U-Sustain co-chairs Stephen Po-Chedley '08 and Dave Shulman '08 are turning out the lights and dropping the temperature on their thermostats as part of this winter's “Do it in the Dark” environmental competition.
The term-long event is intended to raise campus awareness about sustainability and is co-sponsored by Ozone House, Environmental Club, U Recycle, Facilities and Residential Life.
All residential spaces on campus compete. The apartment, fraternity, Minerva, residence hall, sorority or theme house that reduces its electricity, gas, water and resource consumption the most, according to records kept by Facilities, will receive the Ozone Cup along with to-be-determined prizes.
In the meantime, here are some tips from U-Sustain leaders that will help keep your energy bill low and could reduce the College's ecological footprint:
– Turn out the lights, even if you're leaving a room for a few minutes.
– Take shorter showers or brush your teeth with the water off.
– Unplug your laptop, iPod and cell phone when not using or charging it, and turn off your PC at night.
– Recycle.
For more tips, visit http://www.vu.union.edu/recycle/sustain.