Students construct a model solar-powered building (Creative Commons/NC Sun News).

On May 3, 2012, the National Association of Black School Educators (NABSE) hosted the National Education Policy Institute’s event “Saving the Soul of Public Education,” which featured a session on STEM. Panelists included astronaut Leland Melvin, who is the Associate Administrator of education at NASA, Yohance Maquelba, the Executive Director of Howard University Middle School for Science and Math, Ted Brodheim, COO of ePals, and Horace Williams, Superintendent of Cedar Hill Independent School District.

From placing high-speed internet in the hands of every student to connecting classrooms with role models from NASA, Microsoft and other big names in STEM, each panelist gave specific, compelling examples of real-life efforts to get children of color from all over the country thinking about the possibilities STEM offers. Though the title of the session, “The New Three R’s,” was in reference to Science, Technology and Engineering, there was one big “R” that steered the conversation: relevancy.

Afterward, panelists took questions from the audience, and when I asked about the ability of environmental learning to demonstrate the relevancy of STEM, all agreed that it has an important role. Melvin described NASA’s initiative to connect employees to schools as STEM ambassadors, and that they are introducing classrooms to the new Earth Now  app, which monitors changing climate data via satellite. This fits well with NWF’s Eco-Schools USA NASA-funded high school curriculum on climate change as well as providing students with hands-on, experiential learning opportunities that helps connect them to both STEM disciplines and the environment.

Superintendent Williams described several green initiatives that are going on in his district that are engaging students and teachers and connecting them to the community. He stated that Cedar Hill students have community gardens on school grounds, where they are partnering with a local community college and a local 4-year university. A nutritionist from the First Lady’s Let’s Move Nutrition program is in the district teaching students the health benefits of eating from the gardens. Even a nearby tilapia farm contributes as a source of natural fertilizer for the gardens.

NABSE’s leadership is well aware of the benefits of environmental education. Before the session even got underway, I had the pleasure of speaking with NABSE’s President-elect Bernard Hamilton, who spoke enthusiastically about school environmental projects in his hometown of Louisville, KY. It’s clear that diversity in STEM is something we need now when it comes to education – for our kids, for our environment, and for our economy.

Want to learn more about bringing STEM and environmental learning into the classroom? Click here to read about Eco-Schools USA’s Climate Change Connections program and the educational resources provided by NASA.

The college’s announcement recently, covered by Chanel 10 news and local media, that it had become grid positive ahead of schedule, came as a welcome surprise, signaling the first time we are aware of that a campus is generating more electricity through solar photovoltaic panels than they use.

This is significant for the US and world.  As a leading global source of greenhouse gas pollution, the US is in need of models such as Butte’s that provide a path towards a healthy future. This kind of large-scale shift towards cleaner forms of energy not only provides students hands-on opportunities to gain 21st century skills, it also directly boosts local employment providing jobs for displaced workers and newly trained students (e.g. see Butte’s green jobs center).

The impressive solar installation is just one facet of Butte’s sustainability efforts.  They have also diverted a larger percentage of their waste than most campuses, restored a large wildlife habitat area, designed buildings that define new standards for energy efficiency, and operate a transit program that reduces traffic in the community.  They won the national green campus awards-Chill Out- in 2008 (see video) and were also a featured school in the national campus environmental report card detailing trends in higher education management, curriculum and operations for sustainability (both programs of the National Wildlife Federation’s Campus Ecology initiative). They are also a signatory to the prestigious President’s Climate Commitment through which almost 700 US college and university leaders aim to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.

On behalf of our Campus Ecology team and all of my colleagues here at National Wildlife Federation (along with our partners in the Greenforce Initiative at Jobs for the Future), congratulations and thanks to President Van Der Ploeg for having the courage to set such a bold goal for human health and ecology and to Mike Miller, Butte’s director of facilities planning and management, for helping define a new path forward and assisting others at schools all across the US and world along the way.

American manufacturing has seen a steady decline for many years, especially in the Midwest region.  According to the International Trade Association- Illinois has seen a decrease in manufacturing jobs by 37% between 1990 and 2009.  However, the theme for the Greenforce meeting was “Manufacturing is not dead!” Marc Smierciak, Associate Dean of Instruction, Humboldt Park Vocational Education Center, Wilbur Wright College showcased that their green manufacturing training programs are at capacity and that students are leaving college with jobsand employable credentials.

