Making Our Schools Pay for Themselves

Whether or not you believe in Global Warming, going "Green" is a no-brainer. We all should be doing our part to ensure the longevity of our home, Planet Earth and her natural resources.

To me there is nothing more exciting then the thought of our county being able to go off the grid and what better way to take that single step forward then to green up our most important structures in the community, our schools.

As many communities prepare for new school buildings every measure needs to be made to ensure the new establishments last a very long time. Forever may be asking a lot but I don't believe attempting to make new schools as "green" as possible is that big of a leap.

In 2006 several Iowa schools installed wind turbines. What better way, if it is possible in the schools' locations, to help cut the ever-rising tidal wave of energy costs, by supplying schools with clean, renewable energy? Maybe our school leaders could consult Powerflo LLC, founded and operated by two brothers who installed a residential utility-connected wind turbine on a farm out on Stingley Road.

If not wind, how about solar panels on the rooftops to run electric, heat water, etc? And while we're on the roof tops how about a "green" roof? Green roofs help insulate buildings in the winter. Plus, a community garden, whether on the rooftop or in a schools' backyard would encourage volunteerism between students and residents, growing fresh, nutritious foods, for cafeteria use.

Let us not forget something as simple as skylights that not only take advantage of natural light and cut electric usage but a California study showed that states with students exposed to natural light have higher test scores, coupled with happier, healthier children and fewer absences.

Our schools could become one giant science lab and instead of a flood of our money, tax-payer money, going needlessly and endlessly out to utility bills, we would in return get a building that pays for itself and would be a prime, proud example to other counties and communities that we not only care about the well-fair of our students but our planet.

The possibilities are endless.

Want to learn more and become a Green School Advocate? Visit U.S Green Building Council at www.usgbc.org

Originally published in the Daily Advocate 2007.

Bethany J. Royer-DeLong is currently entrenched at home fighting the good war against the gimmes and the I-don't-wannas. She blogs recklessly, as all mothers of children under the age of five should, and has been working on that "supposed" great American novel, times a dozen. You can visit her at motherofthemunchkins.blogspot.com and email her at broyerdelong@yahoo.com