2008 Woodie Awards
ECO Lightbulb Exchange Drive
Marenka Thompson-Odlum
Issue date: 10/25/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
On Wednesday, Oct. 17 the Environmental Campus Organization (ECO) began their three-day CFL-Light-Bulb-Exchange drive, to lower the amount of energy used on campus by having students and professors exchange their standard incandescent bulbs for compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. From Wednesday Oct. 17 to Friday Oct. 19, ECO members were stationed on Middle Path from 11:00-1:00 p.m. and 4:00-5:00 p.m. handing out CFL bulbs in exchange for the incandescent bulbs that are found in most of the overhead lights in the residence halls and in lamps. This is the organization's second attempt at the exchange. Last spring during Sustainability Week, they gave away approximately 1,000 CFL bulbs.
According to the fliers which ECO placed in Gund dining hall, "over its lifetime, a CFL bulb will use about 75 percent less energy than standard incandescent bulbs, last longer, save $30 or more in electricity costs and save 2,000 times their own weight in greenhouse gases."
Although the CFL bulbs are three to four times more expensive, Riley Witte '09 of ECO said "the initial cost is inconsequential in the larger scheme of things. Switching to CFL bulbs will not only cut down Kenyon's energy bill by millions, but more importantly will help significantly reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released in the atmosphere due to the burning of fossil fuels to create electricity".
Witte is not alone in the quest to decrease global warming. Chief Business Officer Dave McConnell was the one who purchased the CFL bulbs that ECO was handing out. Julia DeNiro '10, member of ECO, said that "the administration has been very helpful in the CFL Light Bulb Exchange drive, and it is the goal of the administration to have the entire campus using CFL bulbs."
By the end of day one, ECO had handed out approximately 60 CFL bulbs to students on Middle Path, and had done a survey of the number of incandescent bulbs in academic buildings, common spaces, dorms and restrooms. At the end of the three-day drive, the organization planned to swap the incandescent bulbs used in these places with the leftover CFL bulbs.
What happens to the "lame incandescent bulbs"? Well, ECO has decided to donate them to the art department for use in several art projects and displays.
"We don't want to throw them away, because that just adds to the waste problem, but they should be put to good, but harmless use," said DeNiro. "Thus the art department."
According to the fliers which ECO placed in Gund dining hall, "over its lifetime, a CFL bulb will use about 75 percent less energy than standard incandescent bulbs, last longer, save $30 or more in electricity costs and save 2,000 times their own weight in greenhouse gases."
Although the CFL bulbs are three to four times more expensive, Riley Witte '09 of ECO said "the initial cost is inconsequential in the larger scheme of things. Switching to CFL bulbs will not only cut down Kenyon's energy bill by millions, but more importantly will help significantly reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released in the atmosphere due to the burning of fossil fuels to create electricity".
Witte is not alone in the quest to decrease global warming. Chief Business Officer Dave McConnell was the one who purchased the CFL bulbs that ECO was handing out. Julia DeNiro '10, member of ECO, said that "the administration has been very helpful in the CFL Light Bulb Exchange drive, and it is the goal of the administration to have the entire campus using CFL bulbs."
By the end of day one, ECO had handed out approximately 60 CFL bulbs to students on Middle Path, and had done a survey of the number of incandescent bulbs in academic buildings, common spaces, dorms and restrooms. At the end of the three-day drive, the organization planned to swap the incandescent bulbs used in these places with the leftover CFL bulbs.
What happens to the "lame incandescent bulbs"? Well, ECO has decided to donate them to the art department for use in several art projects and displays.
"We don't want to throw them away, because that just adds to the waste problem, but they should be put to good, but harmless use," said DeNiro. "Thus the art department."
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