Despite a recent drop in gasoline prices...energy costs are higher than ever, and many businesses are trying to cut corners to reduce their energy usage.

The Superior School district has put in the effort to keep its bills from following that rising trend as meteorologist Shannon Murphy explains in "Your Green Life."

The Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor's Energy Star School Challenge has one big goal.

"Reduce energy within the schools and ultimately save money, " saya Gary Niemi, the Dir. of Buildings and Grounds for the Superior School District.

The Superior School District is taking the test to see if the current energy consumption can be lowered by ten percent.

They've already been practicing.

"We've actually been in the energy saving process for a considerable number of years," says Niemi.

In 2006, the district received the Governor's Award for lowering energy consumption.

Niemi adds, "We've implemented a building management system to control the energy use in the buildings so that we don't run equipment when it is not needed. We run things on minimum rather that maximum. Things like that."

A lighting retrofit has just been completed in the Superior Middle School, and savings of carbon emissions would be equivalent to saving 3 trees each day.

So for the district to improve its already dropping energy consumption by ten percent more could prove to be quite a task.

"It's definitely going to be a challenge. We are up to the challenge and we can live with that burden on our shoulders so to speak."

And they hope that this task will help educate future leaders of the world on how to keep the planet green.

In Superior, meteorologist Shannon Murphy, the Northland's NewsCenter.