A new trend in getting high school and college age students involved in environmental issues is to reach out to them through gaming. Video games have been a successful platform to capture the attention of teens and young adults while online. Nissan has developed the website The Planet Zero on this idea. 

On The Planet Zero interactive website, players control a traveling animated electric plug aptly named PLUG. The game is set in a zero-emission, neo-futuristic world; where players have to engage in some form of zero-emission mission in order to move on.

At the end of each level played there is a pop up fact about the environment. Topics range from the harmful nature of greenhouse gasses to the viability of wind power for renewable energy.

Currently there are four levels, but the site is set up with capability to expand, if you click on any of the other six levels on the screen they would receive a “coming soon” message.  There is also a user-participatory website called FLIP BOOK STUDIO. Users can both contribute and view flip book animation featuring PLUG with the site.

It’s interactive online green education. Here is one of the lessons from The Planet Zero game on alternative energy:

“Fossil fuels create CO2 emissions and are said to be one of the causes for global warming. We’ll have to find a new form of energy at some point, even if we can’t find an alternative to fossil fuels right away. Reducing global warming is one reason we should start looking – but there are two other reasons we have to consider shifting to another form of energy.

The first reason is that reserves of oil and coal are running low. If we keep using the same kinds of technology we are using now and consuming the same amount of fossil fuel, coal will run out in 122 years, while oil (crude oil) will run out in 42 years.*

Of course, the reserves will last longer if new oil fields or coal mines are found, but an increase in demand from developing countries could use up the reserves even more quickly. And thinking about the related problem of rising gasoline prices is enough to give you a headache.

The other reason is that reserves of fossil fuel tend to be found disproportionately in certain areas of the world. For instance, about 60% of crude oil is found in the Middle East. There’s no way to deny that if for whatever reason the flow of oil from the Middle East to the rest of the world stopped, the world economy would be in serious danger. To ensure a stable energy supply, it is necessary to diversify energy sources in terms of both the region and the raw material.

Global warming has forced us to look for new forms of energy, but depending on how you look at it, this could be a great opportunity for us to do some serious thinking about alternative energy.”

Nissan Leaf Electric Vehicle (EV)

Nissan is fully embracing the digital age.  They have also launched a smartphone app, which is designed for BlackBerry and Android OS, so owners of their electric car, the Nissan Leaf, can manage their vehicle. The iPhone application was launched in December with the Leaf itself.

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