U.S. Schools Compete to Slash Energy Use in 2012

Students in more than 116 schools across the U.S. are competing to reduce their electricity consumption by participating in the 2012 national Green Cup Challenge® (GCC) during peak winter energy usage, Jan. 18 to Feb. 15. (New York City and Chicago will launch separate Challenges on March 2). The national Challenge, now in its fifth year, is a project of the non-profit Green Schools Alliance (GSA), and is designed to raise awareness about energy conservation and provide concrete action towards reduction.

"Experts agree that the best way to save energy is to use less," says Peg Watson, GSA's founder and president. "You can't manage what you don't measure. The GCC teaches students that they have the power to save energy in their schools and homes, and that their actions can translate into positive change in the world," she says.

According to Energystar.gov, America's K-12 schools spend more than $7.5 billion annually on energy, but as much as 30 percent of that energy ($2.25 billion) is used inefficiently or unnecessarily. The GCC has shown that, through awareness and small behavior changes, those wasteful patterns can be reversed.

During the Challenge, students and school staff work together to implement energy-saving strategies; they take weekly readings of school electric meters, and compare the usage to a baseline from previous years' consumption. Data are entered weekly into spreadsheets on the GCC website, providing students with hands-on learning opportunities. The annual GCC video contest has also become a popular showcase for students' talent and environmental passions.

"By participating in the Challenge," says Katy Perry, GCC program director. "Students and staff learn that simple things like turning off lights, powering down computers, unplugging electronic gadgets and machines when not in use, and setting thermostats to 68 degrees Fahrenheit add up to huge energy and cost-savings for schools."

In 2011, such simple actions allowed 121 GCC participating schools to reduce their electricity consumption by an average of 4.5 percent from the baseline. Collectively that was a total reduction of 1,036,816 kilowatt hours and $124,418 saved from their electric bills; and because behavioral changes typically endure, the actual savings continue into the future, long after the GCC is over.

The schools also collectively prevented 1,576,178 pounds of climate warming carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere by power plants. That's the equivalent of taking 140 passenger vehicles off the road for one year, or the amount of carbon that would be sequestered annually by 152 acres of pine forest.

Multiply all this by 139,207 schools in the U.S. alone, and one can quickly start to see the positive impact schools could have together.

Perry hopes that the knowledge students gain about energy conservation during the GCC will ripple outwards from schools, to households and beyond.

"A majority of Americans now believe that man-made climate change is real. The scientific consensus is undeniable; but some still continue to gamble with our children's future," says Watson. "Students must be given the tools today to become tomorrow's leaders and problem-solvers, in order to protect our shared future. The GCC gives them the opportunity to start making a difference."

About the Green Schools Alliance
The Green Schools Alliance (GSA), launched in late 2007, is a national non-profit organization uniting schools around the world to address 21st century environmental and climate challenges. Through its nearly 3,000 public, private and independent K-12 school members and chapters, GSA is reaching more than 2 million students in 40 U.S. states and 11 countries. Driven by the concept that schools can change the world, GSA members and chapters work together to set and meet their environmental goals through education, leadership and the exchange of best practices. Uniquely created by schools and for schools, the GSA is working on the local, state, and national levels to raise environmental awareness and empower students, faculty and staff to take concrete action and make sustainable choices that can have a global impact.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Katy Perry, 860-578-0174, Emily Fano, 917-301-8830

 

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Comments

[GreenHearted]

11:08 PM on 02/03/2012

I agree that one of the problems is where the savings go. If schools that save energy could keep the cost savings themselves (to pay for academic or other initiatives), you can bet they'd be doing lots more energy conservation projects.

But since we're not going to turn the climate change emergency around until we reach zero carbon and start taking it out of the atmosphere, I think we should be taking advantage of the energy and creativity of young people. They could be designing the zero-carbon economy (the best possible future for themselves) before they even leave school.

