Sunday, October 19, 2008
Last one out, please turn off the lights
While asking to ban styrofoam in the Student Union (but how will I carry around my Panda Express) and suggesting solar water heaters for the dorms, ASUA left out a pile of good ideas that would instantly save the U of A money and conserve energy at the same time.
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/263190.php
How about trying the following:
1) Turn off the fountains next to the union that are wasting water and have to be power-washed every couple of months to get the mineral stains and bird poo off of them.
2) Stop watering the flowers and grassy areas that constantly have to be replaced and are not native to the area.
3) Seal around leaky doors and windows in all buildings and post signs to remind students that turning the air conditioning down to 55 degrees does not make the room cooler faster; it just makes the room really cold after you leave.
4) Post signs like in the health center that encourage students to take the stairs whenever possible, saving the electricity and maintenance of the elevators and burning a few calories.
5) Close the library for a few hours every night and turn out the lights. Close the gyms a few hours earlier (they're open until midnight some nights).
6) Take those little golf carts away from employees who do not actually need them to haul materials or because of a disability. Often times they are full of overly-excited friends, riding around campus for fun.
7) Turn up the temperature in all campus buildings by 5 degrees. If they can do it at the United Nations building in NYC, we can do it here. http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/eco-friendly/un-air-conditioning-460708
8) Require all businesses that operate on campus (including fraternities and sororities) to recycle and fine them if they violate the rule. All of those empty cans of Keystone Light have got to be worth something.
9) Do a sweep of all campus appliances and make sure they are actually being used. A plugged-in fridge with nothing in it can suck up a lot of electricity.
10) Install motion-sensors on lights so that hallways aren't lit up 24 hours a day.
11) Only hold classes in buildings that have to be air-conditioned (because they have a lab with sensitive material or heat-producing servers, etc) during the summer. Often classes are held all over campus, meaning that several buildings have to be refridgerated.
12) Offer classes on energy conservation for students. Establish some kind of green-team that students can participate in.
13) Wrap all water heaters, boilers, and pipes that carry cold or hot air. A lot of energy can be lost in transporting hot or cold liquids, too.
If you have more suggestions, send them directly to the ASUA or send them to sallygradstudent@gmail.com and we'll post them to the blog.
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