Furthermore Tom Gannon, Manufacturing Specialist from AFL-CIO Working for America, discussed that although the United States has lost traditional manufacturing jobs, there has been an increase in green manufacturing- including wind, solar, battery technology and fuel efficient engines. Working with the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council, and industry experts, new green standards are being finalized and will be piloted in Indiana at an AFL-CIO center this summer.

Jennifer Keeling, Director of City Policy at the Chicago Jobs Council, discussed their new report, “Job Growth Projections and Analysis in Chicago’s Emerging Green Industries”  which demonstrates possible job growth potential in the Chicagoland area to include: energy efficiency, landscaping and urban agriculture, and renewable energy.

Urban agriculture, local food, composting and green landscaping were discussed with enthusiasm during the session titled “Campus Greening Connections with Workforce Development.”  It seems as if colleges and community partners are ready and willing to figure out ways to further educational and community outreach opportunities as it relates to urban agriculture.  The Greenforce Initiative will work with our college partners to assist with possible curriculum development and sharing of best practices as programs are developed.

Even though green manufacturing and urban agriculture stole the show during this meeting, the theme really focused on partnerships, and how the Greenforce Initiative, local community college partners, training providers and other community organizations need and can work together to ensure the green economy is inclusive and effective in creating good, family-sustaining green jobs.

photo credit: Fang Guo via flickr.com

Last week, the global price of oil rose above $105 per barrel and the national average price of gasoline hit $3.55 per gallon– the highest ever for this time of year.  However, if you could plug your car into an electrical outlet tonight instead of stopping at a gas station, you would be paying the equivalent of about 75 cents per gallon to drive it instead of the fluctuating $3, $4 or more at the pump.

Consumers are already taking action to drive cars without gasoline. The U.S. waitlists are growing for the all-electric Nissan Leaf (with more than 20,000 orders) and the plug-in electric hybrid Chevrolet Volt (with more than 50,000 signed up in support).

Rapidly growing global demand for oil means ongoing, high and volatile gas prices. Electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids, and other new efficient cars and trucks provide real choices for us to cut the money we spend on fuel. Replacing gas-powered cars with electric cars over time will also improve our environment. Even accounting for the electricity, EVs are amongst the cleanest cars on the road—with the potential to become true zero emission vehicles.

Read the PDF below to learn more about the myths and facts of electric vehicles.

Play Again, a documentary shown as part of DC’s Environmental Film Festival, tackled this question, portraying the changing balance between the virtual and natural worlds facing today’s children (and let’s admit it, adults).

Play Again poster at the DC Environmental Film Festival

According to the film, one generation from now most people in the U.S. will have spent more time staring at screens in the virtual world than outside. Technology has changed our lives in ways many of us don’t even stop to think about anymore. Can you believe the first cell phones went on the market only 15 years ago? New media technologies are improving our lives and empowering us, but they are also creating an actual addiction from spending too much time doing it.

For today’s generation of kids, screens are the de facto medium through which to experience the world. Play Again tells the interwoven story of a group of media-connected (i.e. “Hyper-overdrive” or… “normal”) teens who are unplugged and brought on their first wilderness adventure. Real nature footage is juxtaposed with high tech images and animation from the virtual world to play with the reality of how kids are experiencing nature on screen and in person.

Virtual vs. Reality

Before they embark on their journey the teens, who spend anywhere from a self-proclaimed 6-15 hrs a day in front of screens, are challenged to a “screen-fast.”  In MTV Real World-style confessionals, each admits to withdrawal-like symptoms, some not lasting more than a single day. One admits he knows his media addiction is “destroying me from the inside.”

What’s impressive about the film is its ability to be simultaneously innocent and playful in the teens’ candid testimonies and exploration, while also clearly exposing a hard-hitting reality. As we watch them dip toes into rivers for the first time, sing around campfires, and play team battle games that stray far from how they are used to interacting and strategizing through video games, it’s evident how extremely different childhood has become. One young boy admits with heart-breaking surprise, “When you’re outside, it’s so much more realistic.”

