Students Take Environmental Action

By JAMIE PILARCZYK The Tampa Tribune

Published: Feb 20, 2008

PALMA CEIA WEST - The dark clouds and drizzle of rain didn't hinder the Coleman seventh-graders' Stop the Engines! campaign. Knocking on car windows and asking parents to cease idling, they pleaded their case against carbon dioxide emissions.

"Stop your engines and don't idle because the fumes are bad for the environment," said Haley Greene, 13, a PTSA member.

"If I was in a car and I got a note, I'd turn off my car," said Emory Pitisci, 13, also a member of the association. "You're not going to be rude to middle schoolers."

Waiting in a pickup line that stretched from the school, 1724 S. Manhattan Ave., out to Henderson Boulevard, some drivers wouldn't roll down their windows or take the fliers from the students. Others did and agreed the Feb. 13 campaign was beneficial.

Sheri Crosby comes straight from work to pick up her seventh-grader, Kristofer, before heading home to MacDill Air Force Base. She said she waits about 40 minutes with her windows rolled down, engine off and reading a book.

"I hate smelling the other cars' fumes," Crosby said. "I'm glad they are educating people now."

The Natural Resources Defense Council cites the burning of fossil fuels as the biggest source of global warming. The carbon dioxide that is released is collected in the atmosphere as pollution, creating a blanket that traps the sun's heat. The council lists coal-burning power plants as America's biggest offender, with automobiles ranking second.

Principal Michael Hoskinson said the emissions campaign is part of an effort at Coleman led by parent Leslie Farrell, coordinator of the Environmental Improvement Force, a countywide coalition of parents and educators bringing environmental education and action to schools.

"We started small last year recycling paper," Hoskinson said. "This year we're recycling paper, plastic and aluminum."

Next up for Coleman is the purchase of recycled office paper, subsidized with proceeds from its recycling campaign.

Chip Thomas, whose daughter Alaina is a third-grader at Seminole Heights Elementary, said he has tried for several years to spread the word about idling and the unnecessary use of vehicles. He walks Alaina to and from school from their Seminole Heights home, barring hazardous weather.

"These are little things that can make a difference," he said.

He suggests parking the car and stepping into the shade during the summer. Not idling in the pickup line just makes sense, he said.

"Not only is that a lot of CO2 spilling into the atmosphere, you're also throwing quarters out the window," Thomas said.

He wants principals and the school board to mirror Coleman's efforts.

"It's everybody's responsibility, morally if nothing else," Thomas said. "It's everybody's environment and everybody's atmosphere."

Pamela Jackson-Haney, president of Coleman's PTSA, said adults must set an example when it comes to conservation.

"It's important for us to show the kids we want to contribute to a better future," she said. "This is a good place to start."

Reporter Jamie Pilarczyk can be reached at (813) 835-2114 or jpilarczyk@tampatrib.com.