Global Green USA Green School Makeover Competition Presented by Pureology

As a mother I know how important it is that my children go to a school where they will have all the necessary things to help them learn and be safe. Some schools fall short when it comes to upgrades. Our town for example has several schools and many are not updated as well as others due to the amount of students attending or lack of town funding. Things such as energy usage, proper lighting and recycling could make a huge difference in saving the town money down the road and improve our student scores.  Yes it may cost money now but think of how much it will save down the road when the changes start to take effect. If you could do at least one school at a time the savings will fund the next schools upgrades.  The following information is from a contest sponcered by Pureology called Global Green USA Green School Makeover Competition. GREENER SCHOOLS = A BRIGHTER FUTURE When a school goes green, children benefit—as well as the environment! Green schools lead to: Improved student performance. When children learn in classrooms with natural daylight, improved sound quality and non-toxic building materials such as non-VOC carpets and paints, test scores can improve as much as 20%. Attendance also improves!  More funds for student resources. When green upgrades are made to a school, water and energy costs can be reduced by as much as 40%. These savings can be channeled back into resources that directly benefit students, such as textbooks, computers and other essentials. Reduced carbon footprint. Greening a school significantly reduces carbon dioxide emissions that cause global warming. Every child deserves a learning environment that’s safe, comfortable and free of harmful toxins. Unfortunately, many schools across the country lack the funds to carry out much-needed repairs and renovations—subjecting children to outdated facilities with improper ventilation, poor lighting and inefficient energy usage. Global Green USA is working to address this situation and ensure that every child has the opportunity to learn in a healthy, green school. Some of the changes to implament could be: Create a recycling program Conduct an energy audit to determine ways energy can be saved Install solar shades to improve natural daylighting of classrooms Switch to green cleaning products Install energy-efficient light bulbs Use sustainable building materials, such as bamboo flooring and recycled runner gym mats Replace outdated or unsafe carpets and other materials with new, non-toxic ones If you notice some of those upgrades simple changes that could be free and save the schools money to put towards other programs that are currently being cut world wide like music programs.  For more information visit the Pureology Website: http://bit.ly/VzWAQh