Cool school: check out the most Earth-friendly middle school in the country.

Seventh-grader Lauren Haruno considers herself passionate about protecting the environment. The 13-year-old may be drawing inspiration from her school: Case Middle School in Honolulu, Hawaii.

When the school opened in 2004, building-industry experts applauded it as one of the most Earth-friendly schools in the United States. Everything from the school's lights to the lockers is designed to conserve resources like energy and building materials. That emphasis is what makes Case a green building.

"When we learn about environmental issues in class, our teachers often refer to examples in the buildings surrounding us," says Lauren. Science World gives you a tour of the school to reveal some of its "green" features.

INVISIBLE IMPACT

At first glance, the school's cluster of nine buildings looks rather ordinary. "Many of the buildings' 'green' features are invisible," points out seventh-grade science teacher Dave White.

For example, you can't tell that approximately 25 percent of the school was built using recycled materials. If you could peek inside the school's walls, you would find supporting steel rods made from recycled metals such as melted-down cans and automobile parts. And while the students' lockers at Case may look like the metal ones that line most schools' hallways, they are made of plastic. This plastic comes from thousands of recycled milk containers.

By using recycled products, the school's builders helped to keep tons of useful materials from becoming landfill-clogging trash.

BE COOL

Perched on a hillside with views of Waikiki Beach, Case Middle School's location provides more than just stunning scenery. The school is situated to take maximum advantage of natural ventilation.

The buildings are staggered and angled in a way to allow trade winds--or a natural wind pattern that sends cool winds blowing from east to west while moving toward Earth's equator--to flow between the structures (see Nuts & Bolts, p. 24). That way, when classrooms heat up in the afternoon sun, students can open the windows to let in the cooling winds.

ICE MAKER

Although the average temperature in Honolulu is a mild 25[degrees]C (77[degrees]F), there are days when students need more than a breeze to keep cool. But air-conditioning systems require a lot of electricity to run, says Steve Piper, Case Middle School's physical-plant manager. Furthermore, traditional air conditioners are usually switched on during the hottest hours of the day--a time when electricity is in the greatest demand, and therefore costs the most money. That's why the school installed an energy-and-cost-saving air-conditioning system.

To cool a building, a traditional air-conditioning system blows air past metal coils filled with supercold chemical fluids. The coils chill the gush of air before it blasts out of the air-conditioning vents. What keeps the fluids cool is an energy-guzzling machine called a chiller. Case did away with the chiller. Its replacement is a cheaper, more natural cooler: ice.

Eight enormous tanks located under the parking lot freeze ice at night when people are asleep and the demand for energy is low. At night, the cost of electricity is roughly half the daytime rate. When the air conditioner is switched on during the school day, a liquid refrigerant is pumped through the ice. This cools the refrigerant, which is then pumped through the machine's metal coils. Then, energy-efficient fans blow air past the frigid coils and send the cooled air through the school.

LIKEABLE LIGHTNING

The school also reduces its dependency on the electric company by powering one building entirely with solar energy. This type of energy comes from converting the photons (particles of light energy) from sunlight into electricity.

On the rooftop of the eighth-grade creative-learning center are large panels filled with photovoltaic cells. Each of these thin cells is made up of layers of the element silicon (Si) and other materials. When sunlight hits the panel, electrons (negatively charged particles) flow through the cell. The electrical energy created by these moving electrons can be stored in a battery until it is needed to turn on the center's lights or computers.

GREAT OUTDOORS

Like many of Case's 1,024 students, seventh-grader Elise Minkin's favorite part of the four-acre campus is the group of "team spaces." During a break, students can gather in one of these spacious open-air verandas. One reason why students are drawn to these areas: They look out over a beautiful, lush landscape. But maintaining these grounds requires thousands of gallons of water. Case avoids wasting water by taking advantage of Hawaii's frequent bouts of rain.

Every day, the school's storm drains--as well as a stream that's connected to an onsite lily pond--send approximately 132,000 liters (35,000 gallons) of rainwater into the ocean. So the school installed an underground

tank to capture this overflowing rainwater, which is then used to keep the campus grounds lush. This method scores an "A" in teaching students about water conservation. "Our class is always trying to find ways to save water," says seventh-grader Adrian Yee.

BIG LESSONS

Case's eco-friendly design helps save energy and natural resources every day. But school officials say the real job of the $62 million new school is to educate. That's why every "green" design element in the school is labeled with a sign explaining the technology and how it works. "At Punahou, every day is Earth Day," says teacher Dave White. The students agree. "Going to school in 'green' buildings has shown us that there are many ways to help the environment," says Elise.

EARTH DAY ACTION

As a class, discuss ways in which your school could be more Earth-friendly, such as using less paper or saving energy by turning off unnecessary lights. Design and implement a plan to make your school more "green."

NUTS & BOLTS

HAWAII'S ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY PUNAHOU SCHOOL 

Case Middle School includes dozens of "green" features never before used in a project this size in Hawaii. In addition to saving energy with solar panels and a special air-conditioning system, the school reduces energy use with lights that automatically dim when the last person exits a room. Lockers, countertops, and flooring are made from recycled materials. These Earth-friendly features added cost to the school's construction, but will ultimately save money by decreasing the school's energy needs.

WEB EXTRA

For more on green schools in the U.S.: www.thegreenguide.com/doc.mhtml?i=109&s=schools