commentMayors' Alliance for Green Schools
A new nationwide initiative among some of the nation’s most influential and environmentally progressive mayors was announced last week, promising a green future for our schools. Mayor Manny Diaz of Miami, president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and Greg Nickels of Seattle, sponsor of the 2005 Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, led to the call for every student in the country to eventually enjoy the benefits of green building. Partnering with the United States Green Building Council, Diaz and Nickels join five other high-profile Mayors in calling for widespread change from other Mayors throughout the country, believing that real sustainability in schools must come from bottom-up enthusiasm on a community level.
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As such, solutions employed by the Mayors' Alliance for Green Schools start locally. One cornerstone of their agenda involves developing joint public-private partnerships with local businesses that allow school to develop and implement green roofs, solar gardens, and/or recycling programs. Participating Mayors will also make it a priority to develop legislation in state congress to create official policy and incentives for green school improvement. This will involve working out the details of utilizing the Clinton Climate Initiative’ K-12 retrofit program, which provides assistance in greening existing school facilities. But perhaps the most important responsibility of the new alliance is to raise the profile of green schools, jobs, and infrastructure on a national level through coordinated local efforts.
A major node of the Mayors' Alliance lies in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and is led by Mayor George Heartwell. Speaking about the Alliance, Mayor Heartwell states that “every one of our city's children deserves the best education we can offer. They are being prepared today to address some of the most intractable problems the planet has known. The City of Grand Rapids and the Grand Rapids Public Schools have locked arms under the banner of the Green Schools Alliance to ensure that the learning environment provides maximum stimulation, is health-inducing, and appropriately prepares the children to inherit this challenging future.”
The Alliance hopes that many more Mayors share the opinion of Heartwell, and will join the nationwide green school movement.
