Statement of
Chairman James M. Jeffords
Hearing on Green Schools: Environmental Standards for
Schools
Good morning. I would like to begin by thanking our
witnesses–both for being here today, and for your dedication to promoting green
schools.
I also understand that we
have parents of school children in our audience who have a personal interest in
today’s hearing. I appreciate, and am sorry for, the unfortunate experiences
that bring you here today.
The statistics are truly
alarming.
!
More than 14
million children attend schools with an environmental problem.
!
More than $320
billion will be needed to bring schools up to healthy standards nationwide. If
the Federal government fully funded its share of special education programs,
the localities would have the ability to provide more funding for green
schools.
!
More than 1,100
public schools are built within a half-mile of a toxic waste site. The
statement of Lois Gibbs, who is with the Center for Health, Environment and
Justice, will discuss, in our second panel, the undeserved struggles of parents
in these communities.
I am
very disturbed by this information.
With
all the concerns plaguing today’s parents, the health of a child’s school
should not be an issue. Parents should
be assured that the building and location in which their child spends the
majority of his or her time is safe and healthy. It is distressing that any child
should be confronted with possible developmental impairment as a result of the
school he or she attends.
I am
pleased that EPA is here with us today.
It seems that EPA is doing more than any other federal agency in the
area of healthy schools.
I look
forward to hearing more about EPA’s initiatives, such as the “Tools for
Schools” program.
I am,
however, sorry that the Departments of Education and Energy could not be with
us today. I hope to work with the
Department of Education in the coming months.
I also hope the Department of Energy becomes more engaged in green
school initiatives.
I
recognize and appreciate the local nature of issues related to schools. In my own home state of Vermont, a Healthy
Schools bill was signed into law in the spring of 2000. This is a positive step forward to address
the indoor air quality in Vermont’s schools, and to limit exposure of Vermont’s
teachers and children to potentially harmful environments. However, there is much that can be done at
the federal level.
First,
we need good scientific data to better understand the link between outdoor and
indoor environments and student health and learning. Second, in the context of
school siting, construction, and renovation, we need federal guidelines that
take a child’s small size and developmental needs into consideration.
Finally,
we need to invest long-overdue resources and coordinate federal, state and
local efforts to improve the health of our schools.
Studies
indicate that the benefits of green schools are numerous.
!
Green schools
can save 40 percent or more on energy costs, as Alex Wilson discusses in his
testimony. Mr. Wilson, from Vermont’s BuildingGreen, Inc., is on our
second panel today.
!
Students in
schools that rely primarily on daylighting perform up to 26 percent better on
standardized tests than their counterparts in poorly lit schools.
!
Claire Barnett,
with the Healthy Schools Network, will point out in her statement today that an
estimated 17 million school days were lost in 1997 due to asthma. Taking
steps to address air pollutants leading to asthma would mean higher school
attendance.
These
are the kind of statistics I prefer.
I am
hopeful that today’s hearing sheds some light on how to achieve greener
schools, and thus better health, for our students and teachers.
I have
highlighted points that will be made by each witness in our second panel. A lot of thought and consideration have gone
into these testimonies. I urge EPA, as
well as the Departments of Education and Energy, to carefully review our
witnesses’ statements.
There
is no greater investment than the one we make in our children, and their
centers of learning and socialization.
I look forward to working with all of you to promote green schools.