Sustainability Notes

Welcome to College Prep's Sustainability Notes -- 2 facts at a time.

Here you will find out about little-known sustainability news items and enhancements to the school's campus and curriculum.

 


Sustainability Log #1 {October 2011}

Fact 1: Faculty and staff are leading the way towards green transportation:

  • 14 faculty and staff members commute regularly to school on bikes.
  • 6 faculty and staff members car-pool to school on a regular basis (and 2 more leave their home with a full car but drop off their passengers at various sites along the way).
  • 1 faculty member walks. 
  • 7 faculty and staff members do some sort of combination of the above, including taking public transportation. One even bikes, BARTs and walks every day to and from school.           
  • And last but not least, one faculty member rides a scooter -- which gets up to 80 miles to the gallon and does not take up a parking place!

Fact 2:  The novels in French I (La Vallée Propre – a mystery that pits an organic farmer against an industrialist) and French II (La Marée Noire – a work of fiction in which an oil spill off the coast of France threatens the coastline and the villages fishing industry) explore issues about the environment.


Sustainability Log #2 {November 2011}

Fact 1: The Varsity Debate Policy team is entirely paperless as of this year. Novice policy will still use paper, but each individual is limited to 50 sheets. In presenting her APES project, one of our seniors calculated that last year’s College Prep Policy team used about 126,000 sheets of paper – 252 reams! This represents 1/5 of the total amount of paper used by the entire school and about 1 1/2 cords of wood. (A cord produces about 90,000 sheets.)

Fact 2: Did you know that there are additional classes at College Prep that are basically paperless? These include Economics, Advanced Physics, Chemistry, Astronomy, World Civ., Western Civ, Dance, the “European Culture in an Era of Change” seminar, Astronomy and, of course, Visual Arts (no paper hand-outs – all the class information and directives are on-line). The English grammar book is on–line. Last but not least, all prospective students can apply for admission on-line, without using a single page of paper!


Sustainability Log #3 {December 2011}

Fact 1: Richard Cushman added a “green” element to his Shakespeare seminar. He asks his students to examine the role of the natural world in Shakespeare's comedies and reflect upon the following questions:

  • How do the plays present the “natural world?” How do characters interact with it?
  • How do the characters think about “Nature?”
  • How do the characters “use” or “profit from” Nature? What do they think it is “for”?

Fact 2: Preston Tucker’s spring seminar revolves around the questions: What is the "natural" environment and what is humanity's place within that environment? How have the definitions of and attitudes about the words "natural" and "environment" changed over time? Students will discover and discuss major issues in environmental history, thus gaining the historical perspective they need to understand contemporary environmental debates.

Sustainability Log #4 {January 2012}

Fact 1: College Prep's Knitting Club was able to donate 20 scarves and 8 hats to the Adopt a Family program. The Knitting Club is composed of faculty, staff and students. Some members were taught how to knit; others are veteran knitters. To get the program started this year, math teacher Betsy Thomas went down to The East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse to see if they had any yarn. She was in luck and scored bags of beautiful yarn for about $5.00! Since then, the Club has had even more donations from knitters who heard of their efforts. Their goal for next year is to create scarves and hats for both Adopt a Family and the Women’s and Men’s Shelter residents.

Fact 2: Did you know that College Prep’s gym roof is home to 198 solar panels? The system was installed in 2009, inspired by a student and brought to life by a group of parents, teachers, students, and administrators.

Hard facts about the system:

  • Power rating of 41.58 kW (DC) that can generate approximately 60,000 kwh annually
  • 198 photovoltaic modules (solar panels)
  • 6 inverters that convert the direct current energy to usable alternating current power

Fun facts about the system:

  • Since installation, the system has generated 137,354 kWh of electricity, enough to power 7 homes for 1 year, or to operate a TV for 954,683 hours, or to power 1,057 computers for 1 year.
  • Since installation, the system has avoided the emission of 170,332 pound of CO2, 51 lbs of NOx, and 4 pounds of SO2, equivalent to the pollution that an average passenger car emits over 17 years.
  • The system generates an estimated 20% of the school’s electric needs.
  • Check out the system’s current and historic production here.