school

Replacing or retrofitting old school buses can reduce pollution inhaled by students significantly, leading to better health & improved academic performance.

Toxins & Pollution

Protecting Our Future: One School Bus At A Time

Megan Wild bus, bussing, DERA, diesel, Diesel Emissions Reduction Act, emissions, Exhaust, school, school bus, schoolbus, smog

Diesel exhaust can cause a number of health problems — and our kids breathe it every day when they ride the school bus…

Plastic Bottles by Steven Depolo, FlickrCC

Conscious Consumer

High Schoolers Experiment with Using Economics to Reduce Consumption of Plastic Water Bottles

Guido Giuntini bottles, consumer, economics, environmental, environmental economics, experiment, externalities, externality, plastic, plastic bottles, recycling, school, Shady Side Academy, waste, water bottles

What Is the Most Effective Way to Reduce Disposable Plastic Bottles Consumption? A group of high school seniors at Shady Side Academy endeavored to find out…

EarthTalk

Solar Schools: Opportunities Abound to Help Schools Go Solar

Doug Moss and Roddy Scheer American Electric Power Foundation, American Solar Energy Society, Learning from Light, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, panels, photovoltaic, rooftop, school, School Facility Modernization Grants, schools, solar, solar schools, The Solar Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy

There’s never been a better time for schools to add solar panels to their energy mix, given lots of public and private grants that can help foot the bill for the conversion….

Green Tech

NY Middle School Get Serious About Composting

E The Environmental Magazine compost, composter, composting, Environmental Protection Agency, food waste, garbage, Hommocks, Mamaroneck, middle school, recycle, recycling, reduce, reuse, Rocket, school, Westchester

Hommocks Middle School, supported by the Town of Mamaroneck, is the first public school in New York to launch a Rocket Composter, which will remove food waste from the waste stream and reduce trucking and disposal costs to the Peekskill facility that burns Westchester’s garbage. At the same time, the Rocket Composter – made possible by a grant from the […]

EarthTalk

How Can Teachers Integrate Sustainability Into Their Curricula?

Doug Moss and Roddy Scheer curricula, curriculum, garden, Green Schools Alliance, Green Teacher, school, teacher, teaching

Dear EarthTalk: What resources are out there for helping teachers integrate sustainability topics into their curricula? — Melinda Zullo, Toronto, ON Teaching our kids about sustainability and green living is one of the most important things we can do to safeguard the future of humanity and the planet we inhabit. The North American Association for […]

Studies have concluded that American kids consume very few fruits and vegetables in their school cafeterias and that they are eating many refined grains and too much saturated fat and sodium. In addition, a 2009 USA Today study found that meat used by McDonald’s and Burger King was tested for bacteria and unsafe pathogens up to 10 times as much as meat bound for U.S. school cafeterias. Credit: USDA

EarthTalk

Improving School Lunches

Doug Moss and Roddy Scheer children's health, HHFKA, Institute of Medicine, National School Lunch Program, nutrition, school, school lunches

Dear EarthTalk: I hear that many school cafeterias have nutrition standards no better—even worse—than those of fast food chains. What can be done about this? — Betsy Edison, Nashville, TN Americans have done a great job making sure that our kids have something to eat at school regardless of socioeconomic status, with the National School Lunch […]

Soap Box

Green Schools: Do America’s Public School Buildings Need An Extreme Makeover?

Randi Weingarten American Federation of Teachers, green schools, indoor environment, school, teachers

America’s public school buildings need an extreme makeover. Just as today’s education must to be aligned with what students need to succeed in the 21st-century global economy, mid-20th-century school facilities that are falling apart, filled with environmental hazards and unable to support modern technology just won’t do. To reclaim the promise of public education in […]