Go Green: Dorm Life
By: WROC-TV
Updated: September 4, 2008
On college campuses across America, move-in day can result in a mountain of garbage.
As students try to turn dorm rooms into homes, the boxes and packing material can really pile up.
"There's a lot of stuff, my stuff, her stuff, we're just trying to make it work," says Freshman Laura Foster.
Moving in can get pretty hectic, leaving students with little time to focus on going green. But some schools are making it easy. The University of Rochester announced last week that they will be purchasing wind power to run their residence halls. They have purchased energy credits for the next two years.
There are also a lot of simple things students can also do on their own.
Students can opt for a low energy refrigerator. Or they can switch from regular light bulbs to a compact fluorescent one.
"If a hundred million americans changed just three light bulbs, it's like taking three and a half million cars off the road in terms of the avoided pollution," says Fred Crupp from Environmental Defense.
In 2007, SUNY Geneseo held a competition between residence halls to see who could use the least amount of energy. 15 dorms took part and the effort saved the school nearly 2800 dollars in one semester.
SUNY Geneseo is taking things a step further. Next semester they are opening up a new residence hall that will be heated with geo-thermal energy.
