A Conservation Conference, sponsored by ASUO, will be held in the EMU lobby today to teach students how to reduce water and energy use.
The conference, taking place from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m., is being held to give students and staff the opportunity to learn about these issues in a free and convenient manner. Booths at the conference will have information for students about how they can reduce energy use and save money.
“We want to teach students how we can reduce our footprint on the planet,” said Paige West, energy efficiency coordinator for the project.
West said it is important that students learn how to save energy through changing their behavior. This can be done now by turning off lights or taking shorter showers, and in the future when they own homes.
“The great thing is, once you learn how to save energy, you can use it for the rest of your life,” West said.
The Eugene Water and Electric Board, which is hosting a booth at the conference, will teach students about conservation and renewable energies, such as solar and wind power.
“A large number of our customers are students,” EWEB spokesman Lance Robertson said. “We want to make sure they know what we are doing, and we want to help them any way we can.”
Robertson said roughly half of the electric bill comes from times when electricity isn’t needed. The easiest way to reduce energy use is to turn down the thermostat at night and when nobody is home, he added.
— Jody Burruss