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Groups continue to push green initiative through projects

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

As the University discusses green initiatives, a few student groups are shedding light on the issue.

Kimberly Hernandez, Hutchinson senior and vice president of KU Environs, said her group was working to bring light-emitting diodes (LED) bulbs to campus, starting with streetlights. Though LEDs are more expensive, they last longer and use less energy than other bulbs.

But Environs is not the only group taking steps to advance conservation on campus. The KU Energy Council, a group of researchers for innovative fuel and energy options, has asked advertising students to create a conservation campaign to promote a “culture of sustainability.”

Jeremy Viscomi, KU Energy Council project coordinator, is working with Journalism 676 advertising students to fulfill their appointed task of creating the conservation campaign.

“If we can weave sustainability and various forms of renewable energy into the fabric of how we do things on campus, then it creates an environment that promotes energy research, sustainability research and new energy initiatives,” Viscomi said.

Bob Basow, associate professor of journalism, said the class had interviewed about 30 people on campus, including students from campus organizations and Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little, to discuss new ways to promote conservation on campus.

Nathan Gill, Iola senior and one of Basow’s students, said the class was developing ideas for transportation and other ways to conserve energy. He said that encouraging change would take time, but that the process must begin with small steps. Those small steps could include challenging students to think about their energy usage, by simply turning off electronics and being mindful of recycling and conserving water.

Gill said the class’s campaign efforts would be directed at freshmen with the goal of influencing subsequent incoming classes for the next few years.

Kansas City Power and Light, an energy provider based in Kansas City, Mo., has donated $7,500 to fund the research for the ad campaign, which includes visits to other universities such as Colorado and Kansas State to learn more about campus sustainability. Viscomi said he hoped that Westar, another energy provider, would match that donation.

Jeff Severin, director of the Center for Sustainability, said that various departments had initiated green efforts on campus but that the recent advertising campaign would be the biggest.

Ryan Callihan, Lenexa senior and president of Environs, said the campus conservation front dealt with energy, waste management and transportation issues. He said Environs was working on another way to improve University sustainability, this time indoors: software to conserve energy use in labs by having computers automatically shut down overnight. Callihan said the University had more than 12,000 computers that ran between 50 and 100 watts continuously that would reduce energy waste.

Hernandez and the rest of the members of Environs were working with Scott McVey, Facilities Operations energy conservation and utility manager, to install the LED streetlights on Jayhawk Boulevard.

Environs and Facilities Operations expect to install a six LED streetlights at a cost of $1,000 to $1,500 per bulb along Jayhawk Boulevard near the Kansas Union. The group is seeking funds from the Student Environmental Advisory Board, Hernandez said.

“The main goal is to have the entire campus lit by LEDs, but that’s not going to be a feasible goal anytime in the near future,” Hernandez said.

McVey said that as time passed, LEDs would become cheaper and more attractive in conserving energy.

Callihan said getting the administration directly involved would be imperative in creating a dedicated effort toward sustainability.

Don Steeples, senior vice provost, said the administration had been asked by the legislature to spend the University’s money cautiously and responsibly. Steeples said an official announcement about new plans from the campaigns class for sustainability on campus wouldn’t be made until a few months later.

Although the University has made some steps to change to a greener environment, students have taken leadership in these efforts.

“The fact that we have a center for sustainability is because of students,” said Stacey White, director of academic programs of the Center for Sustainability.

— Edited by Jacob Muselman

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