DailyGood

For the last 27 years, DailyGood newsletters have offered a daily email that inspires you to respond to life with creativity and kindness. To join a community of 149,146 subscribers, subscribe here.

Aug 27, 2007

"Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millennium. Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is the forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest.
Say that the leaves are harvested
when they have rotted into the mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns." --Wendell Berry

Education By Design

Ten years ago, if an architect said he was designing a green school, most people would have assumed he had decided to paint the facade a pleasant shade of sage. But now it’s 2007, and "green schools" are part of a growing movement that is changing the environments in which students learn -- and has parents clamoring to get their children on waiting lists. This is the business of sustainable school design. At their core, green schools are about helping the environment. They are built from recycled materials and use renewable energy systems that maximize efficiency in electricity, water usage, heating, and cooling. On average, they use 30 percent less energy and 30 to 50 percent less water than conventional school buildings, and they reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 40 percent.