Redbirds green with energy savings

Some Redbirds have turned green. Allentown High School has started promoting conservation as a way to reduce energy use and costs. A new student club called the GreenBirds has taken charge of promoting and overseeing earth-friendly practices in the school.

Environmental Science and biology teacher Robert Tackett (r) speaks with Barry Hogan (center) and other students about the Green- Birds club at Allentown High School on Jan. 12. The new club is dedicated to reducing energy and waste at the high school. Story, page 3. ERIC SUCAR staff “The students in this club are passionate about the environment, and helping the school find ways to reduce its carbon footprint on the earth is very important to them,” Robert Tackett, club adviser and environmental science teacher at the high school, said.

The club posted student-made signs around the high school with tips on how to save electricity. One sign looks like a vending machine and indicates that the lights used to promote the products being sold could be turned off to save energy. Another sign looks like a light bulb and reminds students and staff to shut off lights when not in use.

GreenBirds members Zach Santarsiero (l) and Barry Hogan look at a display designed to show students how much energy and money are wasted by not unplugging computers when not in use. The new club is trying to raise awareness about energy conservation at the high school. ERIC SUCAR staff GreenBird Zach Santarsiero said the group has also been asking teachers and students to unplug electronic equipment, such as laptops, projectors, video players, etc., when they are not in use. They also promote turning off computer monitors.

“We want to save energy and money for our school,” Santarsiero said.

Students have posted signs in the lobby that tell the school community how much they could save in energy costs if they shut off and unplug certain electronic equipment when not in use. The school could save $2.45 each year if it unplugged one computer when not in use. It could also save $16.61 each year if it turned off one computer when not in use instead of putting it in sleep mode.

Tackett said students are also learning that the average cost per year of using an incandescent light bulb is $134, and that the average cost of using a compact fluorescent light (CFL) is $29.

“Students are also learning that CFLs contain mercury and need to be disposed of properly,” Tackett said.

Students also have a suggestion board in the lobby where they can make conservation suggestions. While one suggestion joked “not have school” to save energy, the remainder made useful short-term and long-term suggestions for energy conservation. They read “turn off the lights at night,” “join the GreenBirds,” “switch to solar power” and “use hybrid school buses.”

Tackett said, “It is important for students to get involved because if they learn good habits for energy use now, they will carry them on in their adult lives … becoming good stewards of the environment.”

During the first two months of the club’s existence, the high school did save energy, according to a chart in the lobby.

The club will conduct additional activities to promote conservation over the next several months. The GreenBirds have made public service announcements that they will start showing on ATown Live, the school’s internal television network. They are also sponsoring a school-wide competition to design a logo that will be featured on T-shirts and light-switch plates to remind the school community about turning off lights and other energy-conserving actions they can take.

Looking forward, the GreenBirds would like to better the school’s recycling program by ensuring all classrooms have recycling bins and informing the school community about recycling rules and benefits.

“We really want to save money so the school can use it to buy other items that we need,” Santarsiero said.

The club’s other current members are sophomores Santarsiero, Barry Hogan, Jason Rosenstein, Brian Bennett, Dom Colletti, and seniors Lauren Duarte and Lauren Jeffrey.

Tackett said, “Hopefully the club will grow in membership and be more active in helping to remind and teach other students to take care of the earth because it’s not going to be here very much longer the way things are now.”