By Eneirys Nova
Have you ever stopped to think about the damage that we are causing to the environment? Global warming is a big problem, our environment gets worse day by day. Wasting unnecessary energy is one of the big problems, not recycling and the biggest problem is people not being aware of the damage being made to the environment, since BPS makes up a big percentage of energy use. Boston Public Schools need to find a way to make building more environmentally friendly and the solution to this is by installing solar panels, turning off unnecessary lights and not using unnecessary energy. Schools should also train students since elementary school on how to reduce energy waste.
I interviewed Phoebe Beierle, Sustainability Manager for the Boston Public Schools, about how to make Boston Public Schools more environmentally friendly.
I really think that by providing education to students around climate science what it means, what global warming means, what it means for Boston, what it means for your future, and what you can do to prevent it or mitigate it, is really important
Phoebe: There are several simple ways to reduce energy consumption. The first is to keep things off, so unplug appliances, turn computers and printers off when they’re not in use.. Turn lights off when they’re not being used. Keep doors and windows closed, because a lot of times doors get propped open and all the heat is just escaping from the building, especially in the wintertime. Water costs our schools quite a bit of money so reduce the amount of water that you use and keep the faucet off when you don’t really need it, and then, if you notice a leak, make sure that it’s fixed quickly. If you notice there’s a window broken, or a door that doesn’t close fully, making sure that those are fixed quickly.
Eneirys: Is there a possibility of having compost in school buildings?
Phoebe: Yes, absolutely. We have tried to start a pilot in five schools, and we did an investigation into what it would cost, and got quotes from I think five compost vendors who would haul our compost away to a farm somewhere, and the average cost was still too high for us. The challenge is that we need to put compost from the cafeteria in a bag, a compostable bag, and the bags cost about eighty cents a bag right now. So the amount of cost it takes to haul compost away and trash away is about the same, but there’s this cost for the bags, which makes it a lot more expensive. That said, you know, New York City is moving to composting in all their schools, Washington DC is moving to composting in all their schools, many school districts have already done that, Cambridge does that, so we’re hoping that as Boston implements more waste management policies that schools will be the first to start composting.
Eneirys: So what [is the district] doing to reduce waste, energy usage, and limit carbon emissions?
Phoebe: That’s a good question. So, one of the things I brought you is the 2014 Climate Action Plan update. So this is the city’s plan to reduce carbon emissions, and our goal is to reduce carbon emissions by fifty percent—oh, excuse me—eighty percent, by 2050. And schools have a huge role to play, because of all the city buildings, schools make up seventy-five percent of the square footage, of all the city buildings.
Eneirys: What other infrastructure or policy changes could help?
Phoebe: I really think that by providing education to students around climate science what it means, what global warming means, what it means for Boston, what it means for your future, and what you can do to prevent it or mitigate it, is really important. Mayor Walsh actually signed a resolution last summer calling for every high school to receive climate education through this ACE (Alliance for Climate Education) Assembly. And we just delivered the first at Madison Park today. The ACE Assembly is free, it’s fourty five minutes, it helps provide the science of climate change, and it provides some concrete ways that students can take action.
We also have a facilities master planning process going on called Build BPS. We are looking at all the schools across the entire school district…and the condition of our buildings to see what is it going to take to renovate them to be 21st century learning spaces. One of the big things that we’re pushing is to make sure that climate change is a part of that renovation process. That when the city gets the plan on what it’s going to cost us to renovate our buildings that it includes a goal to have solar on the roof, it includes a goal to have the highest efficiency mechanical and electrical systems possible. It includes making sure that there’s a good cafeteria in every building, or a gym, or whatever we think students need to learn, going forward. We make sure that’s part of that plan.
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