According to National Wildlife Federation’s Whole Child report, when kids spend time playing outdoors they form an innate connection to nature that can make them happier, healthier, and even more attentive in school. The Internet may give us endless factoids, but there is a sense of wonder only found in nature and problem-solving skills that come solely from direct exploration. If children no longer have the time and space to experience the world outdoors, how are we altering the course of human development?

As Play Again’s Director Tonje Hessen Schei, says, “Reconnecting them to nature will take all of us working together. Turning off the screen and getting outside is a small first step towards finding a path.”

Find out where you can catch this eye-opening film screening near you.

High school student Brandon Ford was invited by the first lady because he is a member of the West Philly Hybrid X Team which competed late last year in the Progressive Automotive X Prize, a $10 Million competition for developing the best 100 mile per gallon-equivalent car.  The high school team represents the next generation of automotive engineering in the US.

We caught up with the team at the X Prize competition late last year and heard their message loud and clear that they believe in and are working towards a future of made-in-America advanced vehicles.  President Obama couldn’t agree more.  He has said time and again the he wants to see EVs and advanced batteries “made right here in America, by American businesses and American workers.”

Click here to listen to an NPR interview with another member of the West Philly Hybrid X Team who proudly watched his teammate on TV sitting with Michelle Obama.

Three things you can count on at a big car show in Detroit: big engines, bright lights, and beautiful models.

What was really sexy, though, was taking a closer look at all the clean technology going into current and next generation automobiles that will slash greenhouse emissions and reduce our dependency on dirty fuels.

Click here to view the embedded video.

As our video shows, the award-winning Chevy Volt was drawing a ton of attention.  Already, there are over 56,000 people who’ve signed up to buy one! And as Walter McManus said at this morning’s “Driving Michigan Forward” panel, “there is no doubt, a commitment to clean car technology will drive innovation and profit for American automobile manufacturers.”  McManus, an economist at the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute, has the data to support his optimism.

NWF members and staff are not alone in wanting big increases in efficiency either.  Mark Cooper, Research Director at the Consumer Federation of America, pointed out that for the U.S. to reach its stated goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050, “it’ll require a fleet average of 100 miles per gallon.” Cooper also endorsed the GO60MPG campaign goal for new cars to achieve at least 60 miles per gallon and no more than 143 grams per mile of carbon pollution by 2025.

Danielle’s Highlight: I’ve been to the auto show many times (even once I was able to attend the prestigious Gala!), but this year was particularly wonderful.  The auto companies have a much larger focus on fuel efficiency and more proudly compete with one another about MPGs.  I think the advanced autos are a key to Michigan’s economic turnaround, and today it started to look like we are driving forward.

Frank’s favorite moment at the auto show: getting behind the wheel of a Chevy Volt, which was selected as “Car of the Year” for 2011 – “it was really exciting to sit in the Volt , but probably nowhere near as cool as actually driving it every day – saving money and cutting emissions.  I’m on the wait list to buy one!

The Progressive Automotive X Prize, a $10 Million competition for the best 100 mile per gallon-equivalent cars, attracted teams of innovators from around the world in 2010. The goal of the competition was “to inspire a new generation of viable, super-efficient vehicles that help break our addition to oil and stem the effects of climate change.”

A team of high school students from an urban public high school in Philadelphia, PA took that goal a step further. The West Philly Hybrid X Team entered their EVX GT and Ford EVX Focus cars into the competition explaining that they would not only promote environmental sustainability but also social sustainability by growing jobs at home in Philadelphia. The team will be building a new electric car this spring.

‘“This movement of environmentalism has to be led by people most affected,” said Azeem Hill, a high school senior and West Philly Hybrid X Team Captain. Hear more of Hill’s explanation of the team’s efforts in the following video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

NWF is committed to fair and equitable solutions to climate change that build jobs and revitalize communities– those solutions depend on innovation and leadership like that from the West Philly team.

The author at the Climate Change Connections institute

Tuesday was Day 2 of the three-day NASA/Eco-Schools USA Climate Change Connections professional development institute. Attending the Maryland event are middle and high school educators from Boston, Austin, Washington, DC, and Seattle.

