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NJ bill requiring school sustainability plans advances out of committee

Trenton – In an effort to ensure New Jersey schools are meeting the state’s environmental goals, the Senate Education Committee today advanced legislation sponsored by Senator Bob Smith that would require school districts to include an environmental sustainability plan in their long-range facilities plan.

“There are currently close to 600 school districts in New Jersey, and while they all vary in size, their facilities consume large amounts of carbon energy to keep them running,” said Senator Smith (D-Middlesex/Somerset). “With the climate change crisis resulting in drastic, observable changes in the environment, it is imperative that we meet our state goals to reduce the production and consumption of greenhouse gasses through expanding our use of clean energy. By requiring our school districts to look into means to become more sustainable, we can set a precedent for the rest of New Jersey to also find ways to be more environmentally friendly. We only get one Earth, and we must find real solutions to reverse some of the damage done by climate change before it is too late.” read more

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School segregation in Newark, NJ is among highest in nation

A new report shows that Newark, NJ measures first out of all 403 US metropolitan hubs for economic segregation and second in black-white segregation. The report was released on the 68th anniversary of the US Supreme Court’s Brown v. Education ruling, which outlawed school segregation across the country.

More at https://www.njspotlightnews.org/2022/05/newark-schools-segregation-nearby-communities-stark-black-white-divide/

Also see Does New Jersey have to desegregate its schools? A judge will soon decide. read more

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How one man is turning desert into green land

Allan Savory at TED 2013

Allan Savory has discovered a fool-proof method for turning dry deserts into lush, green and growing lands. The method? Run huge herds of livestock through the land and watch grass, bushes and eventually trees, spring up in their wake. Food and fauna can grow there. Ecological systems are renewed and recovered.

As the land is repaired and regenerated, carbon is also sequestered in the soil. There is no downside to Savory’s method. Watch him tell all about it in this TED talk.