Vocational education and training (VET) can play a transformative role in reducing CO[subscript 2] emissions and improving the energy efficiency of buildings across Europe. Nearly zero energy building (NZEB) requires an energy literate workforce, with broader and deeper theoretical knowledge, higher technical and precision skills,…

Should university endowments divest from fossil fuels? A public discussion of this question has seen some university presidents issuing statements that they would not divest--that investments should not be used for "political action." Many universities hold large endowments that have significant positions in fossil fuel companies or…

Building owners are caught between two powerful forces--the need to lower energy costs and the need to meet or exceed outdoor air ventilation regulations for occupant health and comfort. Large amounts of energy are wasted each day from commercial, institutional, and government building sites as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC)…

One of the fastest growing trends in school design is Net Zero Energy Schools. There are now at least a dozen or more schools completed or in construction that have achieved, or have committed to, this incredible level of energy efficiency. In this article, the author examines this trend and take a brief look at some of the exemplary projects that…

A 2008 study by the management-consulting firm McKinsey & Co. projected that the world's data centers would surpass the airline industry in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. Certainly adding to those emissions are K-12 districts, whose data centers hold the equipment that serves as the backbone for an ever-growing number of computing initiatives.…

Reducing school district energy expenditures has become a universal goal. However, school board members, superintendents, and directors of buildings and grounds are often unaware of the many options available to conserve energy. School energy conservation used to be relatively simple: turn off the lights and turn down the heat in the winter and…

This article describes how two institutions in the U.S. Southwest--Albuquerque Academy in New Mexico and Pima Community College (PCC) in Arizona--have implemented new energy projects on their campuses. Albuquerque Academy's one-megawatt DC photovoltaic solar array is one of the largest secondary schools projects to date in the United States. The…

A 44-item questionnaire was designed to determine students' views about how useful various "specific" actions might be in helping to reduce global warming, their willingness to undertake these various actions and the extent to which these two might be related. The instrument was administered to students in Grades 6 to 12 (N = 1532) from…

This paper presents results from 15 little publicized state and national environmental surveys in the US that used similar questions. Our analysis reveals trends in adult understanding of environmental issues. These trends indicate that many may have difficulty making informed decisions about environmental policy as citizens, voters, and…

Education institutions perpetually are challenged to deliver high-quality education with limited budgets. Part of an institution's success depends on finding creative solutions to reduce building operational costs and still provide an environment that promotes learning. With the recent spikes in energy costs and increased focus on environmental…

When the subject of buildings and daylighting arises, most people's thoughts will turn first to windows. To the uninitiated, it seems a simple formula: more windows, more daylight; fewer windows, less daylight. But designers know that effective use of daylighting in a building design involves more than just letting in light to otherwise darkened…

Every year, K-12 facilities waste millions of dollars in excess energy consumption. Those dollars may take the form of lost heat through walls, windows, doors, and roofs. Or the villain may be poorly conceived or mismanaged control systems. Those excess funds that districts are sending to the local utility companies could be invested "at home" to…

This article discusses Hawaii's energy conservation efforts. Faced with high electricity costs, the Hawaii Department of Education instituted a pilot program in which schools could earn back half the amount they saved in electricity over the course of a semester. As a result, one school's electricity use decreased by more than 10% for the…

When Arthur Stellar came to Massachusetts' Taunton Public Schools in 2005, he knew that part of his job as superintendent would be cost cutting. That's no easy task without sacrificing the quality of education the district provided. How to decrease what you spend without eliminating vital resources? One way, Stellar says, is to assess what you're…

Ground-coupled heating-cooling systems (GCHCSs) exchange heat between the built environment and the subsurface using pipework buried in trenches or boreholes. If heat pumps in GCHCSs are powered by "green electricity," they offer genuine carbon-free heating-cooling; for this reason, there has been a surge in the technology in recent…