Dr. Jennifer Schwarz-Ballard from the Chicago Botanic Garden, a NASA Global Climate Change Education (GCCE) grantee from the first year of the GCCE program, provided an overview of Project Budburst.  Project Budburst is a national phenology and climate change field campaign for citizen scientists.

NWF has developed a related curriculum lesson called “Citizen Scientist to the Rescue: Trends in Spring Arrival Using Project Budburst”.  As part of this lesson, participants engaged in a Budburst nature observing walk, using handheld GPS units, tree finder guides, and phenology assessment worksheets to report what they found.  As an additional perk, everyone got in their Green Hour – much enjoyed time spent outdoors during the beautiful fall day.

At lunchtime, Eco-Schools USA’s Liz Soper presented about partner organization Alliance for Climate Education‘s (ACE) high school assembly program.  Soper’s presentation spurred a lot of discussion about ACE, which is a high energy, effective student engagement program that helps to inform and inspire students to take action against climate change.

We were joined in the afternoon by Dr. Paul Stackhouse of the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.  Dr. Stackhouse heads up the Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resource (POWER) group.  POWER is a really cool renewable energy resource website that helps academia, businesses, homeowners, and individuals use NASA surface meteorology and solar energy data to calculate, through the use of third-party tools such as RETScreen, the solar potential of a location based on its latitude and longitude.  Afterwards, the group engaged in a curriculum lesson on calculating solar power energy potential for their schools. 

Day 2 Climate Change Connections institute participants also had an opportunity to visit the NASA Goddard education department to pick up posters, lessons, and other free educational materials to take back and share with their students. Yesterday was a full, productive day. 

Today is our last day together.  We will bring it all back together in a few last culminating lessons that tie the curriculum, NASA data, tools and resources with actions that schools can do to enact climate change solutions through the Eco-Schools USA framework. 

What do you want to learn more about? Are you a teacher who struggles with lack of climate change curricula? Have you found success through technology in your classroom? Add your comment below, we’d love to hear from you!

Learn more about the program at www.eco-schoolsusa.org and follow us on Twitter @EcoSchoolsUSA. Read Laura Hickey’s Day 1: Parts I and II posts here and here.

This part of the institute introduced participants to technology and tools that NASA offers through its MY NASA DATA program.  Educators have to “Get Their Techno On” to be able to learn how to access the scientific data and interpret the data.  Likewise, our curriculum motto is “LEARN – DISCOVER – TEACH”.

NOAA's Science On a Sphere

NASA education specialist Brian Campbell gave an amazing overview of the NASA Goddard Center and presented the much-anticipated Science On a Sphere (SOS) educational tool.  SOS is a room-sized, global display system that uses computers and video projectors to display planetary data onto a six foot diameter sphere, analogous to a giant animated globe.

Researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration developed SOS to help illustrate Earth system science to people of all ages. Animated images of atmospheric storms, climate change and ocean temperature can be shown on the sphere.  This massive educational tool is used to explain complex environmental processes in a way that is simultaneously captivating and intuitive. 

The hour-long SOS presentation was amazing—we saw hurricanes forming in the devastating 2005 season, the change of ice coverage in various regions of the world, phytoplankton ebb and flow, as well as ten other datasets which depict various environmental processes. 

The crowd was at times silent, absorbing the experiential lesson, and at times questions and exclamations were flowing freely.  What everyone wanted to know:  how can the audience bring this amazing resource home to their students?  The answer is that although installations are on the rise, it’s still rather limited to planetariums. 

The good news is that these same data sets can be viewed on the 2D platform Google Earth.  While not quite the awe-inspiring, in-your-face experience, Google’s 2D visualization version is still very effective—and more accessible—in educating people about various environmental changes.

On that note, one of the biggest challenges for some of these teachers is the lack of technological infrastructure at their school.  About half of the teachers say that there are not enough computers at their schools, and they wonder how to utilize these much desired resources. 

In our remaining time together at Climate Change Connections institute, we will explore the teachers’ desire to “Get Their Techno On” if they and their underserved students don’t have basic computers.  We are working together through Wednesday of this week—stay tuned for more updates from me about this exciting NASA/Eco-Schools USA Professional Development Institute. 

Learn more about the program at www.eco-schoolsusa.org and ‘Like’ us at Facebook.com/ecoschoolusa.