Students at Palisades Charter Elementary School are taking action to stop global warming, and are teaching their parents how to do it, too. Pali Elementary has joined a growing movement of schools participating in Cool the Earth, a program started in Marin County by parents who wanted to help stop climate change through education. The program kicked off here with a play starring fifth-grade students as Mama and Baby Polar Bears who couldn’t find their way home because the ice was melting and their home was disappearing. ‘Mother Earth’ and the polar bears encouraged the audience to take actions to stop the melting of the ice, such as walking or biking instead of driving to school, turning off lights and computers when they aren’t using them, and purchasing lightbulbs that consume less energy. Meanwhile, the villainous ‘Ms. Carbon’ told children to tell their parents to keep driving huge SUVs. Each student received a Golden Coupon book, filled with 20 actions their families can take to reduce carbon emissions. Each week, students turn in the coupons, signed by a parent, saying what actions they have taken that week. Gradually, students realize how their collective actions can make a real change. So far, in just two months since the program began, Palisades Elementary has saved 156,734 pounds of carbon, the equivalent of taking 13 cars off the road. ‘We are nearly 20 percent towards our annual goal,’ said Anne-Marij Berendsen and Jill Hurd, coordinators of Cool the Earth. If your school or Scout troop would like to participate in this program, visit www.cooltheearth.org
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