of this have to do with energy savings?” Well, we’ve talked before about Black Friday savings on ENERGY STAR® appliances, and given tips for finding the best deals on energy efficient products that will also save you in overall energy costs. Now that the runner up of best shopping days in the year is upon us, I’d like to remind you about the benefit of purchasing ENERGY STAR products, especially if they are on sale!

A quick internet search will provide you a list of retailers who are cutting down their prices on ENERGY STAR products this President’s day, many of them also providing buy-back programs for old appliances and even offering appliance rebates! In some cases, the program will send someone to your home to pick up that old fridge or washing machine and pay you for it!

The goals of ENERGY STAR, a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), are to help us all save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices. Purchasing these appliances will extend your savings year-round increasing your efficiency and decreasing your carbon footprint. Household products with the ENERGY STAR label meet strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the EPA and DOE.

Find out much your current refrigerator or other appliance is currently costing you in energy, and make a decision to take advantage of the anniversary of our esteemed first President’s birth – ok, the President’s Day sales – and start (or hopefully, continue) your journey toward energy efficiency in the home!

Visit the ENERGY STAR website for more information on the program and an up-to-date list of energy efficient home appliances and other products.

Kristin Swineford supports DOE's Weatherization & Intergovernmental Program in Communications & Outreach.

Perhaps you took the bus to dinner instead of driving, kept the television off for the night, or used candles instead of lights? Maybe you bought your sweetheart an ENERGY STAR® rated computer, television, or appliance?

Or maybe you tried tracking your fuel economy using the fueleconomy.gov Your MPG mobile tool as Amanda recommended in Tuesday's post? Tell us what you did to save energy this Valentine's day!

Each week, you have the chance to share your thoughts on a question about energy efficiency or renewable energy for consumers. Please comment with your answers, and also feel free to respond to other comments.

What’s more romantic this Valentine’s Day than taking a drive with your sweetheart? In fact, for most people this holiday, the plans will include some kind of travel, to a restaurant, show, or weekend getaway. Anytime spent on the road can be a great time to track your vehicle’s fuel economy, and fueleconomy.gov has a tool to help you do just that!

Once you enter the Your MPG tool and select the make and model of your vehicle, you’ll choose a way to keep track of your fill-ups at the pump, recording your odometer and/or the amount of fuel you put in your vehicle. The tool then calculates your gallons per mile and saves this information in your account; you can log back in anytime to update and monitor your vehicle’s fuel economy.

A new feature allows you to enter your driving style, whether you’re the type who drives cautiously to achieve the best fuel economy, or you accelerate quickly and pass whenever possible. And the best part about this tool? It’s available on your mobile device, so you can record your mileage as you go.

You can even share your miles per gallon calculations with others who drive similar vehicles, and what is more in the spirit of Valentine’s Day than sharing?

See more fuel efficiency tips on Energy Savers.

Amanda McAlpin works for New West Technologies supporting the Vehicle Technologies Program at the U.S. Department of Energy.

According to the Nielsen Company, about 54% of homes in the U.S. had three or more television sets in 2009. I hate to admit it, but I’m average – I have three. However, any burglar would have laughed himself silly at the “electronics” in my house. Last fall I had four VERY old CRT TVs. They all worked, but needed an analog-to-digital converter box. I do hate to get rid of something that still works, and you can’t even give those away any more. I finally recycled the (at least) 30-yr-old 13” TV at NREL’s responsible electronics recycling day in December – it hadn’t been used in years anyway. A few days after the recycling event (of course), the main TV died (a 26” one purchased in 1994 – ONLY 17 years old). For the last few years, for some reason when the power to the set went out, the power cable would quit working. I’d buy a new $14 cable, and the TV would start working again – until the next time the power to the set was disconnected. When I went away for Thanksgiving last fall, I made it a point NOT to turn off the surge protector for the main TV—the few cents it would cost to operate while I was away was lots cheaper than a new power cable—but it quit working shortly after I got home, and this time the “quick fix” didn’t work.

One more down, ready for the next responsible electronics recycling day in April, leaving me with an (unknown age, but very old) 19” set with one connector for the antenna (that’s all – no hookups for the DVD player or games or anything else) gathering dust in the guest room, and a 24-year-old 20” TV that I also can’t hook anything except an antenna to and that the sound is going out on—a recent development—so it’s definitely a candidate for replacement and recycling.

So it’s finally (past) time for a new TV. In starting my research, a leading consumer reporting magazine lists (among other statistics) the annual cost of electricity various models/brands of TVs use; the range is about $13–$18 per year for a 32” flat screen TV. Hmm. Time to get out the power meter and see what the old TVs are using. I put the power meter on the 19” and left it attached for a week. It used a little over $0.26 for the week—almost $14 a year—or at the lower end of the new flat screens. But it doesn’t DO anything other than play current, over-the-air TV, and it does need the converter box, which I didn’t meter.

Super Bowl week! Not that I’m a football fan, but I am a fan of the sales. I bought not one, but two new TVs – ENERGY STAR® models, of course. In reading the product specs, the smaller one should cost about $5.45 for electricity for a year, or about 60% less than my oldest TV, and the bigger one should cost about $9 a year, a 36% savings, for a combined energy use of just slightly over what ONE old TV used. An added benefit is that they are both digital TVs and I no longer need converter boxes – more energy saved. And they are LIGHT! The new 22” flat screen only weighs 9 pounds, and the new 32” only weighs 22 pounds! Guess I’ll even save energy toting them up the stairs too.

Stephanie Price is a communicator at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, which assists EERE in providing technical content for many of its websites.