Watch as communities around the world turn the lights on for the very first time (May 26, 2020)
In a recent blog post, we shared with you an exciting way to learn about energy from home. Namely, we shared a link to the award-winning documentary Switch, along with questions to guide student learning and resources for teachers to use the film in their lessons. Switch shares the journey of Professor Tinker going around the world to learn about energy. He visits Iceland, Canada, France, Denmark and different power plants in the United States and discovers ways we can transition to a sustainable energy future.
Yet, his journey didn’t end there. He continued his travels to developing countries in South America, Africa and Southeast Asia so he could find out more about energy access in the developing world in the sequel Switch On.
In the newest documentary from Switch Energy Alliance, different energy trends in various developing countries are explored in order to see how an inclusive sustainable energy future could look like. The film starts out in a remote village in the Sierra Nevada mountains in northern Colombia. The village is home to the indigenous Arhuaco people who have no access to electricity, pipelines and other modern amenities. The village elders are worried about the prosperity of their coffee trade and about their dwindling community population, so they explore how they can access electricity with the help of Professor Tinker.
On the other side of the globe in Vietnam, the coal industry is booming. As coal power plants offer stable jobs and provide reliable electricity for cities and remote villages, the country is planning massive expansion of their electrification. Yet, the decision-makers are weighing the costs alongside the benefits: What about air pollution and health problems that arise from mining and burning coal? What about increasing carbon emissions and climate change?
Watch these various stories unfold in the documentary Switch On.
Switch Energy Alliance has made it simple for teachers to use this film in their lessons through free, virtual screening rooms. You can find out more about streaming the film on their website or directly get in touch with their team: screening@switchon.org
We hope you enjoy the film!