The Allen-Stevenson School Welcomes The Green Schools Alliance Roundtable Series Be a Global Leader in Your Local Community
Energy & Climate Change: What Schools Can Do The first of a four-part series on Green Schools Thursday, October 11, 2007
Opening Remarks
The GSA started because ONE little boy wanted to celebrate Earth Day in his first grade class at Allen-Stevenson, and because ONE mother wanted to make EVERYday Earth Day for him.
It started because ONE extraordinary astronaut, who hung upside down under the Earth on one toe fixing the Hubble said, “There are infinite complex life forms in this infinite universe, some survive and some don’t. I’m afraid we may not make it—what are YOU willing to give up?”
The GSA started with ONE school facility manager who thought that energy was the right way to challenge HIS community, and ONE Business manager who understood the financial implications on institutions and the need to support a collaborative effort. It started with ONE Headmaster who had the vision, understanding and determination to change his corner of the world.
The GSA started with ONE Music Director at The Town School who began a Green group, and ONE Science Director at Browning who joined him. It started with ONE Trustee at Calhoun who thought a green roof was a great idea, ONE person at Fieldston who caught the bug, and ONE headmaster at St Hilda’s and St Hugh’s who signed on for renewable energy hoping it could make a difference.
It started with ONE child and ONE teacher at Hewitt who began a community recycling drive and contacted PerScholas, an organization in the S. Bronx that collects and restores old computers and distributes them to those in need, and it started with ONE second grader at Chapin who conspired with her best friend to make a recycling video.
The GSA started as an idea, a dream, then a possibility, and now because of every single ONE in this room who’s come here tonight with their story, their curiosity, interest or experience, who wanted to make a difference one small step at a time — it has become a reality. Well, we’re not taking small steps any longer. Being here together, tonight is a ONE BIG LEAP! E Pluribus Unum: from the many ONE. WE are the Green Schools Alliance!
We understand that the education community can play a unique and key role in adverting disaster and we recognize the collective strength of individual action. We have an opportunity in this room, at this unique moment, to join our individual concern into collective action to maximize our shared benefit.
The 40+ independent schools that are here together tonight, is an unprecedented demonstration of our community’s desire to address the climate change challenge head-on.
Launched on World Environment Day June 5, 2007, the GSA recognizes and will support the leadership role that schools, as a critical mass, can play in solving our environmental and climate challenges.
Inspired by Mayor Bloomberg’s challenge to reduce carbon by 30% in 10 years, our program tonight addresses Energy and Climate Change: What Schools Can Do and some of the resource and incentive Programs available to support us.
Greening our schools is a commitment, but it’s not a competition. It’s not about winners, or losers, or who gets there first, or does it best, or most. It’s about celebrating our successes, sharing our experiences and collaborating to build a community and learn together how to do it better. If there are winners and losers then we’re all losers, and we can’t afford to loose. Our survival depends on it. We are a TEAM—OUR TEAM.
With the guidance of many individuals and organizations including the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, NAIS, NYSAIS, the U.S. Green Building Council and NRDC, the GSA has developed a pilot K-12 Green Schools Climate Commitment that you’ll find in your blue folders.
This Pilot Pledge, launched here tonight, will be launched to schools nationwide at the NAIS Annual Conference in NYC at Radio City Music Hall in February. It’s a Call-To-Action to America’s schools to recognize the need to become climate neutral in 10 years, and to begin by reducing our carbon footprint by at least 30% in the next 5 years.
It’s a goal that can be achieved thanks to the support of the many no-cost/low-cost energy and carbon reduction programs and related incentive programs immediately available to all our schools.
Here tonight are local, state and national resource partners who we hope will demonstrate that the goal of the pledge, is not only possible and practical, but critical. And we hope that by the time you leave this room, you’ll be energized and excited, and signed up for some, or all, of the energy and carbon reduction programs that you’ll be hearing about, and take these ideas back to your school.
The GSA is about joining our individual concern into collective action to protect our shared future.
David Trower, Headmaster, The Allen-Stevenson School
Welcome
Margaret Watson, Green Schools Alliance (Allen-Stevenson parent) Opening Remarks
Laurie Kerr, Mayor’s Office of Long Term Planning and Sustainability
Mayor’s Perspective; City Update
Rob Watson, EcoTech International; Founder of LEED™ (Allen-Stevenson parent)
Buildings and Energy; The Importance of Third Party Certification
Kathy Baczko, Clinton Foundation, Energy Efficiency Retrofit Building Program
Energy Service Companies (Energy Finance and Engineering); Purchasing Consortiums
Matt Brown, NYS Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)
Benchmarking, Energy Incentive Programs
Eileen Egan-Annechino, Con Edison
Energy Efficiency and Demand Response
Gerard O’Sullivan, Energy Curtailment Specialists
Energy Efficiency Programs and Technologies
Rosi Kerr, JUICE Energy, Inc.
Renewable Energy
Blanche Sheinkopf, The Green Schools Alliance
Green Schools Alliance On-Line Community & National Carbon Challenge/Pledge
