Learning Resources
These educational resources extend the mission of Resourcefulness by helping students explore the vital connection between energy and water, and by showing how conservation and sustainability shape our daily lives. These materials include standards-aligned lessons, classroom activities, and discussion guides that strengthen science and environmental literacy. Together, they encourage students to think critically about energy use and water conservation while inspiring meaningful, real-world action.
Additional videos and lessons available through PBS and PBS LearningMedia provide flexible options for K–12 teachers to integrate sustainability topics into their classrooms and prepare students to become thoughtful stewards of our shared resources.
Thirst For Power
Thirst for Power is a one-hour documentary, based on Dr. Michael E. Webber’s 2016 book Thirst for Power: Energy, Water, and Human Survival. It explores the complex interdependence between water and energy systems – known as the energy–water nexus – and highlights both the historical context and modern vulnerabilities in how we rely on these critical resources.
This film transcends a traditional documentary. It’s also a learning tool that:
- Grounds the energy-water nexus in rich historical and modern examples.
- Makes complex systems-thinking accessible and engaging.
- Showcases various careers across the vast energy and water industry.
Thirst for Power on PBS LearningMedia offers a curated set of materials designed for educators and learners to explore the complex linkage between water and energy. These materials, ranging from engaging videos to standards-aligned classroom lessons, offer a variety of entry points for learners to grasp the energy–water nexus in historical and contemporary contexts.
Power Trip: The Story of Energy
The story of how societies rise and fall can be told by tracing the story of energy. Energy is the secret underlying force that drives the systems of our modern world, but is often invisible to us, hidden right in front of our eyes. Power Trip: The Story of Energy explores humanity’s most important resource by revealing the energy embedded in our water, food, wealth, cities, transportation and war.
Power Trip explores how energy has transformed societies of the past and offers wisdom for today’s looming energy crisis. As in the past, each new energy innovation comes with trade-offs. Energy advances always come with costs, some of which won’t be seen until centuries later. Energy initiatives need to be tailored to individual societies. We must look for long-term solutions. Our current energy crisis is real, but it is solvable. We have the power.
Power Trip: The Story of Energy on PBS LearningMedia is an educational video collection based on the PBS series that explores how energy drives civilization, from transportation and cities to global trade and popular culture. These resources provide teachers and students with engaging clips, discussion prompts, and classroom-ready materials that make complex energy concepts accessible and relevant to real-world challenges.
Minecraft Education: Renewable Energy
Bring renewable energy to life with Minecraft Education. In this interactive lesson, students design and build sustainable homes across different biomes – experimenting with how solar, wind, and other clean technologies work in diverse environments. Developed in partnership with Itron, Inc., the Renewable Energy world is a dynamic way to merge STEM concepts with problem-solving, creativity, and real-world applications.