Want to Save Our Schools? Then Sustain Our Schools.

Sustain Our Schools

Apparently “Greenliness” is next to Godliness. According to the Sundance Channel Greenzine yesterday, the Holy Wisdom Monastery in Madison, Wisconsin, held its first mass in a new 30,000 square-foot building that may be the greenest in the country. The sisters believe their new building has a “high probability” of receiving 63 of 69 LEED points which would beat out the Aldo Leopold Legacy Center (also in Wisconsin), the current top dog of the US green building scene.

That’s really a great thing because sustainability is probably our salvation.

Carolyn attended a PTC meeting at our son’s high school this week and was told of  soon-to-be-fired teachers and nurses due to budget cuts and she came up with a solution. Do an energy and sustainability audit of all the area schools and see how much money could be saved by employing energy and sustainability efficiency. As we have said before, Wal-Mart saved $7 million last year just by changing their light bulbs. School and public institutions have to adopt sustainability if they want to sustain themselves. So instead of turning away teachers, turn off the lights. It’s not just good ecology but good sense to make the most out of every dollar spent.

The New SOS: Sustain Our Schools

Why not make it a national school event where every school takes the Footprint Challenge where they can measure their ecological impact through a comprehensive footprint calculator? Now they know exactly what they’re wasting and can set up systems to monitor and improve their energy efficiency and ecological footprint. The winner gets a nice big scholarship. It would not only be a great learning opportunity and educational experience for students and teachers, it would end up saving the school systems of America much needed money.

What if we could reduce the heating costs, our lighting costs, our water usage?  What if we created a revenue producing recycling program? (Talk to us, we know how.). What if our buildings were healthier, the food in our school cafeteria fresher and better? What if we instituted a “use less paper” drive and studied every way there is to conserve resources and save money doing it?  How much more would then be available for that endangered species we should all be worrying about — quality teachers and nurses.

There’s a bumper sticker I love and it says something like this: “What if schools had all the funds they need and the Air Force has to hold a bake sale to buy a bomber?” Maybe the day is coming when economics forces promote ecological causes.  In the end, the true purpose of sustainability should be the sustainability of our people, our way of life and the planet we all live on. 

This message needs to be written 100 times on the blackboard. “Sustainability and Ecology Save Money.” 

Get your chalk out Senators, Legislators, Congressmen, Administrators. Because that’s something everyone needs to be educated about.

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