GREENandSAVE has partnered with the St. Norbert School in Paoli in order to better educate their students with an Eco-Curriculum about the environmental challenges we face as a nation, and as a global community. The Eco-Curriculum is a multi-faceted lesson plan that helps students to understand what sustainability really means. It attempts to make the children think about the things they do every day by keeping a journal of their plastic bottle consumption, how many miles their parent’s cars have driven in a week, as well as how much energy they are wasting when they leave televisions, stereos and lights on at home.
In addition to the classroom component and the Green Journal, the younger students were tasked with making a short three-page pamphlet that would include a page on each of the following topics: Things Harmful to the Environment, Things Helpful to the Environment, and Green Inventions that would help us all become more sustainable.
This is the final entry of a three-part series, in which the student’s show off their creative side by inventing various products that will benefit the environment. The first two segments have been rather enlightening as to how children see climate change, and how engaged they seem to be in fighting it.
The most pervasive idea from the class was to change the power source of appliances we currently use. The students had several ideas on how to improve cars, including powering them by electricity (battery), solar, water, and air. One student talked about corn oil fuels, which is a good sign as that technology is actually more harmful to the environment, and should not be given the light of day to succeed. There was also the call to make cars recyclable.
After the generic power-source change from whatever it is now to something with Eco-Cache, solar panels are the source of choice for a new generation. Students advocated placing solar panels on homes, cellular phones, backpacks (for phones and iPods), kitchen appliances, computers, and literally EVERYTHING!
Another major idea that the class had was to use batteries. It doesn’t really matter what the product is, as long as batteries can be added it will be more eco-friendly. Some called for battery powered stoves, while others hoped for hairdryers, straighteners and curlers that would run on double A’s.
From the fun bag, we have the suggestion of Flying Cars, which could save on gas and minimize traffic. Another upside would be the surplus in jobs in the United States for people cleaning up all the car debris from inevitable, horrifying high-altitude pile ups. One student called for Reusable Buildings, which I like. I was getting tired of having to tear down homes and buildings every time someone moved out.
The most creative out of the bunch of Second Grade inventions came from a student who stepped outside of the box, and then stomped the heck out of that thing. The student’s wish was for a “happy gun”, which would serve to transform small trees into larger ones; which would certainly curry favor with another student who demanded “plants that somehow clean the air.” That is what we’d call on the internet as a Science Fail. But back on task, the second invention by the “Happy Gun” creator is the “Cleanser Whistle” that would turn smog into nature and no smog. Lastly, we are given a “Heart Button” which would turn melting glaciers into fully frozen glaciers. All of these are very good ideas, and I hope to live long enough to see a cleanser whistle or heart button.
The correct answer to this assignment, which was delivered by one student, is this: A machine that reverses global warming. The student loses a point for not adding a stop switch to the machine, as we wouldn’t want to continually go back in time climatically. We’d, sooner or later, end up at an ice age. But still, someone’s finally on the right track.
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To find out what we think might be harmful or helpful to the environment, be sure to check out GREENandSAVE.com, where you can find tons of Green Home Remodeling projects. And if these kids have made you rethink how you want to live your life, take a look at the Green Lifestyle section.
