Grassroots greening: volunteers spark a collegewide conservation campaign.
Negrea, Sherrie
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Since Earth Day 2014, Human Ecology faculty members, staff, and
students have united to slash the college's energy usage, green
their workspaces, and promote a culture of sustainability.
The grassroots campaign, led by 58 volunteer Human Ecology Green
Ambassadors, aligns with Cornell's Think Big, Live Green
initiative, which promotes efforts such as composting and carpooling to
support the university's commitment to achieve zero net carbon
emissions by 2035.
The college's program ramped up last fall as 168 faculty,
staff, and graduate students achieved Cornell Green Office
Certification. During the process, participants removed nearly 60 space
heaters, swapping them for 70-watt carpeted foot warmers. Offices and
labs also shed 50 small refrigerators in favor of larger departmental
units. An additional 28 composting stations were installed near dining
areas, and energy-efficient LED lights replaced scores of incandescent
bulbs. To date, the college is home to 21 of 39 green-certified Cornell
workspaces, as well as one-third of green labs.
The push continued into the final six weeks of 2014, when the
college competed in an Energy Smackdown to see which of its five
buildings could conserve the most energy by closing fume hood sashes in
labs, turning off lights, and unplugging electronic devices when not in
use. Taking first was Martha Van Rensselaer West, reducing electrical
energy use by 33 percent during the competition, compared to the same
time frame in 2013. All told, the college saved 123,744 kilowatt hours
of energy and roughly $9,000 in energy costs from November 17 to
December 31--the equivalent of 1.2 million 100-watt incandescent bulbs.
"As we rolled out the programs, they built on one
another," says Jim Hatch, the college's facilities manager and
Green Ambassadors leader.
"Our goal was to create this sustainability mindset and
encourage repeatable actions for people to think about."
Joining the push was a research team led by assistant professor of
design and environmental analysis Ying Hua, whose students proposed a
smartphone app that would prompt sustainable behaviors. With the app,
students could log in and record when they turned off the lights in a
classroom, earning points toward a reward, such as a free lunch on
campus. Tapping into social media, the app would also enable students to
invite their friends to participate.
"The idea is to increase energy-saving behaviors among
students," says team member Kristin Aldred Cheek, a PhD student in
human behavior and design. "The app would trigger them to take
action, reward them for that action, and document it."
Cheek, joined by DEA graduate students Neha Yadav and Casey
Franklin, have met with college administrators to talk about launching a
beta version. "The outcome of this app could be that students in
the college will be more engaged in sustainability on a daily basis,
helping to create energy savings for the college," says Franklin, a
PhD student in human behavior and design.
This spring, the conservation efforts continued with grassroots
support of Recyclemania, a campuswide drive spanning February and March
to reduce waste through composting and recycling. The college's
Green Ambassadors are dedicating their efforts to Angie Stedwell, a
sustainability leader and longtime human development staff member who
died Jan. 26 in a TCAT bus accident. The college is also exploring an
annual staff sustainability award given in Stedwell's honor.
1st MARTHA VAN RENSSELAER WEST 3.2% reduction
2nd MARTHA VAN RENSSELAER MAIN/WEST 28.5%
3rd BEEBE HALL 24.3%
4th SAVAGE KINZELBERG HALL 9.3%
5th HUMAN ECOLOGY BUILDING 5.2%
Note: Table made from bar graph
