Blog #7: Students Are Now Competing Across Continents to Reduce the Most Emissions, and Waste, in Their Schools

Summary:
Students are working hard to make sure our population is sustainable, and their efforts are continuing to increase. In 2003, one school campus began their plan of action to raise awareness on energy consumption and has since been very successful for other schools. The Green Cup Energy Challenge includes 314 schools, making it the largest electricity reduction competition of K-12 schools in the world. Across the country they have conserved over 1.5 million pounds of CO2 from our atmosphere. They wish to make improvements to operations and facilities also while engaging students in social settings. Recycling is a major effort they are wanting to improve as well, to reduce energy use. On average, this program saves upwards of $100,000 in a month of one city. More cities and towns across the world should recognize The Green Cup Challenge to help the environment, economy, and school communities. Saving money and lowering the amounts of CO2 in the world one place at a time will conserve resources. With support, schools could have the ability to cut emissions, continue to save money, and continue to inspire other institutions to make conservation a priority.

Analysis:
This article is very interesting, and although it is not located in other countries around the world, it is important to realize the impact these schools are making on a global level. CO2 emissions travel and hurt our ecosystems and environment. When they speak on conserving resources, this is where global perspectives are important. Lowering emission levels will help with resources. With increasing population rates, we need as many resources as possible to maintain life around the world. While CO2 levels are higher in cities, these emissions travel long distances and cause harm to life wherever they eventually end up. The Green Cup Challenge is an important program for schools, because it teaches the younger generation how to maintain a healthy environment and this program may benefit all aspects of life in the next few decades, and we may even see a difference in the amount and quality of our resources. Economically, this program has a high budget due to the amount of savings they see from the reduction of CO2 emissions. This large budget is small in comparison to how much money this program saves. More schools around the world should become a part of this program in order to globally change our resources and helping our ever-increasing population problems.

Source:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/veronique-pittman/students-are-now-competin_b_5010655.html
Published on 3/22/14