[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 76 (Wednesday, May 29, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E940-E941]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    STATEMENT BY PEOPLES ACADEMY STUDENTS ON ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

                                 ______


                          HON. BERNARD SANDERS

                               of vermont

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 29, 1996

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Speaker, for the benefit of my colleagues I would 
like to have printed in the Record this statement by Kara von Behren, 
Sara Reeve, Anna Laszewski, and Alison Gingras, students from Peoples 
Academy in Vermont. They were speaking at my

[[Page E941]]

recent town meeting on issues facing young people.

       The environment needs a place in the modern high school 
     curriculum. Without knowledge of the problems that fact us, 
     we cannot reverse their ill effect.
       We're going to start off with a demonstration. Could you 
     all stand up, please? Thanks. All right, we're going to start 
     off with a couple of questions, and if your answer is ``no,'' 
     could you please sit back down.
       Okay, our first question is: do you recycle at home?
       Our second question is: do you compost at home?
       Do you turn off the water when you brush your teeth?
       Do you reuse your lunch bags or bring a cloth one?
       Does your family buy recycled products?
       All right, congratulations to any of you who are still 
     standing (one or two)--you actually have some part in 
     preserving our environment, and helping us to make this world 
     a better place.
       As an American Literature class, we compiled a survey, 
     trying to find out how educated our high school was about the 
     environment. We surveyed students in grades 9 through 12, as 
     well as the faculty members. The questions ranged from, 
     ``what does EPA stand for?'' to ``how long are your 
     showers?'' to ``how do you feel about the future of our 
     world?'' We discovered that many students didn't know much 
     about environmental action programs--they didn't know the 
     budget cuts would completely eliminate them. Students and 
     teachers both felt that more time should be spent in the 
     classroom discussing environmental issues, and that a 
     definite part of the curriculum should be dedicated to it. 
     It's not an issue only for science classes; it can be brought 
     into every major course of study.
       For example, we took a normal letter-writing assignment and 
     transformed it into an environmental letter-writing campaign. 
     We wrote letters to our Congressional delegation in 
     Washington about budget cuts and other environmental issues. 
     This is only one of the ways in which we've incorporated 
     environmental education into our classroom, without 
     completely altering the basic curriculum. And we have these 
     letters, and later on we'd like to give them to you, 
     Congressman.
       Congressman Sander. That was a very creative and 
     interesting testimony. I think the essence of what you're 
     saying is that if people think in an environmentally 
     conscious way, we can have a profound impact on the 
     environment. In a broader sense, what would you describe as 
     the major environmental crisis our planet faces?
       Answer. We've concentrated mostly on the budget cuts 
     planned in the environmental action programs such as the EPA. 
     The drastic cuts would completely eliminate clean water acts, 
     safe drinking water, the state revolving funds that allow 
     cities and counties to create protective water systems, such 
     as sewer treatment plants. . . . Our second presentation will 
     cover more of that.

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