Students And Schools Go Green

With back-to-school time in full swing, many American students are returning to schools that are increasingly focusing on going green. Both American universities and school districts are finding ways to cut down on waste and improve sustainability.

Many of these green initiatives have been implemented by school administrators. Standing out on a national level is the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC). According to its website, the ACUPCC:

Is a high-visibility effort to address global climate disruption undertaken by a network of colleges and universities that have made institutional commitments to eliminate net greenhouse gas emissions from specified campus operations, and to promote the research and educational efforts of higher education to equip society to re-stabilize the earth’s climate.

The ACUPCC originated at a conference at Arizona State in 2006. Twelve college presidents founded the group in December 2006 and there are now 667 signatories.

There are many other green school initiatives around the country.

A new elementary school in Lexington, Kentucky opened this year with several green features. School lighting is amplified by light from solar tubes and the school's toilets are flushed with collected rainwater.

A school district near Syracuse, New York is also installing solar panels, which educators hope to integrate into the curriculum.

Earlier this year, Virginia Beach Public Schools built a new transportation facility that received the highest level LEED certification, featuring wind turbines and solar panels.

According to School Bus Fleet, several school districts across the country are becoming more environmentally friendly and cutting costs by running their school buses on bio-diesel or alternative fuels.

The Maryland State Board of Education enacted a new policy this year that requires all Maryland high school students to be “environmentally literate” before they graduate. The measure is also being considered nationally.

What can individual students do to lower the carbon footprint of their school and raise awareness of environmental issues?

The Do Something organization is parterning with Best Buy to help encourage recycling of electronics. The e-waste drive, running through the end of September, will award educational grants to the group that recycles the most. According to Do Something, Americans throw away one and a half million tons of electronic waste each year, the majority of which could be recycled.

Launching this fall is a new website called Go Green Students, which aims to help students of all ages find ways to go green at their schools. In the meantime, check out their Twitter updates for green students news.

TreeHugger also offers some back-to-school tips on how to be more green this fall. For example, they suggest buying non-essential school supplies in small quantities and purchasing paper with the “highest percentage of post-consumer recycled content possible.”

GreenBiz suggests five tips for students to increase recycling programs on college campuses. To get started, they recommend establishing a green council at your school to find out what's already being done and how to get more people involved.

This October, many schools around the country will be participating in International Walk to School Month. This event, which was supported by First Lady Michelle Obama last year, encourages kids to walk or bike to school to help cut down on the environmental impact of transportation.

Changing personal habits may be easier than enacting change across a entire university or school district. Family Education offers some tips on how to make an impact at your child's school. They suggest first identifying and reaching out to someone who may be interested in environmental issues at the school, and forming a committee from there.

The Huffington Post reported earlier this year on young students who challenged their schools to go green, and saw significant results.

Earlier this year, Sierra Magazine compiled a list of the greenest colleges in the U.S., with the University of Washington topping the list.

Check out these green back-to-school supplies and Inhabitat's list of green backpacks.

---

Comments

[Datadog314]

01:22 PM on 09/06/2011

Any green debate is done best during the dead of winter, when you're cold and that nasty draft is gnawing at your cheeks. The cold has a way of getting your attention and puts you into solution mode. If you had to make a 1 hour ride to work every morning, in an area the weather is cold, you would plug up any cracks in the window and make sure the heater is working efficiently.

There is going to be alot of rebuilding here in America because of the weather-related disasters................Let's do the smart thing and at least, get the ball rolling for future generations. Teach it at school and let them take it home. 100 years from now, it will become a way of life.

[Katefromthebeststate]

11:35 PM on 09/05/2011

Why do some of you balk at the "going green" label? If we are conserving energy, you'd think conservatives would be happy. I think they'll be against anything that sounds "too liberal;" logic doesn't prevail, how sad.

[rhurc4]

10:27 AM on 09/06/2011

It's fine to save on the monthly bills, but if a HUGE expense is required upfront, than it's simply not feasible. No one is opposed to conservation. But conservation simply for the fact of being "green" is ridiculous. How his paying $50 for an LED light bulb going to save the planet when a regular bulb costs $2? Think about all the people we could have fed or helped with that money NOW. Being green is simply a novelty and a fad right now.. No one cares. None of the liberal democrats i know actually recycle or make any effort to be "green".. that is, except for voting to punish OTHERS for not doing what they want them to do.

[alteredstory]

06:48 PM on 09/06/2011

I think your comment shows an interesting example, actually. Part of the mindset we need to work on is thinking long-term. Buy stuff that's good quality, and then TAKE CARE OF IT. Pay $50 for a lightbulb, treat it well, and never buy another one, or at least not for a decade or so. Not only will you save on lightbulb purchases, you'll also save on power used.

It requires forward thinking though, and an effort to change how your mind works.

I don't know how many liberal democrats YOU know, but among the ones I know, CFLs are now standard, as is an effort to buy locally.

A number of them are now living in net zero houses, which means they're selling more power to the grid than they pull off of it.

Others are working on climate education, or trading in for hybrids.

I know one who's designing an ultra-efficient electric car.

Most of the ones living in the city who aren't disabled bike, walk, or take public transportation, and some of the ones in the country do the same, or share cars between families.

There are even some who've taken to using fountain pens with refillable cartridges so they don't have to use disposable pens or cartridges.

You claim that from your experience, liberals aren't practicing what they preach, and all I can say in answer is that you REALLY need to get out more.

[CivilDebate10]

10:31 PM on 09/05/2011

Trivial fad

[alteredstory]

06:49 PM on 09/06/2011

You're not very practical, and you seem to like being dependent on fossil fuel corporations. I don't know how far your libertarianism extends but would you support getting rid of fossil fuel subsidies?

[Kenz300]

09:01 PM on 09/05/2011

We can live in the past or we can more to the technologies of the future.

The price of oil, coal and nuclear are increasing while wind and solar are decreasing.

Once you install wind or solar there is no continuing cost, year after year, for fuel like with coal and oil.

Wind, solar, wave energy, geothermal and second generation biofuels made from algae, cellulose and waste are the future.

[srmmer]

06:38 PM on 09/05/2011

at the cost of someone elses tax dollars

[El Justiciero]

07:28 AM on 09/06/2011

Your tax dollars are wastefully being lost through the windows, doors & rooftops of inefficient and poorly insulated buildings and by people with no concern for energy conservation. Quit complaining.

[bdoug25000]

06:35 PM on 09/05/2011

Well, looky here REAL conservative action! And these students will learn how to live in the world where oil and coal are replaced by clean and sustainable energy, and they will spred it to their children, and build it into their lives. This is good news!

[srmmer]

06:19 PM on 09/05/2011

?

[srmmer]

06:18 PM on 09/05/2011

i wish they could call it something other then going green [sounds so liberal]

[El Justiciero]

07:29 AM on 09/06/2011

Get over it and grow up.