I'm a Scientist, Get me out of Here! Ireland

We make use of energy every day without even thinking about it; flicking the lights on, listening to music, and using a computer. As the world population increases, we are using more and more electricity, and it all has to come from an energy store. Most electricity is generated by burning fossil fuels to release their energy. Unfortunately this also releases lots of carbon dioxide into our atmosphere — not good for climate change. Fossil fuels are also non-renewable which means one day they will run out. Imagine if that meant no more electricity… no lights, no computer games, and certainly no mobile phones… a permanent powercut!

Thankfully, there are lots of renewable sources of energy that won’t run out and are much better for the environment, including solar, water or wind. The scientists in this zone are investigating energy and working to ensure that permanent powercut nightmare doesn’t become a reality.