[Minolta321]

09:23 PM on 01/29/2012

Judging by the grades, the teachers have already stopped teaching. How much less energy could they use?

[artleads]

04:32 PM on 01/29/2012

The Green Schools Alliance sounds like what I was hoping for. Lo and behold, it already exists. Looks like all the elements for a better society are here already and only need to be better coordinated, defined and articulated.

[guthrum]

08:46 AM on 01/29/2012

I recently was in a school where the heat had to run constantly because so many windows could not be shut - too old and unrepairable. The system did not have enough money for new, efficient windows.

[WI Patriot]

10:58 AM on 01/29/2012

An across the board 5% compensation cut would take care of the windows.

[ddiazwalkerreid]

08:42 AM on 01/29/2012

4.5 % reduction from baseline is great and the program sounds like a success. This is still not enough all school districts should be taking initiative and taking advantage of the the government incentives available to retrofit the schools lighting, hvac and building envelope systems. The 179d Tax Deduction is a tool that less that 2% of the school districts around the country are using to negotiate RFP's for energy efficient projects. Its a simple concepts the IRS allows the public building (school) to allocate the deduction to the designer/contractor of record. If the school districts procurement directors "forced" the low bidder to reduce its contract amount by a fraction of the cash value of the up to $1.80 per sqft tax deduction it could be a win win for both the energy saving company as well as the school districts. The 179d Tax Deduction is a powerful tool and because the school districts are not aware of its function the tend to simply allocate it to the contractor at the end of the project without capitalizing on the incentive. The energy saving company's deserve the deduction as they investing major capitol in designing and implementing these projects but the school districts are leaving money on the table. Facilities retrofit plus programs like green cup challenge can and will continue to reduce Americas Carbon Footprint.

David Diaz
http://www.WalkerReid.com

[WI Patriot]

10:56 AM on 01/29/2012

And that's one of the main issues - what incentive do public school employees and administration have for saving public funds or using them efficiently? They know the "179d Tax Deduction" but they just don't care and are lazy - its much easier to bang a drum and demand more money "for the kids" than to actually manage funding.

They don't, and that is the reason for all of the public school reforms going on - where different models deliver more education without the rampant fraud, waste, and abuse in traditional public schools

[vakh]

02:17 AM on 01/30/2012

You ought to see what its like in the military.

[ddiazwalkerreid]

11:13 PM on 01/31/2012

Unfortunately this is true there is so much bureaucratic red tape that ultimately the good one's who care end up becoming lazy. The allocation form form for the 179d is a simple 1 page document and our firms sees it get bounced around from desk to desk for months before anyone is willing to sign off.

David Diaz
http://www.WalkerReid.com

[2ndgreenrev]

02:29 AM on 01/30/2012

There's a school district in suburban Denver that has cut consumption by 24% with no major renovations, just students driving the behavioral changes that have led to roughly $11 million in savings over 4 years. It can be done.

[raulwaldon]

03:35 AM on 01/29/2012

Traditional brick and mortal schools did not work for me and High Speed Universities opened doors and provided great opportunities for me. Research yourself.

[June25]

01:52 AM on 01/29/2012

1 Turn off the lights when you leave the room . 2 Turn down the tempature at night. 3 Get some of the shop classes involved in energy saving projects.A Auto Shop class might convert an old car to electric. B other shop classes might work on small windmills,insulation.Prizes could be offered between schools .

[WI Patriot]

09:58 PM on 01/28/2012

Here's a novel concept - how bout we let facility managers reduce energy consumption and use the savings to enhance/reform the math, science, and manufacturing curriculum in public schools -

Because that is what is going to move us forward, not some cheap political stunt.

[Genders]

06:38 PM on 01/28/2012

Wonderful! Much better than the Grinch's plan to make the kids replace the janitor for 1/30th the pay.

Efficiency can probably cut our energy use per function by at least 50%, maybe 75% before the cost outweighs the benefits. This is the first thing we should do.