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Inter-American Development Bank, 2015

Rise Up Against Climate Change! A school-centered educational initiative. 

Module 5

Have you ever wondered where the water you drink comes from, where it goes after you use it, or how people survive when water is not available or easily accessible?

Water is almost as old as the planet. Despite the fact that the earth looks blue-green from a distance—evidence of its abundant volumes of water—not all of this liquid is available for human consumption. Ninety-seven percent of the earth’s water is salt water, 2 percent of it is frozen, and only 1 percent flows as fresh water under or over ground.

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Inter-American Development Bank, 2015

Rise Up Against Climate Change! A school-centered educational initiative. 

Module 4

How much energy do you think is needed to light and mobilize all the machines and devices operating on the planet? Have you ever thought that by turning on a light in your house or school you are impacting the environment and emitting gases into the atmosphere?

Energy is an essential component of our lives. Omnipresent and invisible as it is, we often forget that our basic, everyday activities depend on it.

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Inter-American Development Bank, 2015

Rise Up Against Climate Change! A school-centered educational initiative. 

Module 7

How often do you take a look at your surroundings, whether at school or on your way there? Have you thought about the nonhuman companions that you live with every day?

Many types of plants, insects, and birds are probably your neighbors, both at school and at home. What do you know about them? Do you know how much you depend on them or how much they depend on you? Do you know what risks they face? Do your actions heighten these risks?

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Inter-American Development Bank, 2015

Rise Up Against Climate Change! A school-centered educational initiative. 

Module 9

Climate change poses new hazards to schools and heightens preexisting ones. Every day we hear news of some community in the world being adversely affected by natural phenomena such as excess water (floods, landslides), extreme winds, or drought. Such events may leave communities without access to a reliable supply of drinking water, create conditions conducive to the spread of fires, force school closures, and affect the economy.

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Inter-American Development Bank, 2015

Rise Up Against Climate Change! A school-centered educational initiative. 

Module 2

There is nothing more stimulating than deciding to improve the space in which one lives and works. In so doing, one can change the way one lives. Doing this alone, while possible, is extremely difficult. Doing it as a group is a great experience! Many traditional communities have social arrangements that facilitate collaborative work, such as indigenous communities in many Latin American and Caribbean villages. In Mexico this collective form of work is known as tequio; the inhabitants of a place come together to carry out the work, whether it be constructing a house for newlyweds, a church for the town, a collapsed bridge, or any other job that can be completed quickly and efficiently when done in collaboration. Would you like to initiate a similar adventure in your school?

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Inter-American Development Bank, 2015

Rise Up Against Climate Change! A school-centered educational initiative. 

Module 3

Educational spaces, apart from their functionality and efficient use of natural resources, should be conducive to learning and offer comfort and security to the people entering them. This requires construction and maintenance processes that keep in mind both the occupants and the environmental conditions that surround them.

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North Texas Chapter U.S. Green Building Council, 2015.

Learning Objectives

  • Identify at least three simple steps used to determine Indoor Environmental Quality issues.
  • List at least three upgrades that can be done to existing schools to improve their sustainability within a traditional school budget.
  • Name the five key components of the LEED for Schools Rating System and describe at least one issue addressed by each of the key components.
  • Identify at least three benefits realized by students attending a green school.

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United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2014.

What you will learn:

  • Discover how to start, improve and sustain an indoor air quality (IAQ) management program.
  • Explore the Framework and Key Drivers for Effective IAQ Management.
  • Experience a virtual school IAQ walkthrough.
  • Acquire mentorship to identify and employ major IAQ Technical Solutions.

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United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2014.

What you will learn:

  • An exploration of the most compelling and motivating evidence for indoor air quality (IAQ) management in schools.
  • Demonstrations of the return on investment school districts are achieving, such as increased cost savings and improved student performance.
  • How to take action to implement IAQ management plans that address health, academic performance and facility efficiency.

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The Center for Green Schools, U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), 2014.

The following are some questions that this presentation addresses.

  • How important is it to improve public school buildings in America?
  • Do you think the Unites States spends too much, just the right amount, or not enough on buildings and infrastructure in K to 12 schools?

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