What Educators Need to Know About Schools and Hot Weather
We’re having these breaks and disruptions in our in-person learning, and those disruptions are inequitably felt. Communities that have been redlined, underinvested in over decades are the ones where the school buildings are more out of date.”
Polluted Skies and High Heat Expose School Facility Issues, Threaten Students’ Health
“The wildfire smoke, the heat, the drought, flooding—all the impacts of climate change are here,” said Jonathan Klein, co-founder of Undaunted, a national nonprofit that advocates for solutions to fight climate change. “Schools are where students spend more of their waking hours than anywhere else. We need to make sure they’re resilient and prepared for extreme weather events.”
How to climate-proof schools: Revamping schools to withstand what’s coming
Closing schools is a common, but unsustainable, response to heat waves, wildfires and other extreme climate events.
“Kids are losing out on learning time,” said Jonathan Klein
How can we shield children from the impacts of climate change? Investments in schools can help.
“In terms of a broader climate strategy, and the transition to clean energy that we need to make, school should be some of the first places we do that work. Because that’s where young people are: 1 in 6 Americans is on a school campus every day.”
Coalition urges California to invest $150 billion in climate-resilient, healthy schools
“A coalition of health, city planning and education nonprofits issued a report Thursday urging California leaders to invest $150 billion over a decade to build and renovate schools to mitigate to the increasingly hazardous effects of climate change on children’s health and well-being.”
Most Schools Burn Fossil Fuels for Heat. Here’s Why That’s a Problem
More than half the energy used in K-12 schools goes toward heating and cooling buildings. And more than 60 percent of school HVAC systems’ energy use is tied to on-site burning fossil fuels, the primary driver of climate change.'
A $300 million idea to equitably 'jumpstart' a climate-friendly building revolution in Massachusetts
A broad coalition of environmental, housing and education advocacy groups say they have a plan to help Massachusetts meet one of its most challenging climate goals: “decarbonizing,” or dramatically reducing carbon emissions, from buildings in the state.”
There’s a lot of new federal money for greening K-12 education. This is how schools could use it
“With brand-new federal incentives in place, existing climate or environmental initiatives may no longer be ambitious enough — zero-carbon alternatives might even be less expensive up front, as well as cheaper and better in the long run.
Massachusetts group to ask for $300 million to renovate structures, meet climate goals
“One-third of all carbon emissions in Massachusetts emanate from the state’s 2 million existing buildings, according to Logan Malik, interim executive director of the Massachusetts Climate Action Network, a member organization of the Zero Carbon Renovation Fund Coalition.
A new UNICEF report says that children are experiencing frequent heat waves around the world
Manola Secaira talked to our co-founder Jonathan Klein, Dr. Lisa Patel from Stanford, and Sharon Danks from Green Schoolyards America about the increasing threat of extreme heat and its consequences for children’s health and learning.
The School Year Is Getting Hotter. How Does Heat Affect Student Learning and Well-Being?
‘Schools are not prepared for the extreme heat, and we need to change that now,’ said Jonathan Klein. ‘It’s also an equity issue, he said: ‘Our most vulnerable students are the most vulnerable to extreme heat.’