Most people may not consider over-heated classrooms or leaving a light on during the night to be serious issues, but for a group of hand-picked students at the University, a little waste here and there is worth fighting.
The Energy Team, a group of graduate and undergraduate students, has been working for the past school year to educate the campus about the University’s energy. The team is part of the Environmental Studies Department’s Service Learning Program, which funds yearlong projects with the aid of outside organizations such as the Eugene Water and Electric Board.
The goal is to give students real-world experience and credit while they work on projects that deal with sustainability, public research interest and outreach, and fulfill community needs, according to the Service Learning Program Web site.
Environmental studies major and Energy Team member Zachary Withers joined the seven-person team this winter.
“Our goal is to educate about our energy consumption, to talk about investing in alternative sources of energy, and to educate about what we can do on campus to conserve energy,” Withers said.
On Thursday, as part of Earth Day, the Energy Team will offer students, faculty and community members the opportunity to tour the campus and observe energy conservation efforts at work.
The energy tour, which will leave the EMU Amphitheater at 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, will show participants new efforts to make older buildings more efficient and spotlight new buildings such as the Lillis Business Complex.
“We’re going to be showing off the visible conservation measures that the University has put to use,” GTF and Energy Team Project Manager Sarah Mazze said.
Withers said the University has already made big steps toward energy accountability. Between 2001 and 2003, the University spent $540,000 to upgrade older fluorescent lighting fixtures and install time clocks on air circulation systems.
“They’ve saved 1.7 million kilowatts because of that, and EWEB reimburses them for a lot of the cost,” he said.
Other less obvious measures, like awnings on University buildings, are just as effective.
“The awnings hang outside the windows on the south sides of buildings and keep the high sun from heating buildings too much in the summer, but they let the low sunlight in the later hours, which keeps the building warm at night,” Withers said.
Mazze said the campus community should be aware of the resources it consumes.
“I think it’s important to think about the University’s energy use,” Mazze said. “We’re a huge consumer of energy. We’re EWEB’s third largest customer — we’re bigger than the 4-J school district and the city — and this is still the case with energy saving measures.”
The team gives 10-minute presentations to classes that focus on educating students about the University’s energy profile, showcase alternative technologies and make students aware about where the energy they use on a day-to-day basis comes from.
“A lot of it has to do with the things we can’t control, like the types of light bulbs we use or where we get energy, or (energy) consumption off campus,” Mazze said. “But a lot of it is turning off light switches when you leave a room. This is also a place of learning so it should be a place where people can learn things and take it away and apply it .”
Mazze estimated that the Energy Team has already shown its presentation to about 2,500 people. The goal is to reach 5,000 by the end of the year.
Energy Team Coordinator Steve Mital has been with the project since its inception last spring.
“The goal is to improve campus energy literacy,” Mital said. “When we set out, we said that we wanted to show our presentation to 25 percent of the on-campus population. That’s a very ambitious goal.”
According to Mital, one of the team’s future goals is to get the EMU to run entirely on wind-powered electricity.
“We’re trying to get students to take aggressive action; inspire them to take an actual role,” he said. “One way or another we’ll be around in the future.”
Withers had similar sentiments.
“I’d like to see a push for the University to investing in alternative sources, especially wind power,” he said. “We’ve already invested in solar power and both are totally renewable.”
For more information on Energy Team presentations, contact Sarah Mazze at [email protected].