Save Dollars: Conserve Energy

To the Editors:

Certain gases exist in the atmosphere that trap heat and keep the Earth’s temperature from dropping down to un-livable temperatures at night when the sun is not out. This is a good thing. However, since the industrial revolution, humans have created pollution on a large scale, thus greatly increasing the amount of heat-trapping (or greenhouse) gases in the atmosphere. It is now a commonly recognized fact that this increase is changing the climate. While scientists are currently tracking the disappearance of glaciers, changes in world weather patterns, and the increased frequency and intensity of natural disasters, let’s focus on another effect of climate change: the melting of the polar ice caps and the subsequent rise in sea levels. Many island nations, (for example Tuvalu in the South Pacific), fearing that they will be swallowed up by the surrounding ocean, have already issued pleas asking industrialized nations to curb their greenhouse gas output. In addition, countries in the developing world have also voiced their concern about rising sea levels and other effects of climate change. Indeed, this issue is closely tied to environmental justice in that poorer nations have little capacity to deal with rising sea levels, shifts in agricultural zones, increased storm damages, and other effects of climate change.
Noting these facts, is there anything that we as individuals and Oberlin College can do about climate change? Yes! All around the world communities are consciously lowering their greenhouse gas emissions. While individual choices that we make such as walking versus driving a car to work, turning off lights, and shutting down computers when not in use can seem insignificant, they add up. Oberlin College can reduce its greenhouse gas output in similar ways. If a student, faculty, or staff person notices that the lights in a certain wing of a building they frequent remain on constantly, even when no one is using them, they should report this finding to Facilities. Computers in campus buildings, including offices and dorm rooms, should also be shut down when not in use. Inefficient windows should be replaced with windows that are double-paned and better insulators. All of these measures would not only reduce the amount of energy we use, and therefore the amount of greenhouse gases we put into the atmosphere, but of course also the amount of money we spend on energy. The amount we save would cover the salaries of several interns, increasing the amount of services the College can provide. At the same time, improvements in energy efficiency on our campus and in communities around the world would reduce the impact of climate change on the United States and other developed nations, but more importantly on countries whose financial inability to respond to climate change leaves them particularly vulnerable.

–Laura Machala
College senior