Green competition raises environmental awareness
Students who believe they live environmentally friendly lifestyles are being put to the test. College EcoReps have organized the Green Dorm Initiative, a three-week-long, campuswide competition aimed at raising environmental awareness, according to EcoRep Chair Brian Strasters.
The competition runs Jan. 28 to Feb. 17, and each week of the competition has a theme: energy, water or waste. Students participate by taking a 10-question quiz at the start of the week on Sunday. They then track their energy usage on an Excel spreadsheet, recording information such as how long they leave the lights on and the length of their shower, Strasters, a Lovett College junior, said.
Points will be awarded for environmentally friendly energy usage, and the top scorers across campus at the end of the week will win prizes. Bonus points will be awarded for extra green activities, such as visiting the Rice Farmers Market. Although everyone who participates in this competition will win a prize, Strasters said the college with the most points at the end of the competition will win the grand prize: a catered dinner from Housing & Dining.
The GDI began in 2010, but after taking a year off, the EcoReps have retooled the program, expanding it to include more students - off-campus students can now participate - and engaging the residential colleges in competition, according to GDI Committee Chair Christina Hughes.
Hughes, the Baker College EcoRep, said the GDI is especially important for Rice students because the majority of students live on campus and are not in charge of their own energy bills.
"We have the unique problem that most students don't see their utilities bills or realize how much of an environmental impact they make on a daily basis," Hughes said. "The Green Dorm Initiative offers students a chance to be 'graded' on their living habits to see where they are doing well and what they can improve on in their habits to be more efficient and have less of an [environmental] impact."
McMurtry College EcoRep Sena McCrory said students could be wasting energy on a daily basis without even realizing it.
"Simple things like leaving the lights on in an empty room, leaving unused chargers plugged in and washing your laundry in hot water instead of cold result in significant energy wastes," McCrory said. "In GDI, we also focus on less-known energy saving choices like avoiding fried food, eating less meat and buying used items instead of new."
Hughes said she hopes students who participate in GDI will learn how to make their daily routine more environmentally friendly.
"While an event like [GDI] might not have a measurable impact in the short term, the goal of the event is to promote lifestyle changes that will have a long-term impact and hopefully save Rice - and the students - money through improving residential energy and water efficiency," Hughes said.
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