Kill-A-Watt

In her recent speech to the University, Mary Sue Coleman declared, “when you combine Maize and Blue you get Green”.  In the same speech she set forth a comprehensive set of goals to make the University “more sustainable” by 2025.  The President’s goals set a fantastic precedent, but, as always, the directions and focus of this University will be guided by the students and it is for this reason that the student environmental movement should continue to grow in order to not only meet Coleman’s initiatives, but push them forward.

Kill-a-Watt, a new student program to encourage energy reduction in the residents hall does just that. Starting just this past Wednesday (Oct. 19^th) Kill-a-Watt is a month long energy reduction competition between 9 residence halls here on campus. While likely to only make a small dent in the Universities energy use, the reach and impact of the competition will go far beyond simply reducing the environmental impact of the University.

Engaging students on these issues is fundamental to Kill-a-Watt.  Even if energy is not saved in large amounts the leaders of this new student organization will be content with reaching as many students possible and simply making them think about these issues.

To achieve this, Kill-a-Watt events will be held in all of the competing residence halls (Bursley, Helen Newberry, Betsy Barbour, Fletcher, Martha Cook, and the Quads) on Oct. 25^th and Nov. 7^th.

While the result of the competition is yet to be seen it nonetheless represents a step forward in the student environmental movement. Adding to the efforts of a select number of highly engaged students that in large part led to the President’s speech a few weeks ago as well as creating the student sustainability initiative, Planet Blue Ambassadors and Planet Blue student innovation fund, Kill-a-Watt now takes on the difficult task of engaging students who have not previously shown interest in environmental issues. It is this step, bringing the conversation about what a more sustainable future means to the whole campus, that is Kill-a-Watt’s most powerful goal. The success of Kill-a-Watt and programs like it will determine how successful the Universities sustainability efforts ultimately will be.

(Image courtesy of Kristen Zelenka)