‘The Irish BET’ is On!

national | environment | press release

Monday September 15, 2003 18:19

by Chris O'Keeffe - Irish BET, gluaiseacht

office at irishbet dot org

IrishBET, c/o gluaiseacht, Guide & Scout Centre, Bennettsbridge Rd, Kilkenny

00 353 56 77 56 796

Schools throughout Ireland are preparing for a bet with the government to highlight that more can be done to reduce harmful emissions of greenhouse gases in Ireland. The schools will bet with the Department for the Environment that they can reduce their energy consumption (hence CO2 emissions) a rate faster than the government proposes for the country as a whole. An 8% reduction in eight months as opposed to the government’s target of 8% in eight years was set for the schools in this year’s environmental project ‘the Irish BET’.

To take part in ‘the BET’ schools must first measure, then actively reduce and finally re-measure, their waste production and energy & water consumption. These figures are equated into C02 -savings by the students to see if their schools have won the bet. Achieving the 8% target has proven easy for some participating schools who achieved up to 15% reductions in recent years. If the schools successfully win their bet they will have a party thrown for them, but if they lose they must complete another environmental project chosen by the Minister for the Environment. It has been shown, however, that without expensive energy saving technology, energy savings of up to 10% can be achieved in most homes and schools.

A teaching pack is available free of charge for schools wishing to get involved in the BET. The pack is full of information and useful lessons that enable students to reduce CO2 emissions in and around their school. The pack is laid out into lesson plans, which include; The Bet – An Introduction, Climate Change and Global Warming, A Quick Fix on Each Area, Waste, Electricity, Heat, Water and Transport.

The beauty of this project is that it does not cost any money to set up but saves the school money due to the conservation of energy.

Project Aims and Objectives

? To educate young people about climate change.
? To encourage young people to take personal action on climate change issues.
? To reach an 8% reduction in energy consumption in each school.
? To increase the level of Environmental Education in Irish Schools
? To develop awareness of social justice, particularly with regard to developing countries.
? To empower students to effect change where they have identified a problem or injustice.

Two full time BET coordinators are overseeing the running of the project this year and will be in contact with all the schools taking part. Workshops for both teachers and pupils will be added as part of the BET project this year. Teaching packs for National and Secondary schools are available on request from the BET coordinating team.

Good luck to all Irish BET participants!