NEWS

For Immediate Release

Contact:
Darren Legge, (303) 492-8308
Ghita Carroll, (303) 492-8308

March 30, 2005

Celebrate Conservation Week at CU

When not in use, turn off the juice!

April 4 through April 8 is conservation week, and the CU Environmental Center wants you to celebrate by making different everyday decisions to see how large of a reduction can be recorded on campus electricity and water meters.

The Environmental Center hopes to have every student, faculty, and staff member participate in the Conservation Challenge this week. The challenge is to reduce your excessive consumption by 10 percent.

To make this possible, the Environmental Center will be giving out free compact fluorescent light bulbs on Hellems Lawn, April 4-8 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Fluorescent bulbs will also be distributed in the dining halls throughout the week from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Monday--Darley Commons
Tuesday--Kittredge Commons
Wednesday--Farrand Dining Hall
Thursday--Sewall Dining Hall
Friday--Libby Dining Hall

Changing your light bulbs to the free fluorescent bulbs will reduce your energy usage by approximately 2 percent. By performing the following simple steps, you can continue to reduce your energy and water use and achieve the 10 percent goal of the Conservation Challenge.

Fight excessive consumption with these easy actions: (Conservation Impact %)* Enable sleep mode on your computer. And your roommate's. (2%) Report leaks or other waste to energyconservationhotline@fm.colorado.edu (1%) Turn off the water while you shave or brush your teeth (<1%) Turn off lights and other appliances that aren’t being used (5%) Replace your light bulbs with Compact Fluorescents (2%) *%’s are estimates

CU spent $14.9 million on electricity last school year and $1.8 million more on potable water. To generate $14.9 million worth of energy, a power plant must put over 8,000 tons of carbon dioxide and other pollutants into the air we breathe. That amount of pollution is equivalent to the toxins emitted by driving your car around the world more than 23,000 times!

"It only makes sense that we conserve resources, if we care at all about the impact of our actions, both environmentally and economically. The first step to achieving freedom from fossil fuels is by eliminating the wasteful margins of our actions," said Darren Legge, energy coordinator at the Environmental Center.

"There is so much room for improvement--we can make a big difference in the quality of our environment just by educating people about conservation. We don't have to work in the dark or take cold showers to make a change; we only have to be mindful of the implications of our actions," he said.

For more information on how to get involved in Conservation Week, contact the CU Environmental Center at (303) 492-8308 or visit http://www.colorado.edu/ecenter.