Background“Global warming” is a misleading term. It implies something uniform, gradual and benign. What is happening is nonuniform, rapid, and damaging. We need mitigation to “avoid the unmanageable” and adaptation “to manage the unavoidable.” Dr. John Holdren, Director, Woods Hole Research Center. According to ENERGY STAR, a joint program of the U.S. EPA and the U.S. DOE, the annual energy bill to run America’s primary and secondary schools is a staggering $6 billion — more than is spent on textbooks and computers combined. Schools can play a vital role in reducing our energy dependence by educating students and communities about the link between energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, and about the simple steps everyone can take at home and in our communities to make a lasting difference. The benefits to schools in making energy-smart building choices are numerous. Schools can reduce utility bills and maintenance costs, improve the classroom environment, remove noisy, inefficient heating and cooling systems, inadequate lights, and ventilation systems that don't restrict indoor contaminants. In fact, recent studies conducted by the California Board of Energy Efficiency, involving 21,000 students, show test scores were 15% to 26% higher in classrooms with daylighting. There are many existing no-cost or low-cost solutions available to schools that could immediately realize savings up of 10% or more. The Green Schools Alliance (GSA) Low-Carbon Schools Challenge (L-CSC) was created as a “national call-to-action” to America’s schools to implement opportunities available to improve energy efficiency by 30 percent or more in the next 10 years. Learn more:
The Low-Carbon Schools InitiativeIn February 2007, the United Nations Foundation and Sigma Xi: The Scientific Research Society reported, if we are to forestall unmanageable climate change, we need to be approaching climate neutral in only 10 years. Independent Schools in NYC are taking a leadership role. With the help of the Mayor’s Office, NYSERDA and Con Edison, they are building a coalition to reduce their energy consumption by 30% in 5 years. We are at the beginning of a great challenge – financially, ecologically and with our energy supply. Many schools and school districts from around the state have implemented conservation programs in the last several years that have generated 10%, 20% and even 30% or more energy reductions and savings. Many have also found ways to improve their indoor environment to provide better learning environments. Some have done this with capital projects and renovations, but many have achieved significant results by initiating a series of low-cost/no-cost measures and strategies. As catalysts for “early adopter neighborhoods,” schools can help NYC and other cities and communities worldwide to meet their carbon reduction goals and become educational models for sustainable solutions, while creating a measurable benchmark for success. In response to Mayor Bloomberg’s 2007 challenge to all New York institutions to reduce energy consumption by 30% in 10 years, GEO has launched a Low-Carbon Schools Challenge (L-CSC) through the Green Schools Alliance (GSA). The L-CSC is intended to build an aggregate demand for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and carbon reduction on the neighborhood, state and national levels. The L-CSC will convene stakeholders and build partnerships to help to implement efficiency programs, identify school-related energy resources, and develop consortiums to purchase green-e certified renewable energy. GSC/L-CSC partners include local, regional and national non-profit and governmental organizations. In February 2008, the Low-Carbon Schools Initiative will be presented at the National Association for Independent Schools (NAIS) Annual Conference in NYC. At this event, independent schools across the nation will be challenged to accept the NYC “30/10 Challenge.” The green Schools Alliance is predicated on the believe in a positive future where schools and their supporting communities can create a critical mass to inspire people everywhere to work together to create a cleaner, greener tomorrow. |
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