Besides being the month of foliage and pumpkins, October at Bowdoin also means something else: energy conservation.
The sixth annual Energy Conservation Dorm Competition, a month-long event which pits different dorms across campus against one another to see which can save the most energy, is well underway.
Coordinator for a Sustainable Bowdoin Keisha Payson, who has actively promoted the event since it began six years ago, said the competition was originally only a week long. However, because of considerable support from students, the event was extended to a month two years ago.
The competition, facilitated by EcoReps, aims to increase environmental consciousness on campus.
EcoReps have also disseminated information across campus throughout the competition.
"Some EcoReps have handed out guides for using less energy while others have physically shown the difference between an energy-friendly room and an energy-wasteful room," EcoRep David Funk '10 said, "There are an unlimited number of creative ways to encourage people to reduce."
EcoReps also work to raise awareness about appliances and their energy consumption, utilizing posters and word-of-mouth.
"Besides general ways to use energy more wisely, such as not having the mini-fridge cranked up all the way or turning out the lights, we also try to educate people about the phantom loads of various products," said Payson. "A lot of appliances, like cell phones, televisions and hair dryers use energy as long as they're plugged in. We just try to make people aware of things like that."
A dorm or social house's progress in the competition is tracked by the percentage improvement in energy use, based on an energy reading taken at the beginning of October. According to Payson, this puts large and small dorms on an equal playing field.
Cash prizes towards a dorm's general account are also awarded at the end of the competition, with $150 going towards to the best overall dorm, $150 the best first-year dorm/social house combo, $100 to the best upperclass dorm and social houses, and $100 to the most improved dorm between the first and second halves of the competition. House leaders or dorm RAs are responsible for coordinating how the money is spent.
Last year Winthrop received a prize of $150 for best overall dorm, reducing their energy use by 54.27 percent, while best upper class dorm went to Baxter, and the best first-year dorm/social house combination prize went to Winthrop/Macmillan. According to Payson, last year saw a reduction of 52,228.5 kilowatt hours, the equivalent of 104,000 pounds of CO2. This was not an insignificant reduction: The decrease in CO2 is equal to planting 155 new trees in one month.
According to Funk, lots of people have already made strides to reduce their energy.
"A number of people have been using headlamps to do work rather than turn on the lights. If everyone in the dorm does their part, energy could be decreased by up to 40 percent. Baxter has already reduced around 35 percent or more since the beginning of the competition," Funk said.
The pattern of energy conservation and mindfulness during the competition typically continues into November, according to Payson. However, by the time students return to school in February, they seem to have forgotten their energy-saving habits, leading Payson and the EcoReps to decide to hold a competition in February between the top finishers in the fall.
"To encourage energy savings we've decided to have a head-to-head competition when we get back in February between the top five energy-savers from the October competition. We hope this will encourage more students to continue to be mindful of their energy use after October," Payson said.
The success of the Energy Conservation Dorm Competition also symbolizes an increase in environmental-consciousness on campus.
According to a voluntary survey offered each year to the incoming first-year class by Sustainable Bowdoin, 73 percent of first years who responded to the survey said environmental issues were of concern to them, while 29 percent said they were not. Likewise, 86 percent of these students said they were recyclers, 78 percent said they turned their computers off before they go to bed, and 68 percent strongly agreed that their daily actions have an impact on the environment.
"This survey to me showed an overall increase in awareness in Bowdoin's incoming classes and shows the significant strides in terms of the presence of environmental ethics on campus," Payson said. "I feel like students seem more aware of how their own actions ultimately impact the environment, and the school itself is shifting to become even more eco-friendly than before."
EcoReps and Payson have also worked to encourage other methods of conservation, including services like the use of the Bowdoin Organic Garden and the utilization of the mug-washing service in Thorne Dining Hall.