Denison University President Dale Knobel didn’t sign the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment right away. Instead, he opted to wait and put a few measures in place that would ensure that Denison would be able to commit wholly to becoming a more Earth friendly campus. Denison worked first to establish a sustainability committee, hired the college’s first sustainability coordinator, and created green initiatives on campus (like Trayless Tuesdays in the dining halls to cut back on food waste) and installed motion sensors throughout buildings to automatically shut off lights when rooms aren’t in use.
By Earth Day this year, Knobel felt Denison was ready, and he joined the nearly 700 college and university presidents who have signed the commitment since it was created in 2006. Still, he reminded faculty, staff, and students that he wasn’t in this alone. “It’s not my commitment… that will allow our campus to become more sustainable,” he said. “It will be our commitment.” To that end, here are a few tips to help the Denison community push toward sustainability, even by taking small, simple steps.
Keep the freezer at 5° and the fridge at 37-40°
Make use of natural light and turn off your office flourescents.
Change to EnergyStar CFL bulbs (or LED)
Have a couple of cold meals this summer–
or cook out to keep the house cool.
Caulk and insulate areas–doors, windows,
baseboards–where air might leak.
Use a french press for coffee vs. a heated pot.
(Your coffee will be stronger, too.)
When washing dishes by hand, use a sink full of water instead of
running the tap.
Buy EnergyStar & WaterSense labeled products.
Use the microwave instead of the oven.
Set the power settings on your computer to have your monitor, hard drive, and CPU “sleep” when not in use. And when you aren’t using your computer, cell phone charger, television, or other appliances and electronics, turn them off AND unplug them. Or better, invest in a powerstrip and turn them all off at once when you head to bed.
Set your thermostat a little warmer this summer and dress to compensate.
Air dry your clothes.
Turn off lights when leaving a room.
Run the washing machine (with lukewarm or cold water) and dishwasher only when full.
Shop for local (and organic) food to support your farming neighbors and cut back on energy spent in transporting food to you.
Just FYI: Fans use less energy than that AC unit.
Use reusable shopping bags and skip the paper and plastic.
Turn off the water while you brush your teeth, and take shorter showers. For über Earth-lovers, you can even turn the shower off while you scrub.
Keep the water heater at 115°–that’s plenty hot for your shower.