Catholic High School Goes Green!

I read an uplifting article in New York Newsday titled, Kellenberg To Expand Its Solar System (6/14/11) by Nicholas Spangler which tells how Kellenberg Catholic High School in Uniondale, Long Island, NY will be expanding a program that they've had in place for two years. Beginning in September, "there will be many more of those tubes: 3,450 to be precise, facing south at a 45 degree angle to catch the sun's rays. In colder months, the tubes will help heat the school's water and warm its classrooms; in summer, they will help cool them down.....An official from the NYS Energy Research and Development Authority, Dale Zatlin, said she believed it would be the first 'solar thermal' system in the state that both heats and cools.

What great news! Kellenberg is a well respected school, with a fantastic reputation. I know a teacher who works there and the students are truly remarkable. I've been to events there on the weekends, when students are willingly giving time to serve and help out. It's that kind of school. And now this terrific news that they're trying to go green, by harnessing the sun's energy while saving money too.

The project is being led by Brother Gary Eck, a Kellenberg math teacher, who was quoted as saying, "Renewable energy has benefits beyond dollars and cents. We are participating in God's creative activity. Using energy well is part of that."

I hope this creative and innovative idea catches on in other schools around the country. It's greatly needed. It's a practical way to use a renewable energy source while following the Church's mandate to be good stewards of the earth and its resources.

NJA