On the 40th commemoration of Earth Day, Rep. Dale Kildee (D-MI) is reviving the effort for a national program to support and help fund the environmental "greening" of our nation's public schools.
Rep. Kildee is a member of the House Education and Labor Committee, and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education. On the Committee's EdLabor blog today Rep. Kildee writes "Green" Schools Are Healthy and Conducive to Learning:
With so many of our school facilities dependent on environmentally unfriendly and outdated HVAC, energy and water systems -- and so many schools aging and in need of repair, Rep. Kildee's plan for "green" schools is urgently needed.
from the EdLabor story:
School buildings should be safe, healthy and modern learning environments for children and teachers. By helping school districts to make schools environmentally friendly, or "green," we can create facilities that have tremendous health, educational, financial and environmental benefits.
The health and educational benefits of "green" schools are manifold.
Research has shown that green schools are both healthy and conducive to learning. Studies have demonstrated a reduction in absences due to illness caused by schools’ indoor pollutants. These illnesses, such as asthma, are the cause of more than fourteen million missed school days each year. Improved ventilation, day lighting, acoustics and indoor air quality have also been shown to boost academic performance, concentration and overall student achievement. Due to improved teacher retention and increased student attendance, there is more time for teaching and learning in these productive environments.
And "green" schools are far more energy efficient, with less environmental impact.
In addition to the health and learning benefits, green schools use 33% less energy and 30% less water than a conventional school. On average, this saves the typical green school $100,000 each year in reduced energy and water costs. Green schools also reduce harmful carbon dioxide emissions, which helps diminish global climate change and lessen our collective carbon footprint. Additionally, these schools become interactive teaching tools where students see, first-hand, the importance of protecting our planet and build the capacity to solve some of our most pressing environmental challenges.
Along with Committee Chairman Rep. George Miller and others, Rep. Kildee has sponsored The 21st Century Green High Performing Public School Facilities Act, which last June 4 passed the House 250-164.
According to recent estimates, America’s schools are hundreds of billions of dollars short of appropriate facilities funding, and millions of students attend schools that are unhealthy and unsafe. To address these challenges and help to ensure that every child attends a green, high-quality facility, Congressman Ben Chandler (D-KY), Chairman George Miller (D-CA) and I introduced H.R. 3021, "The 21st Century Green High Performing Public School Facilities Act," in the 110th Congress. This bill, which passed the House last summer, would dedicate billions of dollars to helping school districts implement school facilities projects that meet a recognized green building standard, and it will continue to be a priority for us in this Congress, as well as for Congressman Dave Loebsack (D-IA), another leader in this effort. Additionally, among "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s" historic investments in education are billions of dollars that school districts can use for such projects, among other uses.
I believe that Congress must be a leader in promoting environmental innovation, especially in helping school districts do so. By helping to create environmentally friendly schools, we can foster a green generation prepared to tackle future challenges. I hope you will join with me this Earth Day to support healthy, high-performing, green schools.
Such a large-scale national investment in the "greening" of our public schools would improve our schools and their ability to serve as healthier environments for our public learning communities. And with more than 13 million Americans currently unemployed -- and another 11 million under- or marginally-employed -- such an investment would create urgently needed, socially productive jobs.