One of the core focuses of ENERGYminute has been the creation of multimedia content. To date, ENERGYminute has developed more than twenty ~4-minute videos, and more than twenty infographics, covering a range of topics in the energy industry including nuclear energy, future oil demand, emissions trading, and and the electric car. Our most recent videos have gained significant traction, with more than 75,000 views on our most recent videos, and increasing viewership. Our material is disseminated, along with other relevant Canadian and global news on energy, technology, and environment, in a weekly newsletter.
ENERGYminute has also done public speaking events including hosting an alternative energy room at the Geoscience Convention and leading a discussion following the showing of an environmental film at the Justice Film Festival.
ENERGYminute has three pillars: multimedia platform, K-12 inquiry-based learning materials and an interactive website.
Multimedia platform: Proprietary videos and infographics have previously been the core of our organization. Videos, which typically run 3-4 minutes in length, look at individual topics within energy (ex. future oil demand, electric vehicle government policies, individual carbon footprints, nuclear energy, etc.). Infographics are used to supplement videos by providing additional information or more complex graphics and charts.
K-12 inquiry-based learning materials: Created by ENERGYminute partner teachers who create curriculum-based projects and exercises for students. These materials are being created and will be made available for teachers from our website. An example project: The WHERE Challenge: Find a household object (ex. a toaster, pencil, etc.) and deconstruct the creation of this object by where individual materials were sourced, manufactured and transported.
Interactive website: Combining data from sources such as Stats Canada, the International Energy Agency (IEA), etc. we are creating an interactive website where individuals can explore energy and natural resource production, consumption and capacity in Canada and around the world. This takes the raw data and turns it into a more visually interactive interface. For example, being able to see current hydroelectricity generation by province.
ENERGYminute is a grass roots organization. By being independent, we can create content that looks honestly at subjects without outside influence. While our independence is one of the pillars of our brand, it also makes fundraising more challenging. We rely on donations from individuals who believe in the cause of a science-based and honest discussion around energy. Initially, we ran a crowd sourcing campaign which gave us the capital to build our initial platform, create our brand, network and define our story.
We are now seeking the next round of capital to be able to expand on our successes. Our annual operating budget is roughly $30,000 per year. This goes towards building videos and infographics, writing K-12 inquiry-based learning lesson and building an interactive Canadian energy-focused website. We are currently focused on building more videos and K-12 learning lessons. We have several videos which are ready for funding and include videos on individual carbon footprints, 1st and 2nd generation bio-fuels, electric vehicle government policies, renewable energy and more.
Individual costs are as follows:
Videos: $1,200 each
Interactive Energy website: $8,000
K-12 inquiry based lesson: $200 each