Spring Break
CRYSTAL TRULOVE: 'Deis promotes energy saving with new site
by Crystal Trulove
Forum | 1/17/06
Posted online at 8:17 PM EST on 1/16/06
Ack! I just found out my carbon footprint is 34 acres! A carbon footprint is a measure of one person's activities in terms of greenhouse gases, or carbon dioxide units, released from things like heat, light and all transport-related emissions. If you live alone or with others, it impacts the planet differently. If you use public transportation, or insist on driving everywhere, it makes a difference. Sometimes a carbon footprint is measured in acres, to give one a sense of how much land it takes to support a person's consumption.
Up until today I considered myself an individual who had a low impact on the planet compared to my fellow Americans. I recycle whenever I get a chance, I ride the train to school, and I even jog the three miles to the train station. I always turn off lights and appliances, and when I go to bed I turn the heat off even though it means I'll freeze my tush in the morning. Well, according to www.myfootprint.org, the average American's carbon footprint is 24 acres. Mine is well above average. "If everyone lived like you," scolds the Web page, "we would need 7.7 planets." Ouch.
I received this uncomfortable education from a press release about Brandeis' new Energy Savings Program (ESP) Web site, www.brandeis.edu/energy. We've all learned about "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle." It's an exciting move that relies on the integrity and intelligence of the students and staff of the campus. In exchange for some education and tips from ESP, each one of us can do our part. This cooperative approach to change appeals to me, and I'm so appreciative that Brandeis didn't simply drop more rules onto us.
The ESP Web site-yet to be launched-is the main resource for a wealth of energy-saving information targeted specifically at the Brandeis campus. Soon we will be able to log on to ESP's Web site and watch a running clock that tallies Brandeis' electricity use in kilowatt hours (over 26 million since July). We will also be able to take an energy use quiz, and log on to an Energy Star® back-to-school shopping list with the most environmentally-friendly purchases we can make for our university needs. For example, a typical halogen floor lamp burns at 1100 degrees. Who needs a lamp hot enough to fry an egg?
Up until today I considered myself an individual who had a low impact on the planet compared to my fellow Americans. I recycle whenever I get a chance, I ride the train to school, and I even jog the three miles to the train station. I always turn off lights and appliances, and when I go to bed I turn the heat off even though it means I'll freeze my tush in the morning. Well, according to www.myfootprint.org, the average American's carbon footprint is 24 acres. Mine is well above average. "If everyone lived like you," scolds the Web page, "we would need 7.7 planets." Ouch.
I received this uncomfortable education from a press release about Brandeis' new Energy Savings Program (ESP) Web site, www.brandeis.edu/energy. We've all learned about "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle." It's an exciting move that relies on the integrity and intelligence of the students and staff of the campus. In exchange for some education and tips from ESP, each one of us can do our part. This cooperative approach to change appeals to me, and I'm so appreciative that Brandeis didn't simply drop more rules onto us.
The ESP Web site-yet to be launched-is the main resource for a wealth of energy-saving information targeted specifically at the Brandeis campus. Soon we will be able to log on to ESP's Web site and watch a running clock that tallies Brandeis' electricity use in kilowatt hours (over 26 million since July). We will also be able to take an energy use quiz, and log on to an Energy Star® back-to-school shopping list with the most environmentally-friendly purchases we can make for our university needs. For example, a typical halogen floor lamp burns at 1100 degrees. Who needs a lamp hot enough to fry an egg?
