To Lake Washington School District administration:

I recently read “An Inconvenient Truth” by Al Gore. He describes the unmistakable signs that the world’s climate is changing, such as record high levels of CO2 in the atmosphere and steadily increasing temperatures in many regions of the world. He also stresses the impacts of the rising temperatures: the melting of the world’s poles, rising sea levels and the resulting catastrophic flooding.

As of 2006, the United States is responsible for 30.3 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions in the world. To quote former vice president Gore, “our country emits more greenhouse gas pollution than South America, Africa, the Middle East, Australia, and Asia all put together.” Luckily, Gore also explains many solutions to this issue that can be easily accomplished, with a moderate investment of time and money. I genuinely believe that since children in the United States spend the majority of their time in school, it should be in the schools where the most impactful changes to our lifestyle are introduced. If we alter our campuses to become more environmentally friendly, we will be making changes with a broad impact, and we will also expose many children to eco-friendly practices.

The first solution that should be considered is the installation of solar panels at Lake Washington School District (LWSD) facilities and schools. I am a student at Redmond High School (RHS), and we already have a few of these, but the other district schools who do not, should follow suit. If the elementary, middle and high schools were outfitted, not only would it be more environmentally friendly, it would also serve as an educational opportunity for the students. The science of photovoltaic panels encompasses elements that can apply to the education of a large range of ages.

If the bond to build new LWSD schools and remodel the old ones passes (and I sincerely hope it does), it might be interesting to look into building these structures with a “green roof.” A green roof is basically a rooftop garden, where part of or all the roof is covered with vegetation, soil and a waterproof membrane. There are a few important benefits to this. First, plants on the rooftop emit oxygen during the day and breathe in carbon dioxide, which absorbs some CO2 emissions. New York City is looking toward installing green roofs on their public schools, as well. The first green roof on a New York school opened in Manhattan in 2012. Second, this type of garden would not take up additional land, as opposed to a garden in the school grounds. Finally, having a rooftop garden is a great educational opportunity for the children in the school, as they can learn about biology, raising crops and the climate crisis all at once.

Similar to green roofs is adding gardens to the campuses of existing schools, especially where the parking lots are currently situated. RHS has an enormous parking lot, which takes up a lot of campus space and encourages older students to drive to and from school. Indirectly, this encourages the burning of fossil fuels. Instead, I suggest that the majority of these high school parking lots be razed, and gardens created in their place. This would incentivize high schoolers to take the school bus, walk, cycle or use public transit to get to school, thus encouraging environmentally conscious behavior.

Electives and clubs can be centered around this garden, thereby providing more educational opportunities for students. Furthermore, we might even be able to supply some of our own food for school lunches, which is a healthier alternative than the processed foods they currently serve in the cafeteria. Creative, a school in Bangalore, India, successfully grows its own vegetables. It should be noted that the campus size of Creative school is less than one tenth the size of RHS. Manasa A., a ninth-grade student at Creative school, says: “And we’re able to grow a lot of greens. I mean A LOT!!!!!” A benefit that should not be overlooked is that reducing the size of the parking lot also creates a visually more pleasing campus environment.

Reducing the size of the school parking lots would force students to find alternate methods of transportation that would also accommodate after school activities, so I propose that we follow a system Bellevue School District has been employing: providing all high school students living further than a one-mile radius from the school with ORCA cards. This would greatly reduce the number of buses needed for district transportation and would encourage students who do not live close to a school bus route to avoid arriving in a car. I do believe that the same or a very similar plan would work in our district as well.

Another long-term solution we should look into is greener transportation to and from school. I propose that all the LWSD school buses be equipped with hydrogen fuel cells, which emit water vapor instead of CO2. Hydrogen fuel cells convert hydrogen and oxygen into water, and in the process, generate electricity, which can then be used as power. The most probable candidate for a fuel cell would be the Polymer Exchange Membrane Fuel cell, which has the lowest operating temperature and is the least expensive to obtain for mass usage. A low operating temperature means that it will reach its ideal temperature more quickly and thus begin producing energy faster, as well.

The state of California has had successful trials of fuel cells on their metro buses, so these will probably work well in the school transportation system as well. The Greater Cleveland bus system has a hydrogen fuel cell bus manufactured by Van Hool of Belgium. The fuel cell itself was purchased through the Alamed ia Contra Costa Transit District of Oakland, Calif. Other cities around the world have successfully added fuel cell busses to their fleets, such as London, UK; Beijing, China; and Whistler, Canada. Hydrogen fuel cells are a great way to introduce students to alternate forms of energy and their chemistry, which could spark useful discussions in both engineering and science classes.

Should these propositions be approved, we would need to fundraise as a district. Even adopting one of these plans would require a large investment of time and money. I am sure that with the correct effort and motivation, all the students and staff in the district will work together to take the first step toward fighting global warming.

In light of the changing world and our duty to do what it right to stop this crisis, I propose that the district adopts some or all of these suggestions. My sincere hope is that if we employ these policies, we will inspire other schools and districts in the country to do the same. Education of the younger generation is pivotal in changing the course of the climate crisis. It should be up to us to take the first step.

Meghna Shankar

Freshman at Redmond High School