Help Luther 'go green'

Dear Editor,

The idea of “going green” seems to be on the minds of the young and old these days. Even opening up the April 2008 SHAPE issue I noticed that the pages are all lined with tips about how to “go green” and what you can do to make your home more “eco-friendly.”

Are these tips enough though? Doubtful, considering that people will most likely read and then throw away (or hopefully at least recycle) this magazine before actually taking the time to make note of these suggestions. Plus, how realistic are these suggestions to students living in dorms where they have little control over how the lights are run or what cleaning products are used? Not very.

So what can students at Luther College do to help the environment, you may ask? There is probably more going on than you are aware of. Did you know that Luther hired its first sustainability intern this year? Caleb Mattison, a 2007 graduate, was hired to work with faculty, staff and students to create a more sustainable campus. Many projects are currently underway, including energy audits, waste audits, more local foods, shuttle services, expanding the garden (yes, Luther has a garden), compost, recycled paper, etc. You may have even seen signs around campus throughout the month of February highlighting suggestions about how to decrease energy use.

Whether or not you took the energy (or had time) to actually read these signs may be part of the extreme waste of energy that still occurred. I know that in my dorm alone the energy use is still high. The lights in the bathrooms are usually turned off because there are signs right next to the switch, but the lights in the hallway remain on unnecessarily throughout the day.

Considering the somewhat unsuccessful results of last month’s “energy challenge” what else could be done to improve this situation? How about for starters to not leave a computer running in the Union constantly displaying the results of who’s in the lead of the “energy challenge.” Doesn’t it seem a little contradictory to leave a computer running while trying to conserve energy? Isn’t the point of a contest to work progressively together as a team until the final results are tallied? In my opinion, the prize given at the end (whether it’s pizza, an iPod or whatever) feels more rewarding when you are not sure who’s going to win.

This challenges teams to work harder instead of possibly just giving up if they’re not in the lead. Another suggestion in regard to lighting could be to put motion-sensored lights throughout the hallways and bathrooms of the dorms. It would at least eliminate the problem of having to remember to turn the lights on and off. Also, what about switching to all energy efficient lights? I know there are currently some on campus already. They are said to last up to nine years. Sounds nice, doesn’t it? Even though these are just a few suggestions, from one suggestion stems another and so continues the train to a more sustainable campus. It needs to start with people working together and becoming conscious of ways that they can help. If you would like more information about any of these projects or even how to get involved check out Luther’s sustainability Web site at http://environment.luther.edu/sustainability.html which is currently being updated regularly, or e-mail Caleb at mattca01@luther.edu.

Ashley Tupper