Where to Begin.....

Welcome to the CPS Green Council. We are a group of students, parents, faculty, administrators, and other members of the community who share an interest and concern in making the actions and activities of our campus as consistent with a goal of environmental sustainability as possible. This is a big job, and our first step will need to be coming to a consensus regarding priorities. How should we be thinking about this?

Well, there are many options. For starters, according to the Green Schools Initiative Project....

The Four Pillars of a Green School are:

I. Strive to be Toxics Free
No pesticides, mold, heavy metals
Green building and cleaning supplies

II. Use Resources Sustainably
Energy efficiency and alternative energies
Green building design
Environmentally sound school supplies
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

III. Create a Green, Healthy Space
Green schoolyard and gardens
Rethink school lunch
No junk food, fast food, soda
Farm to school organic produce

IV. Teach, Learn, Engage
Environmental Education
Involve students in greening the school

From this point of view, we are doing well with respect to Pillar I, and making progress on Pillar IV. I think Pillar III might be a lost cause....thoughts? The place where I think we can and must make lots of progress is Pillar II. We have many opportunities in this category, but it's going to take hard work and creativity to take advantage of them.

Another way to focus our energies is to look specifically at our carbon footprint. One tool for doing so is a calculator designed for schools found at this site.

Please share your thoughts about what our priorities should be, and any resources you know of or stumble upon. If you would like be added as an author on this blog please let me know!