In our daily lives, we use enormous amounts of energy: for transportation, for lighting, for manufacturing, for computing, and on and on. Energy is the one indispensable necessity that all living things must have; a commodity that comes in many forms. The average amount spent on energy per person in the U.S. is estimated to be over $2200/year and the costs are increasing. It is freely used in the form of sunlight by plants in photosynthesis to convert readily available carbon dioxide, CO2, and water into carbon containing molecules, carbohydrates, which essentially store the sun's energy. When animals eat food and digest these molecules, they "burn" them releasing the stored energy as heat and regenerating carbon dioxide. Animals directly use the chemical energy to stay warm, to think, to work.....to live. Since the late 1700s -early 1800s, with the dawn of the industrial revolution, various energy sources and processes have been discovered and developed to produce electricity, to power automobiles and machines that do work. The work that normally had been done by man and animals before then.

The result has been an ever growing dependency on and appetite for energy, which is causing an epic challenge for producers, regulators, consumers and the global environment. California's energy crisis is but one example of the energy problems facing the U.S. and the industrialized world. In the summer of 2001, there were rolling blackouts affecting the entire state. Final exams had to be rescheduled at several University of California campuses. Hospitals and fire stations had to have special dispensations to keep their power on. Demand during peak hours resulted in hundreds of hours of outages over the course of the summer. Retail customers had their electricity rates raised 50-100% or more.

Given this context, many important long-term, energy-related questions are confronting the world. Knowing some of the general facts and issues provides the background and context for Crystals for the Classroom, a student-teacher learning module that is aimed at embedding aspects of crystals, solution chemistry and scientific research into its pedagogies, lessons and activities.