'Eco-Madness' Challenge Begins In Northwest

By Timothy Bleasdale

Issue date: 2/27/07 Section: News

What do pizza, chicken wings, water and electricity have in common? Admittedly not much unless you live in one of Northwest's six residence halls.

Over the next two months, residents of Northwest will be competing to see which building can use the least amount of water and energy. The first place prize of a wings and pizza party will go to the one lucky building that proves itself to be the most dedicated to conservation.

The contest, which has been dubbed "Eco-Madness," is a sequel to a similar conservation contest that was held between the residence halls of South and Alumni last semester. Eco-Madness is sponsored by the Office of Environmental Policy (OEP) and organized by OEP interns Jessica Larocca, a 6th-semester environmental chemistry major, and Jennifer Sayers, a 6th-semester environmental science and anthropology major.

Although the basic concept of the contest hasn't changed much since last semester, there have been a few important changes. This semester, Eco-Madness will last a good deal longer than the previous competition. Beginning Monday morning, the OEP will be monitoring the water and energy consumption rates of each building in Northwest until the day after Earth Day, April 23. Additionally, many students felt rather uninformed about the competition last semester with more than a few claiming to have not even found out that there was a contest until it was almost over.

Larocca said interns have addressed this issue in Eco-Madness with the introduction of eco-captains. Ideally, these eco-captains will be residents from the various buildings of Northwest who will serve as role models for the community and will be responsible for getting residents involved and keeping them up-to-date on their building's standings.

"I hope this semester that a lot of the residents in Northwest will get involved with the contest and learn good energy and water conservation habits," Larocca said.

There are plenty of ways to get involved and that more eco-captains are still needed, Larocca said. "This [contest] is a good way to educate people about conservation," said Jen O'Neill, a 2nd-semester exploratory major. "I'm not sure how much of a lasting impact this will have, but it's a good place to start and every little bit helps."

Speaking about community involvement, Holly Mirizio, a 2nd-semester nursing major, said she would encourage people to turn off the lights in their dorm room when going out or to the dinning hall.

"There are lots of little things people can do [to conserve water and energy]," Mirizio said. "I'd turn my computer off. It's an easy thing to do and it'll help."

O'Neill and Mirizio also offered these tips for residents on conservation: report leaks to maintenance immediately, turn off lights and computers, don't leave the water running while you brush your teeth and take shorter showers.

Residents can view their building's performance and sign up to be an eco-captain on the contest's Web site. The site features real-time data on the water and energy use of each individual building and tips for residents on how to help conserve these valuable resources.