Despite the recent rain and wind that kept the normal hordes of students from lobbying for causes and selling merchandise on the Bryan Center walkway, one group has remained committed to promoting their cause since the beginning of the month.
A group of students and faculty, sponsored by the Duke Environmental Alliance, have joined together to create the Duke Green Power Challenge, asking students to pledge $25 each semester to help the University shift from nonrenewable to renewable power sources.
So far, the campus response has been more than coordinators anticipated. Since the drive began last week, organizers have garnered more than 300 participants.
"It's a pretty bold goal, and we are working our tails off to get there. The response has been incredible " said student organizer Sam Hummel, a senior. "I think people realize that our dependency on fossil fuels is not sustainable and when you offer them a choice, they take it."
Administrators have promised to match students' contributions up to $25,000 to encourage participation. In order to receive this full grant-matching amount, 1,000 students must pledge by the end of April.
Organizers created the challenge after introducing another environmentally friendly policy--energy-saving light bulbs--that will save the University more than $800,000 over the next 10 years. In turn, some of these savings will be devoted to pursuing programs to protect the environment.
"[Director of Facilities and Management] Jerry Black asked us what we wanted to do with those savings and we said, 'Let's match student purchases on green power,'" Hummel said.
Students purchase a clean energy voucher with the $25 they donate, organizers explained. All power comes from a large pool of untapped energy which is fueled by many different sources including green or renewable power sources--such as wind, solar and geothermal generators-and conventional non-renewable sources--such as fossil fuels and nuclear plants.
The pledge ensures that electricity consumed by the University will be replaced with energy generated by green sources, said Jonathan Lev, regional sales manager for Renewable Choice Energy, a Colorado-based company working with the Duke Green Power Challenge to supply the environmentally safe energy.
The environmental benefits of using green power come at a price, however. Green power costs on average 2.5 cents more per kilowatt hour than regular fossil fuel power, and customers must pay the difference.
"While your room may not be physically powered by the power that you're paying for, you are decreasing the amount of energy used," said Justin Segall, a sophomore involved in the group.
Last February, students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill passed a renewable energy referendum increasing their general student fees by $4 each semester, making UNC the first university in the southeast to adopt green power.
The resulting $300,000 per year that the fee hike produces will support green power in a way similar to Duke's proposed initiative. However, at the University, the program has not been driven exclusively by students. "What's unique about Duke's program is that students, faculty and administrators all participated," Lev said. "Everyone in the University community is involved."
Students can sign up for the challenge using FLEX, cash or check at tables all over campus, or online through the Environmental Alliance web site for the rest of the month.
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