On October the eighth 2018, the world received some disturbing news. Scientists reported
that these next twelve years are our last chance to save the world from a huge climate change
disaster. “ To prevent or at the very least, slow down further destruction, we must keep
temperatures from rising above 1.5C. Limiting warming to 1.5C brings a lot of benefits compared
with limiting it to two degrees. It really reduces the impacts of climate change in very important
ways,"said Prof Jim Skea, who co-chairs the IPCC (BBC).
In light of this alarming news, our school is attempting to go green. They have already
established a student-led Green committee that is represented by a logo created by a BFIS student.
Our school has also joined an organization called Eco Schools Program. This organization will help
the school achieve annual goals and identify the problems in usage of things such as electricity,
water, and our waste emissions. Although it sounds like we have taken some measurable steps, how
drastically will the school change for the better, and how will this organization motivate us to be a
more sustainable school?
According to Ms. Hollinshead, one of the main participants in leading our school to a more
sustainable future, “by the end of this three year program, we will have cut down on our waste,
water, and electricity consumption.” The program provides the school with materials and ideas
about how we can incorporate our school initiatives into the classroom curriculum. The program
will give us a “...very clear plan and path for what you need to do to review your practices on campus
to figure out where the issues are to create an action plan…”. This means that we will be able to
more easily change the way are school thinks about sustainability and how we can improve. BFIS
has also started working on a website to provide more information about their efforts to become a
more sustainable school. This website will provide information such as regular updates on the
progress of the committee and the program, and when they will be looking for volunteers. All of
their general traffic and information will be directed through this website as well.
Although computers may help the school cut down on our usage of paper, they take a lot of
energy to charge every day to full battery. This would be a good opportunity for the school to install
solar panels to provide clean energy for the whole school. We live in Barcelona, a place where it is
warm for most of the year. If we get solar panels, we will get our computers charged, and we will
also have access to clean energy 24/7. We would also be able to use our heaters and air conditioners
more frequently. Currently, when all the heaters or air conditioners are turned on at the same time,