'Tis the Season for Home Heating!

November in the Northeast means that the weather is beginning to get colder and more people will stay inside to keep warm, however, heating your home uses more energy and drains more energy dollars than any other system in your home. Typically, 43% of your utility bill goes for heating and cooling. What's more, heating and cooling systems in the United States together emit 150 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year, adding to global climate change. They also generate about 12% of the nation's sulfur dioxide and 4% of the nitrogen oxides, the chief ingredients in acid rain.

WHAT’S HAPPENING AT COLGATE
Colgate is currently sub-metering all of the residential and academic buildings to track and assess all buildings’ energy performances over time and is looking into cost-effective retrofitting options that will improve building energy efficiency such as installing user-friendly heating controls in residence halls to minimize temperature fluctuation.

Also, in the Fall of 2010, Colgate will implement a Green Living program that provides building-specific education programs for new occupants so that they can learn to efficiently regulate the heating and cooling of their living spaces. By increasing student awareness and understanding of heating controls, the university can mitigate significant building energy inefficiencies caused by wasteful occupant behavior.

WHAT CAN YOU DO
Set your thermostat to 68 degrees F in winter and 76 degrees F in summer. By decreasing your heat by even just one degree you will be saving a lot of energy.

Close the curtains when it’s cold in the winter and you could reduce your energy needs by up to 25 percent. If every house in America kept the curtain closed for additional insulation, the total energy saved annually would be as much as the entire nation of Japan uses in a year.

If you have a home install a programmable thermostat.  Also, keep your fireplace damper closed unless a fire is going. An open damper can let 8 percent of the heat in your home escape. That can add up to about $100 a year to a heating bill.

Phantom Energy

Phantom Energy refers to the electric power consumed by electronic appliances while they are switched off or in a standby mode. A very common source of Phantom Energy is a power adapter which has no power-off switch. Some such devices offer remote controls and digital clock features to the user, while other devices, such as power adapters for laptop computers and other electronic devices, consume power without offering any means of shutting down. Some devices that consume Phantom Energy are:

• Power supplies, transformers and inefficient electronic devices.
• VCRs, DVD players, TV’s and some audio systems
• Microwave ovens
• Computers, monitors, and printers
• Devices with a stand-by light or clock.
• Power adapters whether they are powering a device or not.
• Video game consoles (e.g. Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360 & Sony PlayStation 3)
• Charger cords for Laptops or cellphones

According to Energy Star, Phantom Load is responsible for 40% of your electrical usage! In fact, a quarter of the energy used by your TV each year is consumed when the TV is off!  This unnecessary waste of energy costs you money and harms our environment.

WHAT’S HAPPENING AT COLGATE

Colgate University consumes over 27 million kWh of electricity every year (or over 7,000 kWh per person) and this costs us over $1.3 million annually.  Almost all electricity used on campus comes from hydroelectricity, with some supplemental nuclear, coal, and natural gas power.  As a result, our carbon emissions through electricity consumption is relatively low.  Nevertheless there are many things we can do to reduce our individual and campus-wide electricity consumption.

WHAT CAN YOU DO

• Unplug laptop/phone chargers after your device is fully charged.   Chargers can draw as much as 5 to 20 times more energy than is actually stored in the battery if you continue to leave them plugged in!
• Plug all electronics into a power strip or a Smart Strip  

Simply, plug all your electronic devices into the appropriate outlets on the smart strip and the problem is solved. Power strips work equally as well but require a little more work on your end - you have to flip the switch off every time you are finished using your device. 

• Buy Energy Star approved appliances that provide on/off switches

Energy Star appliances and home electronics that meet strict energy efficiency criteria established by the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

• Replace battery powered devices.

 Such as cordless phones or rechargeable razors with corded alternatives not only cuts down on the standby power required to charge the battery, but also reduces energy lost in battery charging and discharging inefficiencies. 

No Colgate Employee Left Indoors

The other day my 11-week old son was having a crying fit (not his first!).  Cradled in my arms, I walked him in loops around the house to no avail.  Concerned that I may begin to wear a path in the carpeting, I broke free from the loop and headed out the front door.  Immediately there was silence.  He not only calmed down, but his eyes perked up and he began to look around.  I stepped back into the house.  He cried.  I returned outside. He stopped crying.  I repeated this cycle one more time to be sure of the results.  Confirmed.  Assuming that babies live in a black and white world of good and bad (e.g. hunger is bad, milk is good, wet diapers are bad, a dry bottom is good), clearly inside is bad, outside is good. 

Outside is good!  Not just for babies but for all of us (especially now that spring is here and the weather is improving). One recent study concluded that spending time outdoors improves overall mental and physical well-being with "feelings of revitalization, increased energy and positive engagement, together with decreases in tension, confusion, anger and depression."[1]

Unfortunately, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, we spend about 90 percent of our time indoors.  With our busy, modern day lives, it can be quite the challenge to get outdoors.  We have to make a conscious effort to get outside.  Now is the perfect time to break the automatic reflex to drive for all trips.  Change a few daily habits to improve your personal health and happiness while reducing our ecological and carbon footprints.  Here are a few possible ways for breaking the daily cycle:

·      Walk to meetings.  Are you guilty of driving around campus from meeting to meeting?  Our beautiful campus has to be enjoyed on foot with unobstructed views. 

·      Go for a walk during your lunch hour.  Walk to the Trudy Fitness Center, walk downtown, or just walk for the sake of walking.  Snack on some fruit along the way.

