Happy #EarthDay 🌎

We know things aren’t going well, but remember you can still make a difference at the grass roots level. For inspiration you can read how school districts around the US are leading on #ClimateAction! Maybe you can lead in your schools too?

This new book, “Students, Schools and our Climate Moment” by Laura A. Schifter and Jonathan Klein is out now on Harvard Press. They write of sucessful climate action in schools around the County, including our work right here in Prince George’s County.  You can order it here.

The University of Maryland Diamondback had a story on the construction of net-zero schools in Prince George’s County. We discussed the important of net-zero schools to PGCPS and how they can be a model for other institutions.

Read the story here.

Last month PGCPS released the second progress report on Climate Change Action Plan implementation (CCAP).  Once agin they are showing great progress on many of the CCAP Focus Workgroup recommendations.  Of course, there is always need for more on this very important issue and we will continue to advocate for full implementaiton.

Read the report here.

On May 11, we testified to the Interagency Commission on School Construction (IAC) on the need to develop regulations as directed by the General Assembly in Maryland Education Code Section 5-319 to require solar installation to be analyzed for new buildings and major renovations. The IAC was very receptive to our comments and even stated they are moving towards net-zero school construction. You can watch the video and read our written statement below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj7EqvjUOAY

Read the comments.

IAC’s response was excellent as well:

“The IAC is moving forward to implement, in coordination with all the other state agencies around the climate change requirements laid out in the recent Climate Solutions Now Act, as well as other statutes recently enacted.  We are looking forward to pushing forward with all the LEAs around net-zero of which we are able to support with a 5% state share as well as solar for other projects in school facilities. This is all part of a larger movement forward.  The IAC is fully on board with those actions.”

It was a beautiful day to be talking about the PGCPS Climate Change Action Plan at the Prince George’s County DOE Green Summit.  We had a great time talking to residents and other organizations about the Climate Change Action Plan.  It was exciting to spread the word and success.