Over the past few years, several independent groups have explored ways to make Dartmouth more environmentally sustainable. Last spring, an Environmental Studies 50 class put together a report detailing recommendations on such areas as water use, energy efficiency and recycling. At the same time, acting Provost Bruce Pipes formed the Ad Hoc Committee on Environmental Policy for College Operations (CEPCO) to outline the administration's general goals for energy efficiency and waste reduction. Finally, last fall the Dartmouth Environmental Network (DEN) focused its annual conference on the creation of a "sustainable campus" by the year 2019.
With all this talk about "sustainability", it is clear that the Dartmouth community is concerned about the environment. But what exactly is "sustainability," and can it ever be attained here at Dartmouth? True sustainability must mean zero waste and 100% efficiency -- clearly an impossibility for here or anywhere else. Instead of confining our focus to long term goals, we need to take a closer look at where we have been successful in the past and how we can improve what we are doing right now.
Dartmouth has been and continues to be a leader among colleges in efforts to minimize its impact on the environment. Dartmouth Recycles! is one of the most extensive waste reduction programs in the country, and the College has had a long standing energy conservation policy. Since its inception in 1988, Dartmouth Recycles! has reduced the College's solid waste stream by over 30 percent -- we've definitely come a long way.
Despite these efforts, however, we still squander energy and generate enormous waste. Energy use continues to rise each year and we now burn more fossil fuels at our power plant than ever before. The electricity used in dorms went up by over 10 percent last year and we sent at least 350 tons of recyclable material to the landfill. If we want to work towards a more sustainable campus (as the ENVS 50, DEN, and CEPCO reports all suggest), then clearly something more needs to be done. Where should we start?
We can begin by addressing the underlying behaviors and attitudes that limit environmental progress. While the administration and operations staff need to do more to reduce waste and inefficiency, the real changes must come from individual action; we must change our everyday habits first.
For example, we already have a structure in place that encourages recycling. Unfortunately, many students have not made the commitment in their dorms to separate trash and bring it to the recycling room. If it takes too much time to do that, then we should figure out an easier way -- get collection bins on each floor. But no matter how easy recycling becomes, it will still take personal commitment from us and a willingness to take responsibility for our own trash.
The same is true for energy use. Many of us simply don't think to turn off our computers and lights when we leave our room. This behavior, along with the inefficient computers we buy, has been the largest contributor to Dartmouth's ever increasing energy bill. According to the Environmental Studies 50 report, students in the class of 1997 left their computers on for an average of 15 hours a day. That's obviously much more time than any of us spend at our computers. If we could cut that time in half, we would save the college at least $35,000 a year in energy costs.
As paying students and informed citizens, we must realize that in both tuition bills and future environmental costs, we ultimately pay the price for our inefficiencies. We also must realize that these issues relate to us directly-- that as we burn more fossil fuels each year, we are polluting the air we breathe. New operational measures for recycling and energy efficiency can be effective only if we each do our own part.
Finally, the simple things we can do to reduce our impact are part of a broader social and moral ethic that recognizes the selfishness of over-consumption. This ethic cuts across the scientific and political boundaries that often divide us. No matter what your politics or scientific understanding, you must agree that excessive waste is simply wrong.
As informed Dartmouth students, we have the responsibility to ourselves and our community to think personally about these issues. Only then will we begin to create a more sustainable campus.
