<esults are in and Musser dorm saved the most energy during the month of February. Musser residents used 33% less energy than the average energy use per student, calculated from 2004 to 2008. The results for the other dorms are given below.
Percent Reduction in Energy Use
Evans 26%
Davis 22%
Goodhue 13%
Watson -5%
Burton -13%
Myers -30%
Sevy is not included as their energy reduction is due to the elimination of the bakery. Nourse is also not included as the numbers corresponding to Nourse took the load for the new dorm construction.
This year, data was also collected about water usage. Goodhue residents used the least amount of water per person. This result should consider the fact that all Goodhue showerheads have been replaced with low-flow shower heads, thereby having an impact on their water usage. The full results are below.
1. Goodhue 736.6 gallons/person
2. Evans 890.5 gallons/person
3. Davis 922.3 gallons/person
4. Nourse 947.4 gallons/person
5. Sevy 974.1 gallons/person
6. Watson 1,022.8 gallons/person
7. Myers 1,124.5 gallons/person
8. Burton 1,285.8 gallons/person
9. Musser 1,345.3 gallons/person
The water use exemplifies the need to consider conservation in all aspects of life. While Musser was able to save the most energy, their energy use per person is higher than all the other dorms. Change needs to come both institutionally (i.e. changing all shower heads to low flow) and personally (taking shorter showers). Green wars helps to put people in a mind-set of sustainability, with the hope that the mind-set will last throughout the school year and further into other parts of our lives.
The Carleton environmental community will continue to promote sustainability in two weeks during Earth Week. The week will take lessons learned from Green Wars and put it into a larger context of global sustainability and climate equity, revealing the connections of our actions locally and the impacts globally. Until then, let’s continue the path we started on in February.