Incarceration is a time of self-reflection, learning survival instincts and rehabilitation. When it comes to coping with climate change, everyone on planet Earth is doing hard time. But many prisons across the world are learning to cope with climate change by going green - and saving money in the process.  However, their uniforms will still stay the same color and will not go green, no matter how sustainable the prisons become.

What Are They Doing?

Prisons across North America and Europe are doing a wide variety of activities to help not only give their occupants something constructive to do, but also trying to make their prison a part of the community.  This is good news for America, which has the world's largest prison population.   Apparently, Americans want prisons, but not in their home town.  Keeping prisons as efficient as possible while also making quality products for sale helps keep the naives from getting restless.

Activities include keeping bees, composting garbage and growing their own vegetables. When they farm, they use organic farming principles (which means no harmful pesticides or fertilizers that can run off into the water supply).  They collect rainwater instead of always turning on the tap.  Many prisoners are also taking the time to learn about conservation, such as one anonymous American prisoner that, with an environmental studies professor from Olympia, Washington, co-wrote a research paper on growing moss in order to cut down on it being commercially harvested from old growth forests for flower arrangements.

The model for a sustainable prison is in Bastoey Island in Norway,  which uses wood stoves when possible and solar energy as well as the usual recycling and farming programs.  They also use horses instead of horseless carriages whenever possible.  Even better, Bastoey Island didn't have an escaped prisoner in the last five years.

They are also using recycling programs, but often with a twist.

Recycling Programs

Many seemingly useless products like old shoes are carted to prisons to be made into new shoes.  Some of these cast off items are animals, including dogs and horses. 

One of the first prison recycling programs was in Colorado back in the 1980's.  Some seemingly untamable Mustangs heading for euthanasia were taken to prisoners in Canon City correctional facility in the wild chance that by taming the Mustangs and making them suitable for adoption, not only would the horses be saved, but the prisoners could learn a trade.  The program is still going on strong today, with some Mustangs being specifically trained to word with the U.S. Border Patrol.

The prisoners also take old world views and change them for new.  Instead of thinking just about themselves, they realize that what they do affects the animals in their care, the crops they tend to, and the community in general.  We should all be such avid recyclers.

Related reading:
How Recycling Works
A New Los Angeles Programme to Divert Food Scraps from Landfill