·      Commute to work by bike or foot.  Nearly, 500 Colgate employees live in the Hamilton area presenting many opportunities to bike or walk to work. 

Walking or biking to meetings, lunch, or work may not be possible all of the time, but it can certainly work some of the time.  Start small; eliminate one or two car trips a week.  In the process you will avoid parking stress, save a little money in fuel, clear your head, breathe fresh air and reduce air emissions.  So, what are you waiting for?  Grab a colleague and get outside.

See you between buildings!

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[1] J. Thompson Coon, K. Boddy, K. Stein, R. Whear, J. Barton, M. H. Depledge. “Does Participating in Physical Activity in Outdoor Natural Environments Have a Greater Effect on Physical and Mental Wellbeing than Physical Activity Indoors? A Systematic Review.”  Environ. Sci. Technol., February 3, 2011; DOI: 10.1021/es102947t.

Cell Phone and Electronic Waste Recycling

According to the EPA, Americans purchase over 100 million cell phones every year. Most are either tossed in the trash – where they eventually leach chlorinated solvents and heavy metals into soil or groundwater – or are stockpiled in drawers.  The EPA estimates that only 10 percent of old cell phones are actually recycled.  In fact, if you are like most Americans, you probably have a cell phone (or two) collecting dust in a drawer someplace.  Not sure what to do with that old cell phone?  Bring it to the Coop and place it in our new electronic waste recycling station adjacent to the C-Store. 

 Thanks to a fall 2009 independent study project by Megan Cronin '10 and Steffan Pierre '10 and the craftsmanship of B&G carpenter Kirk Breitenstein, the Colgate community now has a safe and environmentally responsible place to dispose of obsolete cell phones.  Cell phones deposited in the recycling station will be routinely picked up by the Sustainability Office and mailed free of charge to Call2Recycle.   Once your old cell phone arrives in Ellwood City, PA the data on your phone is wiped clean and the phone is either refurbished and put back into circulation or taken apart and completely recycled.  Either way, none of the material broken down from the recycling of cell phones makes its way into a landfill.

Of course, cell phones are not the only small electronic devices that need to be disposed of responsibly.  Batteries, compact discs, digital cameras, iPods, cables and cords, inkjet cartridges, calculators, and other small electronic devices can all be recycled safely and conveniently in the electronic recycling station in the Coop.  Larger electronic devices such as Colgate owned television sets, computers, and printers are recycled through Craig Blanchard in Salvage (cblanchard@colgate.edu; x 7475). 

Recycling electronic devices saves energy, finite precious resources, and reduces toxins in our environment. Please do your part to reduce your ecological footprint by taking your small electronic devices to the recycling station in the Coop!

Additional questions can be sent directly to Sustainability Coordinator, John Pumilio (jpumilio@colgate.edu; x6487). 

CNY Bounty Delivers to Colgate

Dozens of Colgate employees and students have recently experienced a new and exciting way to grocery shop. Once a week they visit the CNY Bounty website (www.cnybounty.com), select food items to place in their virtual shopping cart, and pick up their order between 4-5pm every Wednesday in the Coop. 

With over 900 products from over 90 local farms, there has never been an easier way to access a wide variety of locally produced, fresh food.

CNY Bounty is not only convenient for you, but also good for Central New York.

It can be painstakingly difficult for Central New York farmers to get their products to local consumers. Small farmers have less labor and less time to market, sell, and deliver their products locally. Moreover, the high-volume food distribution system in the U.S. favors large agribusiness leaving small upstate farms out of the food loop. Likewise, it can be time-consuming and frustrating for Central New York residents to seek out and purchase food from local farmers. It is much easier to plan a weekly trip to a large grocery store like Price Chopper, Big M, and Walmart to do one-stop shopping. However, they offer scant choices for food produced in Central New York.

Ordering through CNY Bounty, allows us to support our local farmers (and our local economy), it allows us year-around access to local, fresh food, and it allows us to consume food grown in an environmentally-responsible way. Ordering through CNY Bounty feels good. 

Ready to join other Colgate community members and give it a try?  It is easy. Visit the CNY Bounty website (www.cnybounty.com) and click on "New Customer" to create your account.  Select items including baking supplies, fruits, vegetables, herbs, breads, condiments, cheese, yogurt, dairy, beef, chicken, pasta and much, much more.  Place your order before noon every Monday. CNY Bounty will then deliver your food to the Coop (or another location you specify) at 4pm every Wednesday.  You can pick up your food between 4-5pm. Visit cnybounty.com for more details.

So, what are you waiting for?  See you next Wednesday at Coop!

Contact John Pumilio (jpumilio@colgate.edu; x6487) with any questions.

Grants Office Eliminates Plastic Waste from Keurig Coffee Machine

The Grants Office has recently adopted a new practice that will save money and save the environment.

Like many other offices on campus, they have a Keurig coffee machine. Each time a cup of coffee is made, it uses a small plastic disposable container. Bruce Moseley recently purchased an Eko-brew which is a container that can be used over and over again.
Here is how it works. Simply fill the Eko-brew with your favorite brand of coffee before each use. It is that easy! Instead of using a disposable plastic container for each use, you use one. It will save the office money, but more importantly, it will have a significant benefit to our sustainability program.

Price Chopper has the Eko-brew in stock. Also, here is a link to their official website: http://ekobrew.com/.

Contact Bruce Moseley (bmoseley@colgate.edu) or Ellen Rougeux (erougeux@colgate.edu) for more information.