Public Comment: Our New School Must Be Net Zero

The following public comment was made at the meeting of the Elementary School Building Committee on March 4, 2022

As a long-time Amherst educator, I truly thank each of you for your work on this vital project.

I found it alarming that this week some Town Councilors spoke publicly about possibly not complying with our excellent net-zero public building by-law for our new school building. It is a sad irony that this occurred on the very day that the IPCC released their latest report saying the climate crisis is even worse than we thought.

Some have mentioned constructing a net-zero-readybuilding, rather than a net-zero building.  Let’s be clear about what that means.  Even if you go with an all-electric VRF system, you will be using energy off the grid that burns fossil fuels to make two-thirds of its electricity. That means that from the day it opens the school will be causing the emission of greenhouse gases that will hasten us toward climate disaster. Shifting to net-zero later will not remove those greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. They will continue worsen the climate disaster for centuries.

I’d be willing to wager that most of you have a negative view of climate change deniers.  However, climate delay is the new denial.  Climate delay accelerates climate disaster just as much as denial does.  Anything less than a net-zero building at this point is climate delay.

While we are focused on Amherst, in evaluating the morality of our decisions, we do need to look at all the effects they will have.  If Amherst were to decide to not follow its own by-law and not to build a net zero school, not only would it shame our reputation in the Commonwealth and beyond, but it would also undermine the dedicated people all across the state who are working to get their cities and towns to build net-zero buildings and it would strengthen the hand of those opposing meaningful climate action.  I don’t think that’s the effect any of us want to have in the middle of an existential climate emergency.

I spent the bulk of my life-long career in education as the Principal of Fort River School, advocating for children and for resources for our schools.  I still have an unwavering commitment to the children of Amherst.

The climate crisis is going to be the defining feature of the lives of those who are children today. Children learn from what we do, not just what we say or intend.  I don’t want our children to learn that when we had a chance to make a difference, we didn’t have the integrity and courage to insist on a net-zero building, but instead relied on the dirty electric grid, just at the time when it was crystal clear that we must replace and eliminate all burning of fossil fuels.

You on this committee have a special opportunity.  Please bring our Town together behind a net-zero school building that we can all be proud of.  Thank you.

Russ Vernon-Jones was principal of Fort River School 1990-2008 and is currently a member of the Amherst Community Safety Working Group and of the Steering Committee of Climate Action Now-Western Massachusetts. He blogs regularly on climate justice at www.russvernonjones.org.