Teaching my students about the environmental footprint of electricity has opened my eyes, too. A lot of our electricity is still generated by burning fossil fuels, such as in dirty coal plants, which creates harmful air pollution, damages the planet, and contributes to climate change. Yes, renewables are ramping up, but we're still using coal and oil for much of our energy. This is the hard fact we tend to forget as we relish the comforts of electricity. My conversations with my students have given me hope that we should be thinking through ways to produce and use electricity differently to keep our planet safe for future generations.