Healthy and Green Living » Healthy Schools

Best Cool Green School Supplies

Melissa Breyer — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 20:00:05 +0000

Rainbow pony princess pencils or plain wooden ones? A shiny plastic big-eyed kitten notebook or a brown recycled one? For kids, green school supplies aren’t always such an easy sell. My challenge this year is to outfit my daughter’s school supply list with eco-friendly choices, and to do so with items that have some serious [...]

No School Left Behind

Eric Steinman — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:00:38 +0000

This morning I ran into a neighborhood woman accompanied by her school-age daughter. Niceties were exchanged, and simple banter revealed that this woman is actively home schooling her two children. She mentioned it as casually and confidently as someone would reveal their love of pancakes or vacation time. Upon hearing this, I felt a conflict [...]

Keeping Off the Grass-like Turf

Eric Steinman — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:00:11 +0000

Yes, I realize that my last posting was on a similar topic: Replacing the front lawn. So, I thought it most appropriate to follow up with a cautionary tale on the road to a suitable lawn alternative with this timely news flash: Hazardous substance found in New Jersey! Maybe not a shocker to all, but the hazardous [...]

Air Quality and Kids: What’s Best?

Heather L. Jones — Mon, 05 May 2008 16:01:37 +0000

On a warm and smoggy day last fall, my daughter came home from school and said the kids didn't go outside for recess because it was "too hot." I knew poor air quality was more likely the culprit.

While air pollution isn't good for anyone, kids are especially vulnerable since they breathe more air relative to their body size and they have higher metabolism rates. A 10-year California EPA study showed that kids who had been exposed to higher rates of particulate matter had significantly lower lung function by age 18, when lungs are pretty much mature and the results are unlikely to be reversed. Kids in high-ozone communities who participated in several sports were also more likely to develop asthma.

But are the kids better off inside? How healthy are those classrooms, where they spend so much of their lives?

The bad news is that indoor air carries its own serious risks. The good news: Steps can be taken to improve it.

Indoor air has 20 to 80 percent less ozone than outdoor air. However, according to the EPA, levels of several common pollutants are often two to five times higher indoors than outdoors—sometimes 70 times higher. A 2004 Air Resources Board study found shortcomings both in traditional classrooms and in portables.

Water stains and excess moisture, both indicative of a potential mold problem, were found in about a third of the classrooms. Visible mold was reported in 3 percent of the rooms; 69 percent of the teachers reported musty odors.

Construction materials, furniture and carpeting can emit formaldehyde, and levels in nearly all the classrooms exceeded guidelines for preventing long-term effects, including cancer. Pressed-wood products, which may contain a higher concentration of formaldehyde, are more likely to be used to build portables.

If your kid's classroom has carpeting, chances are good that the level of cleanliness doesn't reach the standards you keep at home. Twenty to 30 kids going in and out, tracking in dirt and pesticides, results in a nasty mix. The report found traces of lead, arsenic and pesticide residues in the floor dust—and younger kids generally sit right on the floor for activities like story time. Whatever your child's asthma triggers are, you might suspect they're in that carpet, no?

The levels of mold, formaldehyde and dust toxins build up thanks to another problem: Poor ventilation. Heating and AC systems often exceed classroom noise standards, so teachers often turn them off, resulting in insufficient circulation. Dirty air filters, which impede air flow, were also cited in the report.

Soft Drinks: Easy Greening

Melissa Breyer — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 13:00:18 +0000

America�s first sodas were made by pharmacists for curative purposes and were flavored with ingredients like birch bark and dandelions. Today�s soft drinks are chock full of artificial ingredients and are proven to increase health risks. Soda vending machines are like kid magnets, and with school starting it's a great time to think about alternatives. (For us adults, too!) Here's why you should just say no to soda, and what to wet your whistle with instead.

Reducing School Bus Emissions: One Simple Solution

Annie B. Bond — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:00:13 +0000

So maybe your community isn�t ready to convert your school buses to biodiesel. There is still one free and simple way to reduce some of the toxic pollution and emissions from school buses across the nation.

Biodiesel Buses

Annie B. Bond — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 19:30:45 +0000

If they can do it, so can your community! Read these inspiring stories of these schools and towns committed to reducing the carbon footprint of their bus fleet:

99 Percent of Children Show Pesticide Exposure

Annie B. Bond — Fri, 25 Jun 1999 07:20:22 +0000

The long-term health effects of organophosphorous (OP) pesticide exposure in children is unknown, yet a recent study published in Environmental Health Perspectives found that 99 percent of preschool children in Seattle had a metabolite of OP exposure. The researchers found no significant difference in the children related to "season, community, sex, age, family income, or housing type." The University of Washington study concluded that while much of this exposure was likely due to diet, garden pesticide use also was linked to the elevated metabolites, and recommended that OP pesticide use be avoided where children play. For the full abstract, click here.

Solar on Schools

Annie B. Bond — Fri, 11 Jun 1999 06:02:19 +0000

Schools are natural centers for learning and community activity and thus make ideal sites for photovoltaic (PV) systems.

Passive-Solar, Straw-Bale School

Annie B. Bond — Thu, 10 Jun 1999 10:11:51 +0000

For the Waldorf School students in the Roaring Fork Valley of western Colorado, first through eight graders there are learning their reading, writing, and arithmetic (along with drama, drawing, and cultural studies) in the cozy confines of a solar-heated, naturally lit school built from bales of straw.