A year after the University’s pilot Climate Master program, the results from a post-evaluation report are in, and Eugene residents are reducing their greenhouse gas emissions in a big way.
The 2007 pilot project allowed individuals from across Eugene to come together to participate in a research study to learn about effective energy practices through educational training. Each participant was able to reduce his or her own impact by an average of more than 4,000 pounds of greenhouse emissions.
Attendees went to three-hour classes once per week for 10 weeks, totaling 30 hours of extensive training, free of charge. Instead of a flat fee or a charge, Eugene residents were asked to give 30 hours back to the community by either tabling to promote the Climate Master program or to visit people’s homes to give a consultation.
Bob Doppelt, director of the University’s Climate Leadership Initiative program, said that after two training sessions, it will most likely become “an annual thing.”
“It initially started as a research thing for us to share with other communities across the state and the region,” said Doppelt. “We didn’t intend to keep it running at the University. We hoped someone else would pick it up.”
Doppelt said his goal was to test out the best strategies to engage individuals in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The study’s participants were self-selected once the advertisements went up in the community.
“It was wildly successful, more so than we first thought,” said Doppelt. “The people who participated reduced their emissions by two tons per person. That’s pretty substantial. We’re extremely pleased with the results and we’re continuing to improve the program every time we do it.”
Doppelt said he and his team plan to offer the training again in the fall, and this time it will be expanded to the entire Eugene-Springfield area.
“In the fall, we’ll try to go back to the original idea of setting up a blind group,” said Doppelt. “That means we establish a group who does not get the training. But we get their data pre and post 10 weeks, and we compare and contrast with the people who do go through the training.”
At the training, participants learn about a different topic every night. One night might focus on how to increase energy efficiency in their room, in which a specialist from the Eugene Water and Electric Board comes in to teach them. The next week, the “climate masters” might learn how to choose the food they purchase more carefully to reduce emissions. Another night, the climate masters might learn about transportation strategies and alternatives.
“We also train them in how to assess their own house and how to do a consultation for someone else,” said Doppelt.
The home consultations allowed these climate masters to share their knowledge with friends and neighbors in the community to help save them energy and money in monthly bills.
Eugene resident Paul Moore, who participated in the training last year, said the consultations were an opportunity for him to really apply what he had learned. When he was forced to teach others, it made him realize how much he had learned.
“At first you’re overwhelmed with so much information,” said Moore. “Then once you go out and do a few consultations, you realize once you’ve got that information, it all fits in nicely, and it starts to seem like common sense.”
Sarah Mazze, community program manager for the Climate Leadership Initiative, said the people who responded to the training agreed that they did not consider many of the changes they made to be a sacrifice, but instead, it helped their lives.
Mazze said one of the program’s main points is to draw in others in an effort to educate as many people as possible. Mazze said she hopes University students will get involved and educate their peers, as well.
Aaron Toneys, an associate at Good Company, a sustainability research and consulting firm in Eugene, said he hopes University students are aware that the program is open to everyone. Toneys, who also participated in the training, said the information that the consultations provide can be applicable even if a college student is renting a space for only nine months.
“It’s more about reducing your carbon footprint then about auditing the place that you live,” said Toneys. “The changes aren’t too hard to make and they can have huge impacts.”
Toneys said he originally got involved with the project because of his increasing concern.
“I was feeling a lot of anxiety about climate change, and I didn’t know what to do with that energy,” said Toneys. “I thought that this program was a great way to effect change.”
Penny Palmer, a retired math teacher at Lane Community College, took the first training last year.
“It’s a great class. If anybody can take it, I heartily recommend it,” said Palmer. “Along with encouraging people to take the classes, I’d encourage everyone – homeowner or renter – to have a climate master come do a consultation. We’re just in there to talk together. And we learned at the training, if you’re not listening as much as you’re talking, you’re not doing your job.”
Palmer said the most fun consultations are the ones in which the climate master can make a difference in the home.
Palmer said she was surprised by how many young people were in her training session.
“They seemed so aware and concerned,” said Palmer. “It is your world that’s being affected more than mine will be. The changes – they may not dramatically happen for another 20 years, it’s such an unpredictable thing. One of my big motivations is your age and your age’s kid who are really going to have to deal with this unless we stop it or turn it around quickly.”