Educating the Green Generation
Antonia Felix
Friday, July 24, 2009
Building a clean energy economy in which the United States is the world leader in manufacturing renewable energy systems will take a lot of ingenuity, creativity and all-around brilliance. No problem there, but we’re lagging behind in training our best and brightest in the science and technology that will define the green era.
Efforts like “No Child Left Inside,” an environmental education bill now in the U.S. Senate, are a move in the right direction, as is the $1.2 billion portion of the stimulus package devoted to new science funding. Kansas just received $15.3 million of those funds, part of which will go to scholarships for professional development in the science of renewable energy.
Throughout Kansas, schools and organizations have already been working hard to help develop the environmentally literate workforce that will lead us into a new energy future.
Across the state, teachers at the K-12 and college levels have taken advantage of workshops on energy education given by the Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education (KACEE), a non-profit group that “promotes and provides effective, non-biased and science-based environmental education.” These workshops include facts about renewable energies such as wind and solar and ideas for integrating the material into the curriculum.
Shari L. Wilson, KACEE’s Statewide Partnerships and Planning Director, filled me in on the “flood of interest” in KACEE’s new Green Schools program, which offers grants for “greening” schools and their curriculums, a network between Kansas green schools and resources for professional development. Launched less than a year ago, the program has already signed up 270 Kansas schools.
Wilson attributes much of Green Schools’ popularity to the Obama administration’s campaign to build a green energy policy. “There has been a great deal of interest with the new presidential administration talking a lot about being more green, opportunities for green careers and the not-being-so-green impact on our economy and national security,” she told me this week.
The high interest also comes from the desire of Kansas schools to learn about energy efficiency as a means to save money on operations, she said. In addition, environmental education is a hit with students. “Kids have always been interested in the environment,” Wilson said. “Teachers are always looking for ways to interest students and teach them what they need to learn at the same time.”
The Green Schools program is holding its first conference on Friday, July 31 at the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita. The keynote speaker, Robert Kobet, will talk about environmental education and green design, and the day will include workshops on school grants and roundtables with panelists from many state-wide organizations. Wilson said that 125 teachers are already registered for the conference and others who would like to attend (the $20 cost includes lunch and materials) can visit the Web site at kacee.org or call 785-532-1902 or 913-287-6879.
Moving toward energy efficiency and sustainability also has an impact on business education. The School of Business at Emporia State University just created a new undergraduate course about bringing social responsibility into business decisions. The goal of “Ethics, Social Responsibility and Sustainability” includes honing students’ problem-solving skills in finding alternative methods of sustaining the environment.
The class will be taught by Marian K. Riedy, a new hire at the School of Business with a research background in sustainability, according to the dean, Joseph Wen. “She’s coming this fall and she received a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School, so we’re very excited about her coming to teach that class,” Dean Wen told me.
The Sustainable Living Center at the Flint Hills Technical College in Emporia is designed to give people from the community — or any part of Kansas — the tools to bring energy efficiency into their homes and businesses. Upcoming one- and two-day workshops include “Energy Efficient Homes,” “Green Remodeling,” and “Home Winterization for Comfort and Energy Efficiency.”
Students in the FHTC Construction Technology program get first-hand experience in bringing more energy-efficient systems into building plans.
Whether or not they’ve been approached by green-oriented product reps, local builders have discovered the benefits of energy-efficient products by trying them out from time to time. Cory Haag, who is building the Plaza Lofts in downtown Emporia, was amazed by the impact that spray foam insulation had on utility bills. “The soft stuff fills all the gaps and that makes a big difference,” he said. “I’ve used it in some apartments and not others, each with the exact same square footage and layout, and the utility bills for the units with the foam insulation were half that of the others.”
The more efficient insulation costs about twice as much, but Haag said that the long-term benefits are worth it. “Tenants are happy to see a $30 utility bill when they know that it’s twice that much in other places.” he said. “It’s a great marketing point.”
Investing in energy efficiency for greater returns — what a concept!
Only by grooming a generation of green-savvy scientists and educating the public about renewable energy will the U.S. gain a competitive global edge in producing alternative energies. We can be proud that organizations like the KACEE and forward-looking offerings at the FHTC and ESU’s School of Business are leading the way.
Comments
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Posted by dale011 (anonymous) on July 24, 2009 at 3:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)
so we're now starting youth indoctrination? Didn't Hitler have a progam like that?
Posted by CTC123 (anonymous) on July 24, 2009 at 6:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Consider the Connection to:
The Economic Pyramid
Clean energy is needed at all levels of the Economic Pyramid.
Where is the Economic Pyramid?
Please do a CTC123GREEN search:
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