schools

There's news about environmentally friendly cars, homes, and workplaces, but rarely do I hear any good changes happening in schools. Well, that's changed, thanks to the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED certification program. Schools that intend to make their buildings more water and energy efficient can register for this program.

There are many wonderful benefits to these changes, including a better air quality for students. Now, when people think of air pollution, they mostly think of outdoor pollution. However, I recently learned in my AP environmental science class that indoor air pollution can be more harmful, because we spend the majority of our time indoors, and because pollutants can build up in enclosed spaces. Polluted air leads to respiratory problems, and bad health can cause poor concentration and overall learning.

Additionally, many LEED schools lower energy usage by 40%. This not only helps the environment by reducing the amount of fossil fuels used, but also saves taxpayers a lot of money. The savings could be used to buy more supplies for students or to upgrade and repair old facilities.

These develops are great, but I believe there are still many areas in which schools can improve. For example, my high school in Virginia keeps the AC on all year round. Now, I can understand this practice on the hot 90 degree August days, but in the middle of February? Most students complain about the freezing indoor temperatures and teachers urge them to wear layers. It is silly and a total waste of money and fuel.

Anyways, I think this program is heading the educational sector in the right direction. Hopefully, if inner city schools are given the initial cost of revamping their systems, they will be able to save enough money in the long run. Also, the students themselves in all schools can learn from the changes and start thinking in an eco-friendly manner.

If you're interested, the article is from LOHAS online.

The image above is from Inhabitat.com.

The Laker School in Michigan has taken great strides in going green. As one of the windiest places in the country, the small, rural, school gathers their power from wind. Giant, utility-scale wind turbines provide the Jr. High with year-round power, thanks to the District’s zest for embracing renewable energy.

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The school is able to afford such a feat due to acquiring various grants sought out by Junior High Principal Kathy Dickens. Threeyears ago, she helped the school receive more than a quarter of a million dollars to buy the wind turbines. Since then, Laker Jr. High has received energy smart incentives, biomass and biodiesel grants. With the help of these grants, the school can help educate about the importance of green living, environmental sustainability, and energy renewal.

Recently, The Laker School District received a $59,120 federal grant to help equip a dozen of their school buses with emission-reducing equipment, and with $44,000 of the school’s own money, replaces the district’s oldest bus with a new, low-emission model.

Along with aiding the environment, the Laker School helps prepare kids for future green careers.

With The Laker School’s own anaerobic biodiesel processor, students learn to press oil from soybeans and sunflower seeds they’ve grown by hand in order to produce their own biodiesel.

Dickens says, “Too many bright, promising students leave this county after graduation. If wind, sun, or even an anaerobic processor can provide future jobs, I’ll keep writing grants to give students the training they need for green careers.”

Operating on the belief that “children learn best through experience. If their schools are green, children will learn to live that way,” the Center for Environmental Education is an online resource for students and teachers at K-12 schools, bursting with information and how-to’s for greening their environments. Available on its Web site is “Blueprint for a Green School,” which gives suggestions for three levels of action in ten categories: curriculum, energy, environmental health, food, green building, maintenance, procurement, recycling and waste, transportation, and water. Students and teachers can also learn more about reducing greenhouse gas emissions and climate change issues here.

In addition, there’s a searchable collection of reviewed environmental curricula, and a soon-to-come section on demonstration schools, with profiles of schools that are in the process of change.

“Blueprint for a Green School” was written in 1995 by Jayni Chase, the founder of the CEE. In 2008, it’s being updated and made accessible for download off the Internet. According to the CEE, it’s become “a vital link between the ‘in-the-trenches’ educators and the abundant environmental resources available.”