Word: staszenski
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...Brian Staszenski, a 48-year-old bear of a man brimming with can-do enthusiasm, will try almost anything to help push humanity toward a greener future. As executive director of the Tomorrow Foundation in Edmonton, Alberta, this veteran Canadian environmentalist has used tactics ranging from the respectable (serving on government commissions and collaborating with corporations) to the militant (financing nonviolent civil-disobedience training for Alberta activists). "People say I push the envelope, but we're in a crisis situation," says Staszenski...
Because schools, like most of us, routinely waste so many natural resources, the economics of improving efficiency are undeniable. "You can reduce most schools' utility bills by 30% with your eyes closed, 50% if you push it," says Staszenski. The savings can be plowed back into the school system--perhaps to hire more teachers or buy more books...
...These projects will fund a positive cash flow for schools," says David Theriault, manager of national institutional accounts at PG&E Energy Services in California, Staszenski's partner in a proposed retrofit of San Francisco's public schools. A recent PG&E retrofit of 25 schools in San Jose is expected to generate a $581,194 return over 15 years, says Theriault. The school district is using the money for asbestos abatement...
Equally valuable are the environmental- education benefits, says Staszenski. "If all the thousands of kids we're working with leave school knowing that efficiency makes both economic and environmental sense, they'll not only change their parents' behavior at home, they won't need to be educated to do the right thing once they're out in the work force themselves...
...homes, businesses and public buildings around the world all achieved the 30% cuts that a Destination Conservation retrofit gives schools, society would be halfway to the 50% to 70% reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions needed to avoid severe global warming. Thus the retrofits send a message to adults, says Staszenski: "If kids can do it, what's your problem...
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