The student news site of Oakton High School

Oakton Outlook

The student news site of Oakton High School

Oakton Outlook

The student news site of Oakton High School

Oakton Outlook

It’s always sunny in Fairfax County

Its+always+sunny+in+Fairfax+County
Steve Nicklas

On Nov. 23 2015, Susan Stillman and Susan Weltz from the VA Sierra Club gave a special presentation to the JMHS Students for Environmental Action (SEA Club) on how the use of solar energy can be applicable in FCPS.

It all started in 2013, when student leaders in Albemarle county schools teamed up with 350 Central VA and the Piedmont group of the Sierra club to create the Solar Schools Initiative. The goal of this initiative was to educate students and the community about renewable energy, and reduce the community’s carbon footprint while simultaneously saving the school’s money. Through this initiative, student leaders lobbied to equip their schools with solar panels as a source of renewable energy. Albemarle County students were successful in not only installing solar panels in schools (one megawatt of solar power) but also met their goals by effectively saving their county schools $80,000 over the contracted 20 years the solar panels will be installed. Thanks to the Solar Schools initiative, Albemarle county schools reduce an average of 934 metric tons of co2 per year.

Due to the success in Albemarle County, solar companies such Secure Futures are making solar installations in school a top priority.

Casey Grage, Senior at JMHS, is working hard to make that priority a reality. From organizing presentations from the Sierra club to writing and petitioning the FCPS school board, Grage is working tirelessly to bring solar energy to FCPS. Environmental protection is a subject Grage has been passionate about her whole life. “It all started in elementary school after watching The Inconvenient Truth, for the first time, a problem in the world was tangible and relatable, it felt real.” said Grage wistfully, “Middle school was when I really got into solar energy as a renewable source. I did research on the topic of solar panels in schools and presented it to my principal, but to my dismay, they waved it off immediately because the school didn’t want any capital expenditure, even if the benefits did outweigh the costs. That’s why the Solar Schools Initiative and working with Secure Futures is so exciting, because there would be no capital expenditure to installing the panels and the school board would actually save money which would help with our overwhelming deficit.”

Grage has written a letter and created a petition to send to the FCPS School Board in hopes of getting them on board with the initiative. As one of the leading counties both in Virginia and in the country, Grage hopes for Fairfax to continue with this trend and be one of the leading counties in the effort for an environmentally friendly world.

Grage urges all Fairfax county residents, not just students and teachers, to get on board and sign the petition. “The environment is tied to everything, from the economy to terrorism to droughts and malnutrition. And we have the power to do something about it.”

 

 

 

 

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It’s always sunny in Fairfax County