LAWRENCE: It’s easy being green: revising the three ‘R’s’

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Reading, ’riting and ’rithmetic, move over — the new three R’s are reduce, reuse, recycle, at least according to Lawrence Intermediate School students in their quest to “go green.”
    In a pair of back-to-back assemblies Feb. 26, LIS students learned from community leaders — from Sustainable Lawrence Executive Director Ralph Copleman to Philips Lighting Co. representative Rico Scardelleti — what young people can do to help save the environment.
    School district Business Administrator Thomas Eldridge told the fourth- through sixth-graders that their school is next in line to have solar energy panels installed on the roof, courtesy of a $10.5 million bond referendum approved in 2008.
    The school district has been taking steps to save energy for many years, Mr. Eldridge said. The first step was taken in 2002, when the district decided to replace the energy-inefficient doors and windows. A new roof that could accommodate solar energy panels grew out of that initiative, he said.
    Mr. Eldridge told the students that once the panels are installed on LIS’ roof, a meter would be placed in the lobby so they can track how much electricity is being produced. He said the solar energy panels would save the district about $4 million in energy costs over 30 years.
    “The panels will generate about 23 percent of the energy we need,” he said. “That’s the easy part. The hard part is up to you. The toughest work is yet to come. We have to change our behavior and not consume as much anymore.”
    Lawrence High School senior Ben Muzi, president of Students Against Violating the Earth, said it is up to this generation — people up to 20 years old, also known as “Generation Green” — to take steps to preserve the planet.
    “No matter where you live or what you look like, or if you are rich or poor, the problem can be seen,” Ben said. “There is no more important cause than coming together to take action to save the planet. Some day, we might get electricity from the wind and we might drive solar cars.”
    “I’m not asking you to change your world today,” he said. “(But) stop using plastic bags. Bring in reusable bags, and fill reusable water bottles. It takes about 1,000 years for a bottle to biodegrade (in a landfill). These are some small things that everyone can do to make a difference.”
    But the children were most enthralled by Mr. Copleman, the executive director of Sustainable Lawrence, and the contents of a garbage bag that he dumped on a tarpaulin on the stage in the multipurpose room.
    Donning a pair of gloves, Mr. Copleman picked through the contents on the tarpaulin — an empty yogurt cup, a Styrofoam cup, a plastic water bottle, a soda can, a half-eaten slice of pizza, a cucumber slice and a piece of paper — that had been tossed into the trash by LIS students and staff.
    “Eeuw,” the students said as he held up the items, one by one.
    Mr. Copleman separated out the items that are recyclable — plastics that have a “1” or a “2” inside the triangle on the bottom of the cup or bottle — and those that are not, such as the slice of pizza. Paper is recyclable, and the vegetable scraps could be put into a compost pile to degrade, he said.
    “This Glad sandwich bag (is something) you can wash it and use it again,” Mr. Copleman said. “Reduce, reuse, recycle. There is one more term to add in the future – rethink. More than one-third — maybe 50 percent — of what is here (on the tarp) is not garbage. It is recyclable.”
    Rico Scardelleti, the internal communications manager for Philips Lighting Co., said his company makes compact fluorescent light bulbs and although they are energy efficient, the wave of the future is LED bulbs. A CFL bulb lasts about seven years, but an LED bulb can last 15 years, he said.
    But in the meantime, CFL bulbs are good energy-savers — and that’s important when the typical American house has 52 light sockets, he said, adding that he checked his own home and discovered that he had 58 sockets.
    Mr. Scardelleti also told the students that the U.S. makes up 5 percent of the world’s population, but “the problem is, we create nearly 25 percent of the greenhouse gases. We have a responsibility to the world to reduce greenhouse gases.”
    Jeana Tuddenham, the vice president of marketing for Service Lamp Corp., also reinforced the issue of global warming. She said the greenhouse gases have contributed to the problem, which results in glaciers’ melting and sea levels rising.
    Wrapping up the assembly, LIS head custodian Alan Wilson encouraged the students to recycle by putting paper in a box in each classroom, and bottles and cans in a yellow bucket.
    “We all have to work together. I need your help. I’m going to be watching you guys,” Mr. Wilson told the students.