The Dollars and Sense of
Energy Efficiency

This article appears in the Spring 2001 Issue of the
Journal of the New Jersey School Buildings & Grounds Association.
A similar but abbreviated version also appeared in the May 3rd issue of the
New Jersey School Board's Association's "School Board Notes."
 

These attractive savings suggest the economic efficiencies that are possible in the running of a typical New Jersey school. Such energy-efficient measures not only affect a school's bottom line, but they also serve to reduce a school's impact on the environment. In its increased electricity efficiency alone, Linden High School was responsible for reducing CO2 emissions by over 500,000 pounds. Though subject to political debate, most scientists agree that CO2 and other greenhouse gases (GHG) do contribute to global warming. Among these gases, CO2 stands out because it represents 88% of New Jersey's GHG emissions.

Because global warming is linked to rising sea levels, New Jersey faces particular risks. Despite local efforts to replace sand and build up dunes, beaches and ocean developments are literally washing away. Global warming also increases the instability of weather trends that can cause more damage through extreme weather events such as hurricanes. This is a pretty dismal forecast, but various public and private organizations are taking the initiative to propose achievable, locally tailored solutions to this global problem.

Aligning New Jersey with the international community's commitment to GHG reductions, the state Department of Environmental Protection, measuring from the baseline year 1990, has established a target cut of 3.5% in New Jersey's emissions by 2005. Governor Whitman endorsed the New Jersey Sustainability GHG Action Plan on Earth Day 2000. Corporations including Johnson & Johnson, Lucent Technologies, and Philips Lighting have agreed to meet the goal. GPU and PSE&G have also committed themselves to supporting more sustainable approaches to energy consumption. The presidents of all 54 New Jersey institutions of higher education have signed the New Jersey Greenhouse Gas Covenant of Sustainability, pledging their colleges and universities' participation in the GHG reduction plan. And at least three local school boards, Lawrence Township, Princeton Regional and Seaside Heights, have passed resolutions supporting the School Campaign to Do Our Share for Greenhouse Gas Reductions.

New Jersey's 4,000 public and private school buildings represent an important arena in which to extend the reach of the GHG Action Plan. To that end, the New Jersey Sustainable Schools Network and Global Learning, a New Jersey nonprofit organization committed to sustainable education, have created Doing Our Share: Greenhouse Gas Reductions Manual for Schools. Available at www.globallearningnj.org, it highlights the educational possibilities in helping schools and students reach quantifiable goals in the area of energy efficiency. The manual contains tools that involve students and staff in calculating their schools' base line and determining their 3.5% target emission cuts, resources that will help schools achieve these targets, and other educational materials to teach about global warming, the greenhouse effect, and energy efficiency.

However, these coalitions that are built outside the school will not work without the involvement of key staff within the schools. In the manual for their Green Schools program, the Alliance to Save Energy emphasize the need to involve the buildings and grounds personnel because of their expertise and perspective on the functioning of the school physical plant. Without the knowledgeable support of school facilities staff, measures that are designed to reduce energy expenditures will be limited in their success.

Examples abound of energy efficiency measures that do not compromise comfort or convenience but instead combine environmental and economic responsibility. Gaining the support of the New Jersey School Buildings and Grounds Association's members and ultimately the individual schools of New Jersey is vital in order to promote these values in New Jersey's next generation and to take definite steps to address global warming. Global warming is caused by human activity and while it is a serious problem that has the potential to negatively affect future generations, through education and informed action, we can work to check its course. By adopting the GHG Reduction Plan*, schools can not only confront global warming but also shift resources away from unneeded, inefficient energy expenditures to the actual work of teaching students.

* What your school can do:

• Pass the School Campaign to Do Our Share for Greenhouse Gas Reductions Resolution
• Alert your staff to the resources in the Doing Our Share: Greenhouse Gas Reductions Manual for Schools
• Develop a plan to meet or exceed the goal of 3.5% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2005

The resolution and manual are available at www.globallearningnj.org/OurShr.htm.

Thor Mann is a doctoral student at the Rutgers University Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology. Thor spent part of his spring semester as an intern at Global Learning.