Current News
Student-directed "Concert from Conservation" competition to raise funds for concert by saving energy
December 12, 2006
For immediate release - Dec. 12, 2006 Contact: Eric Cárdenas (860) 439-2508; eric.cardenas@conncoll.edu Student-directed "Concert from Conservation" competition to raise funds for concert by saving energy NEW LONDON, Conn. - Students at Connecticut College have initiated a "Concert from Conservation" competition between residence halls to reduce the consumption of heating fuel and electricity on campus. The incentive is a concert funded by a percentage of the money saved from conservation, and perhaps backstage passes for the residence hall that reduces its energy consumption the most.
Twenty-five percent of the dollars saved through conservation in the residence halls this winter, compared to energy usage from last winter, will go toward funding a band performance on campus this spring.
Tyler Dunham, a Connecticut College sophomore and co-chair of the Renewable Energy Club, said the competition benefits both the environment and the students´ on-campus social opportunities. Dunham said that by using 10 percent less electricity - by doing such things as using compact fluorescent light bulbs, turning off lights and computers, and doing bigger loads of laundry - students could ultimately net approximately $5,000 to augment the Student Government Association´s social activities funding.
"The money spent buying more energy could be better used for things that really matter on campus," Dunham said.
The Renewable Energy Club is planning an extensive awareness and educational campaign on campus in support of the effort. The initiative is sponsored by the Connecticut College Renewable Energy Club and has been supported by the Student Government Association and the Environmental Model Committee.
For more information and for energy savings ideas, go to the Renewable Energy Club website at http://rec.conncoll.edu.
The college on a whole is currently amidst a "dial-down campaign" to reduce the college´s heating oil use. The range of automated building temperatures has been reduced from 74-70 degrees to 72-68 degrees. It is believed the college can reduce its total consumption by 18,000 gallons for every degree of reduction, thereby saving nearly $110,000. The reduced use of heating oil also decreases the amount of carbon emissions into the environment.
Ranked among the most selective private liberal arts colleges in the nation, Connecticut College enrolls 1,900 men and women from 43 states and 45 countries. The college is known for putting the liberal arts into action through interdisciplinary studies, international programs, funded internships, student-faculty research and service learning. Founded in 1911, the college operates under an 85-year-old honor code. The college is located at 270 Mohegan Ave, New London, about two hours by car from Boston and New York. The 750-acre campus is an arboretum overlooking Long Island Sound. For more information, visit www.connecticutcollege.edu. -CC-
For more information contact: Amy Sullivan (860) 439-2526; amy.sullivan@conncoll.edu