October is Energy Awareness Month. This event was created to remind people across the nation how necessary it is to conserve energy and to give new ideas for how to be energy efficient.

Why should this matter to our school district?

As reported by the AISD website, “the single most expensive commodity purchased by the AISD is energy.”

Amy Dragon, environmental science teacher at AHS, further explains the impact.

“Being energy efficient saves the district money but doesn’t affect our daily lives in any negative way,”  Dragon said.

Dragon also elaborated on how saving energy can indirectly lead to a better education.

“Turning off lights when you leave a room doesn’t affect our learning, but it does save money. When a district saves money, it has more to use for students and that is always a good thing.”

There are a variety of simple steps the faculty and staff can  take to save energy.

Teachers could try and make less copies of worksheets, if possible, they could use natural lighting in classrooms and remember to turn off electrical drains at the end of the day. All of these things could help our school become more energy efficient.

According to Dragon, there are a huge amount of small actions that, in the grand scheme of things, will have a positive effect on the environment.

Remembering to turn off the lights when leaving a room, unplugging phones when fully charged, and shutting down computers when they are not in use are all easy but impactful measures we can take to help the environment.

If everyone remembers these simple methods, a brighter (though perhaps not in wattage) future for our school is guaranteed.