This rather long USA Today article is worth reading. It tells of a review of green schools, those
that were built to meet standards set by the Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design (LEED), an organization that promotes and certifies green
construction for not only schools but other commercial and government buildings. Green construction is promoted by school boards and by governments at all levels. “[T]housands of commercial developers have
won state and local tax breaks, grants, expedited permitting and waivers from
development laws for LEED-certified buildings. More than 200 states, federal
agencies and municipalities require LEED certification for public buildings.”
School districts that paid higher construction costs for LEED-certified
buildings in return for promised energy savings and better student performance found that they fell short in both categories.
They were told going in that the improved environment would lead to both
future utility savings and better learning and teacher success, but “a USA
TODAY review of school-test records, LEED-certification documents and research
reports shows little correlation between 'green schools' and student
performance or energy use.” Often they made the investment but did not get near the expected return.
This is another strong case for critical thinking, asking
for evidence over promises, that is lacking in America today. We have developed a kind of fairytale mentality that
everything will be grand because our intentions are noble and our hearts are in
the right place. People are lured by
feel-good words that entice them into making instant value judgments without
evidence, words like green,
sustainable, all-natural, justice and fairness, holistic, anti-oxidants, probiotics, diversity, and
others. They hear the word and automatically
expect better outcomes. It causes them to show an irrational preference for such things as natural/organic foods, dietary supplements, bottled water, complimentary medicine, and now
construction techniques, that promise much, but often fail to deliver and usually are more expensive. Even when faced
with strong evidence of this failure, the hype wins out over reality.
Many years ago a scheme to sell more of a product (or
service) was to label it in bold letters as “New and Improved.” Eventually consumers realized that changes were often minor as was any improvement in performance. Now the approach is the same but the words
have changed. A critical thinking
America must begin to demand more than just promises. Otherwise we will continue to be duped, wasting time, energy and money for little or nothing in return.
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