Letters to the editor: Build a zero-energy high school; Pennsylvania should join RGGI

Build a zero energy high school

Seldom do we get a chance to help the environment and save money at the same time. This is exactly the opportunity we have before us now, as the plans for the new high school begin to be designed. As a part of ZEBA, or Zero Energy Building Advocates, a subsidiary of Sustainable Sewickley, we are advocating for the new high school to be a zero energy building.

A zero-energy high school will produce as much, if not more, energy than it uses over the course of a year. This means we will not be reliant on fossil fuels, which may or may not be around in 100 years, and we will be among the front-runners in making a real impact in terms of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions.

Currently, buildings represent one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions. K-12 schools consume about 8% of that number. We can follow the lead of other early adopters of zero energy buildings, such as Richardsville Elementary in Kentucky, the first U.S. k-12 school to be zero energy, which in 2012 alone received over $38,000 back from the local electric company for the excess energy produced by the school’s solar panels.

Energy costs are one of the biggest expenses for school districts after our most important asset, our teachers. Why pay to power our new high school, when the power company can pay us instead?

Suzanne Watters, Neill Simakas and Karen Galbraith

Co-chairs, Sustainable Sewickley

Pennsylvania should join Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative

At the recent COP26 Summit on Climate Change, nearly 200 nations reached a climate agreement on a goal to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees C by reducing carbon emissions. Climate change is one of our greatest threats. We have started to see the effects here in Pennsylvania, such as stronger storms and more flooding. In Pennsylvania, we must accelerate climate action.

Pennsylvania is the third dirtiest state in the country in terms of carbon pollution, a major cause of climate change, but Pennsylvania can join a program to reduce carbon pollution from power plants called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI (pronounced “Reggie”), a program which caps carbon pollution from power plants and charges them money for emissions.

The RGGI 11 member states have successfully reduced climate pollution by a third and raised nearly $3 billion to invest in clean energy and other purposes. Now it is time for Pennsylvania to tap into this record of success. Experts project that Pennsylvania can cut carbon pollution by more than 180 million tons, equal to the impact of taking 4 million cars off the road, while creating more than 27,000 more jobs and adding nearly $2 billion to the state’s economy.

Our state legislators will have an opportunity to help steer revenue generated by RGGI to programs and projects that will elevate the communities most affected by climate change. Join me in urging our legislators not to obstruct Pennsylvania in joining RGGI.

Cheryl Rampelt

Sewickley