ENERGY. Lots of it.
The energy craze today is no new trend. In November 1977, The Chronicle extensively covered the Durham and Duke communities’ reactions to energy
concerns.
On Monday, October 31, 1977, the week opened up to a four-day energy symposium discussing the possibility of nuclear energy in North Carolina.
Tuesday night would feature a debate between Duke Power Company Representative Carol McClintock and anti-nuclear activist Sam Lovejoy—best known for a towering act of civil disobedience—toppling a 500-foot research tower of a nuclear plant under construction in a small New England town.
In response to the nuclear energy debate, the Kudzu Alliance was officially formed in the Triangle area the week before. The alliance planned "to educate people" about the hazards of nuclear energy and to start a grass roots movement against a proposed nuclear power plant in Apex, N.C. Disagreements with the proposed nuclear power plant ranged from the short range of economic benefits to the potential poison of nuclear waste. David Martin, a N.C. State physicist, also came to speak at Duke against nuclear energy as a result of the alliance’s work.
Tuesday, November 1 featured the large, glowing and still standing Twin Towers. The towers were used as an example of the energy crisis, forcing the United States to reevaluate its energy usage. Each building was operated by a single switch, which meant that the whole building had to be turned on if one person needed light. Individual switches were installed after the 1973 Oil Crisis, in which members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) cut off their petroleum exports to the United States in protest of its support of Israel during the Yom Kippur War.
Duke and Durham also participated in the national trend towards alternative energy methods. During a particularly cold winter, 600 Durham citizens volunteered 9,000 man-hours of work to use local wood resources to heat homes in a project called Operation Breakthrough. Durham Congregations In Action and the Boy Scout Troop 468 teamed up to cut and split wood. Duke University even gave permission for them to use parts of the Duke Forest to supply wood. Volunteers of the student body even participated. For that year, Operation Breakthrough recruited a four-man crew to collect waste wood in the city and aid in preparing chimneys for winter use.
Interest in energy conservation seemed to be catching on everywhere.
John Arnold, a Durham resident and University of North Carolina graduate student, pushed for improved safety conditions for bicyclists. Neighborhood gardens sprung up in Durham and Duke. Duke provided two blocks on the North border of East Campus for gardens. John Hanks, a professor in the Music department and Divinity School, lived in a home with 33 glass panels set at a 15 degree angle on the south side. The windows were part of a solar heating system constructed by his son-in-law, Hal Barker.
Wednesday, November 2's issue had even more topics on energy discussion, covering the debate from Tuesday night between Lovejoy and McClintock. McClintock assured that the safety measures for the plant could "withstand an earthquake, a tornado and a jet crashing into the building simultaneously." To which Lovejoy responded that the protection measures reflected ”uneasiness" that such accidents could even occur.
And you think parking is bad now…
Today, many complain about the inadequate parking options at Duke. There were similar complaints in 1977.
The construction of the University (Bryan?) Center caused many parking problems causing Duke to move some cars to other lots. In a preemptive move, faculty members threatened to quit if their parking spaces were to be moved to where they would have to walk long distances to class, according to President Terry Sanford. Instead, ASDU proposed to move 168 students from Lot R to Lot C located behind Card Gym without touching any faculty spots.
By Thursday, November 3, the whirlwind of energy discussion had started to die down. Other news began to pop up in the paper. For instance, featured on page three was this picture:
There was no article to go with it, but the caption itself was alarming. We’re experiencing a bit of a squeeze in the freshmen dorms right now, but hopefully we won’t have to resort to this again.
'Bundle up and snuggle up, but turn those thermostats down'
On a lighter note, the Weather reports at the top right corner of each Chronicle issue were not the picture-based snippets in today's versions. Instead, they are as follows:
Monday: And God said, "Let there be fair weather in the low 60's with not chance of rain. And let it be in the low 40's tonight. And so it will be.!"
Wednesday: No more warm weather for a while, so bundle up and snuggle up, but turn those thermostats down!
Friday: Occasional rain and cloudy skies throughout the weekend. Sorry y’all. Highs in the low 70’s. Low in the mid-40’s.
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