Ready? Set? GO!
LET’S GO GREEN! A new competition is in the mist this year. Greening the Greeks is partnering with Green Campus to start an energy saving revolution among the Greek community. This competition is already in full swing with over 25 chapters involved. What is the competition you ask? Green Cup is an energy saving competition to see which chapters have decreased their energy usage the most from the last two years. The participating chapters must reduce their energy levels by at least 10 percent to qualify for the grand prize of a $2000 retro fit of their chapter’s home as well as the title of “Most Sustainable Chapter” on campus. The competition is generously funded by The Green Initiative Fund.
The guidelines of the competition are very simple as well. The participating chapters will be evaluated in the following areas:
- % reduction in electricity usage, relative to chapter baseline
- % reduction in natural gas usage, relative to chapter baseline
- Completion of Extra Credit Assignments
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You may be asking, “Well, why does it matter if energy levels are reduced?” The reason is simple: we use energy everyday and are often very wasteful with our energy consumption habits. Saving energy reduces fossil fuel consumption and emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases. Decreasing our energy levels will lessen each chapter’s carbon footprint on this world.
Here are a few tips which can help you save energy:
- Change all light bulbs to CFL’s. A CFL light bulb uses about 75% less energy than standard incandescent bulbs and lasts at least 6 times longer. CFL’s also produce 75% less heat which in turn makes it safer to operate and cuts energy costs!
- Turn off the lights. I’m not referencing the Nelly Furtado song, but actually the real process of flipping the switch and eliminating unneeded light. It saves money and energy, so why leave the lights on?
- Wash your clothes on cold. Ninety percent of energy used while doing laundry is caused by heating the water to wash your clothes. Turn down the wash temperature and your clothing will also thank you in return (washing clothes in cold is better for them)!
- Take a shorter shower. Cutting your shower time down by 5 minutes each day will save over 4500 gallons of water per year. That is A LOT of water.
Saving energy can be very simple, let’s see how far each chapter participating will get! Her Campus Berkeley will keep you updated!