Creating green schools often hinges on administrators. Principals, superintendents, and other school leaders have the authority and skill sets to make important, even if incremental, progress toward creating green learning environments. This article provides background and reference information that will help administrators with their initial…

One aim of environmental education is to persuade people to act in more pro-environmental ways. However, there is not a linear relationship between environmental knowledge "in general" and a willingness to act pro-environmentally. This research explores, using a specially-devised questionnaire, Turkish school students' beliefs about the…

This issue of "Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools" Update ("IAQ TfS" Update) contains the following items: (1) News and Events; (2) Feature Article: Reduce Energy Costs while Maintaining Healthy IAQ; (3) Insight into Excellence: North East Independent School District ; (4) School Building Week 2009; and (5) Have Your Questions Answered!

Energy efficiency makes fiscal and environmental sense, and so does energy savings performance contracting. Because an energy savings performance contract can create a self-funding package of products and services that reduce energy and operating costs, over time, school districts' sometimes-large initial investment in emerging technologies saves…

Many schools and universities want the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED certification for their facilities, but they are concerned about cost. This certification is tangible evidence that a facility is designed to conserve resources and use energy more efficiently. "Low-cost/no-cost" upgrades can be worked into a capital plan that provides a 3-…

Peter Pistorino says there is a name for the way he thinks a school district should launch an energy conservation initiative: an "envelope" approach. The term refers to looking at the outside package of a structure to check for inefficiencies: Examine the observable, external sources of energy loss such as the doors, windows, insulation,…

Two similar experiments on conservation of energy and transformation of mechanical into electrical energy are presented. Both can be used in classes, as they offer numerous possibilities for discussion with students and are simple to perform. Results are presented and are precise within 20% for the version of the experiment where measured values…

Although many young people think climate change is an important societal issue, studies indicate that pessimism is quite common. Finding ways to instill hope could therefore be seen as vital. However, is hope positively related to engagement or is it only a sign of illusory optimism? The aim of the study was to explore if hope concerning climate…

This descriptive, exploratory study focused on how institutions of higher education have used the United States Green Building Council's (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED[R]) Green Building Rating system. It employed statistical methods to assess which types of universities have used LEED, what ratings they earned, and…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report on the results of an Massachusetts Institute of Technology Chemistry Department campaign to reduce energy consumption in chemical fume hoods. Hood use feedback to lab users is a crucial component of this campaign. Design/methodology/approach: Sash position sensor data on variable air volume fume…

This article presents the results of a nationwide survey conducted in the spring of 2009 that examined the impacts of the current recession on nonprofit organizations, including museums. The survey identified a host of negative effects that nonprofits have been experiencing as a result of the recession, including reduced organizational revenues,…

Most likely, solar cells will play a significant role in this country's strategy to address the two interrelated issues of global warming and dependence on imported oil. The purpose of this paper is to present an explanation of how solar cells work at an introductory high school, college, or university physics course level. The treatment presented…

The aim of this study is to introduce an attitude scale in order to define students? attitudes about environment, recycling, plastics, plastic waste. In this study, 80 attitude sentences according to 5-point Likert-type scale were prepared and applied to 492 students of 6th grade in the Kastamonu city center of Turkey. The scale consists of…

The emerging and expanding green economy has the potential to create not just jobs, but career opportunities across the United States as green manufacturing, green products, and green services fuel demand for workers at all skill levels. Community colleges are leading the way in defining and addressing these opportunities. They are: developing…

When trying to reach their sustainability goals, schools and school districts often run into obstacles, including financing, training, and implementation tools. Last fall, the U.S. Green Building Council-Georgia (USGBC-Georgia) launched its High Performance, Healthy Schools (HPHS) Program to help Georgia schools overcome those obstacles. By…