No Heat, No Cool, No Problem

Steps the American School in Japan is taking to make the world greener.

Schools do many different things to attempt to encourage their students to be environmentally aware; and for the American School in Japan this has been especially true. ASIJ Students proudly presented the green changes their school has recently made at the 2nd Annual Global Issues Network Conference hosted by International School Bangkok. Last year the school set goals that they wanted to complete by this year; one of those was to reduce the amount of energy consumed by 40 percent. They installed solar panels on both the gym roof and indoor pool roof to help this goal come true. Also a very effective program was the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) 1400, in this program, children record their trash, carbon and water emissions. Later they bring the data to school and compare it with what the other students recorded, afterwards they talk of ways in which they can reduce their Carbon Footprint. This program was also embraced by the Japanese government and introduced it to public school as well.

Other projects which they have started, include composting, led by 3rd graders, the Kiosk (which is a café) encouraging students to reuse their eating and drinking utensils, and the Green Group, which is made up of different branches of the school (Administration, Maintenance, Cafeteria, Elementary School, Middle School, and High School). The goal of the Green Group is to change student behavior and become more eco friendly, which branches off to different things. One of the most outstanding projects was The Green Campaign; they used this campaign to raise money for the solar panels, which were installed around campus. It also encouraged students to be more environmentally aware, to turn off their lights when they weren’t needed or used, and also to turn off their air conditioners during the months that they weren’t needed. Although this was a very ingenious energy saving scheme, many students complained or did not fully understand the plan. The main point of this plan was that “the little things add up” as 12th grader Astrid Fulton (ASIJ) put it. In a whole the main summary of the whole presentation was put clear and concise by senior Elicia Cousins (ASIJ) “to change individual behavior.”

By Amelia Chacon (International School Bangkok)