Spring Break
Energy-saving system crucial
Issue date: 11/16/07 Section: Opinions
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Competition exists due to scarcity - after all, two can't win the SEC title. So if we want to motivate actions based on competition, we must perceive the desired good as scarce.
But sometimes we do not perceive scarcity when we ought to. Students living on campus use far more electricity than is necessary. Why? Because the electricity won't run out, and students don't have to pay directly for every megawatt hour (MWH) they use.
The same can be said for University electricity consumption as a whole. If the University overshoots its energy budget by $6 million, as it did last year, according to Katherine Tippins' Dec. 2006 column, "Class has bright ideas for energy conservation," it faces few consequences for doing so and is given funds to cover the extra costs.
There are hidden costs to exceeding our electricity budget. It wastes state tax money that could be better spent elsewhere.
According to The Athens Banner-Herald, the University's main boiler system runs on coal. Per the Environmental Protection Division (EPD), the University's boilers produce more sulfur dioxide and fine particle pollution than all the cars in Clarke County. We should be concerned about the environmental impact electricity consumption has on both our local air quality and the greater problem of global warming, which looks to be one of our generation's greatest challenges.
However, unrestrained electricity use isn't a unique problem - electricity costs in the University System of Georgia shot up 36 percent in the last two years alone, according to the minutes from a Board of Regents meeting. It appears that we aren't the only school in the state failing to contain our rising energy costs.
To fix this problem, I believe that the Board of Regents should establish a cap and trade system for electricity consumption between our state colleges and universities. In practice, each institution will be allotted a certain number of electricity credits (in MWH) based on the dollar amount budgeted for electricity. Then, if it exceeds that amount, it will have to purchase extra credits from another institution on an open market.
On the other hand, if a school consumes less than it is allotted, it can either sell excess credits or roll them over into the next fiscal year. If the initiative is publicized as a competition among the different institutions in the University System to reduce their electricity usage, that alone will push campuses to take action. After all, who wants to pay Georgia Tech for extra MWH credits? This strategy will make the costs associated with using excess electricity painfully clear.
The cap and trade system will bring about some important changes on the University's campus. Of course, the primary goal is to create an economically efficient way to reduce unnecessary electricity expenditures.
Is there a better place than a college campus to find the creativity needed to design innovative solutions to the energy problem? Progressive ideas, such as last year's competition between residence halls designed by University senior Ben Cobb, would find the institutional support for expansion. By associating costs with electricity usage, the cap and trade program will create a stronger incentive for the development of conservation strategies that can be employed both in and beyond our University.
We use too much energy simply because we don't take a few basic actions to prevent wasteful consumption.
By increasing awareness of the consequences of electricity usage, we will promote a culture of conservation on campus and beyond. Energy-saving methods and the importance of putting them into practice will not be forgotten when we walk through the Arch.
- Kristen Tullos is a junior from Valdosta majoring in international affairs and economics.
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