Google Power Meter.

Google has a device that I think millions of people will use in the near future. You can have a sneak peak now. They have come up with a power meter that is used with your computer to tell you how much energy you are using in your house, when it is being used and what is doing it. You can actually see what is the most wasteful and costing you money. Check out their 1 minute video be clicking Google Power Meter.

ISB MS students speak out

At the start of the school year several ISB students along with other international schools of Bangkok went to an event held by the British Chamber of Commerce Thailand. Here the MS Green Panthers spoke about the benefits (environmental, health, and animal rights) of organic food. 4 students presented to an audience of other students and business men and women. Afterwards all who attended could come to our booth to try our blind taste test comparing organic milk and apples to non-organic milk and apples. The organic apples won by a landslide and the milk was closer, but the organic milk still came out on top.

Munch and Music

The ISB Student Council has taken one more step in the green direction by voting not to use disposable plates, cups or cutlery for their annual Munch and Music event. The event, a two hour showcase for student music and dance, is a huge fundraising opportunity for the many student organizations at ISB. Students recognized that last year's event generated a lot of waste from disposable plates and cups and decided to take action this year.

The Green Panthers' decision to purchase a huge set of utensils and plates for school events is paying off. The plates have been used at school events already and are reserved for Munch and Music and the International Food Fair. The reduced waste benefits us all (as does the reduced aggravation from trying to eat with plastic knives and forks).

Thanks to Student Council for making this commitment.

Green Panther Newsdesk

Green Panther News Desk

ISB gets greener and greener every week. Some highlights of recent green news stories…

Partnership Opportunity for ISB and the Bill Clinton Foundation
The Bill Clinton Foundation recently approached ISB and several other Bangkok schools about a potential partnership with very green overtones. While the full details of the proposal will be revealed at a special meeting on 16 October, early information is that the Foundation will fully fund an environmental retrofit of the entire school (lighting, cooling, insulation etc.). Repayment of these upfront costs will be through savings from the school’s reduced consumption of energy.

More details will follow next week’s meeting. Keep your fingers crossed.

Grade 2 Goes Organic

This year, as part of their study of plants in Science, the Grade 2 students at ISB are growing vegetables in organic gardens. Over a dozen small plots line the jogging path near the fence on the far side of the parking lot. Student teams planted carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, spinach and other vegetables in the hopes that before our December holiday, their classes will be able to harvest vegetables and share a salad they have grown themselves.

Not only will students gain valuable information about plants as they follow their crops from seed to table, but they will also reap the rewards that come to those who take time to care for the earth that sustains us.

In our community, much of the food our children see is either commercially prepared, or packaged in cardboard and plastic. It is easy to forget that our food comes not from
Villa, but from the ground. Just a few generations ago, a majority of earth's inhabitants nourished themselves, at least in part, with food they had grown themselves or animals they raised for that purpose. Now that nearly half of the planet’s inhabitants live in cities, a growing number of children cannot identify the origins of the food they eat because their food is wrapped in plastic on a Styrofoam
tray, vacuum-sealed, or boxed with a colorful label. In order to combat this trend, a recent article on nutrition in the New York Times Magazine gave this simple advice for good health: if your grandparents didn’t eat, you probably shouldn’t either. You know that rules out Pringles.

We can only take better care of our earth if we learn about it - what it needs, how it works, and how to carefully manage what it has to offer. Congratulations to Grade 2 for taking this concrete step. Work the garden, enjoy the food.

Visitors are welcome to view the gardens, and volunteer gardeners are
encouraged to ask the second grade teachers how they can help. Contact Caryn Macky, magicrat@loxinfo.co.th, for more information about the gardens or Kerry Dyke, kerryd@isb.ac.th, for ways you can support earth care at ISB.


Green Panther Birth Announcement

The Elementary Green Panthers are born! The newly established elementary student council is organized into four action groups and the Green Panthers were front and centre. Their first meeting is on the 25th. You will definitely hear more.

ISB Students create the Green Bag

In Sunday, June 3rd's Bangkok Post, three ISB students, Phantila Phataraparasit, 13, Tiffany Vanichviroon, 13, and Phiravit Phataraprasit, 11 were featured in an article for their creation of the 'Green Bag' in association with the Gourmet Markets of Siam Paragon and Emporium.

Now, home furnishing chain Habitat has adopted an adorable idea from three young schoolchildren at the International School of Bangkok, by inviting green-hearted fashionistas to shop in style while showing their responsibility towards the environment by using a natural canvas bag, called the "Green Bag". The bag has been created to encourage shoppers to refrain from using environmentally unfriendly plastic bags.

"As a part of a school competition to see who could come up with the best project to help lessen the effects of global warming, the three young students, Phantila Phataraparasit, 13, Tiffany Vanichviroon, 13, and Phiravit Phataraprasit, 11, were brave enough to present their ideas to the executives of Siam Paragon and Emporium's Gourmet Market, who took up the challenge and made it happen," said Brent D. Smith, chief marketing officer of Habitat Thailand. "This project gives people a choice as to whether to participate in the reduction of their carbon footprint by saying 'No' to plastic."

The bags are available in five designs at Habitat stores and at ISB for 100 baht each.

The students' recognition is well-deserved and ISB is very proud of their efforts.

Everyone can make a difference!