How Green is Our School?

February 25, 2010  
Filed under News

As you walk into the red-bricked walls of Ottawa High School and sit down in your first class, your mind is undoubtedly thinking of things far from the topic of energy conservation and earth-friendliness. But have you ever thought of the ways you can be environmentally conscious at school? How informed is our school anyway? The bricks may be red, but just how green is the school?

For starters, how much water is wasted in our school each day? The numbers may surprise you. Here at our school, we have manual faucets in the restrooms. If a student accidentally leaves a faucet dripping, it is likely it will waste water all day. If three faucets were left dripping in the school all day, it would waste a total of about eight gallons. Let us say four faucets were left dripping: that would waste about eleven gallons. Imagine how many gallons would be wasted if three faucets were left dripping each day of the school year. Maybe if more students were aware of those statistics, more clean water could be saved, but maybe not. Would it help if we had automatic faucets? Many students think it would. Breann Rush, senior, said it would also be useful to have hand dryers instead of paper towels in the restrooms to eliminate paper waste.

If you have not been living under a rock, you probably know that different types of light bulbs use different amounts of energy. Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFLs) are the number one choice for those trying to save on their energy bills. These bulbs not only save energy, but also lower mercury emissions. Not to mention they will eventually pay for themselves. According to the janitorial staff, we use many kinds of light bulbs here at the high school, but they are trying to switch to all fluorescents.

Even teachers have noticed that lighting can largely affect the amounts of energy used.

“I only use half of the lights in my room because using all of them makes it too bright,” Mrs. Miller, math teacher, said. “If every teacher did that then we could save a lot of energy.”

Some of the classes in our school promote green living, too—sometimes, without even realizing it. Art classes, for example, use recycled newspapers to put down when working on messy projects, and old yogurt cups for mixing paint.

Having a green school refers not only to the building, but to the students as well. How eco-friendly are the occupants of OHS? Many are aware of the environmental scare, but are they taking action?

The most popular way that teens do their part for the planet is by recycling. At Ottawa High School, 61% of students surveyed recycle. Not a bad number for a building full of hormone-driven teenagers.

“I recycle because it helps the earth,” Dallas Natt, freshman, said.

There is even a club at our school that makes it practically effortless for students to recycle. The Recycling Club, sponsored by Mrs. Plummer, put cardboard recycling boxes in over 30 teachers’ rooms around the school, making recycling your used papers, bottles, and cans easy.

Another, newer club formed this year is the Healthy PEP Club, sponsored by Mrs. Coen. PEP stands for Peers Empowering Peers. This club is all about trying to get all of our school’s students eating and acting healthier. One thing the club promotes is organic eating. Eating organic is not only thought to be healthier for you, but it is healthier for the planet as well. Organic foods are raised without the use of fertilizers, pesticides or hormones that can leak into and pollute rivers and streams.

You do not have to be a member of any of these clubs to contribute to the cycle. Students of every grade are finding their own ways to help out.

“I use canvas bags and have a box of recycling in my car,” Rush said. “At home we have energy saving washers and dryers, and a Prius.”

It seems as though many students who recycle, or fail to, at home show the same behavior at school.

“My parents don’t recycle, so I don’t,” Evan Mietchen, sophomore, said.

“My stepmom does it,” Amanda McKiernan, sophomore, said. McKiernan said that to clean up our act at school, we could limit the amount of worksheets we do, and just do more work on the computer.  It would certainly cut back on a lot of paper if teachers allowed students to email their work.

Although some students may argue that they can just reuse a plastic water bottle over and over again to spare waste, this is not always a good idea. Not all plastic water bottles can be reused safely. Studies say that bottles made with plastic numbers one, three, six or seven should not be reused because they can leach carcinogens into your water and cause disease or cancer. Bottles made with plastic numbers two, four or five are okay to use a few times, as long as you rinse them out with soap and water between uses. So although your thoughts may be in the right place, if you want to save the earth by saving plastic, invest in an aluminum bottle instead.

Some other ways you can be earth-friendly for school are to buy biodegradable pencils and refillable pens. When buying supplies, it is also smart to look at and gravitate to the school products that are made with the highest percentage of post-consumer recycled content possible. Mead makes recycled notebooks like this. Another way to be green is to brown bag your lunch! Well, not literally. Use reusable lunch boxes and containers instead of baggies to cut back on waste. But make sure you avoid vinyl lunch boxes that may contain lead, and try to find ones that are PVC- free.

Another thing students should think about is being green on the way to school. Do you walk? Carpool? Bike? Not only do these types of transportation save energy, they save money too. And we all know how tight that is these days.

Try to remember that we can affect our planet by what we do at school, as well as at home. Helping out doesn’t have to be as difficult or time-consuming as you think. Our school colors may be red and white, but many students have already started thinking green.

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Jaime Birzer

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