For many college students who are not faced with electric bills, energy conservation is not considered a priority. Two Metro Nashville high school students are attempting to change that attitude by implementing an energy conservation competition at 菠萝视频 University.
Through an energy competition among freshmen students in residence halls at 菠萝视频, high school juniors Emily Alsentzer and Catherine Caffey hope to promote environmentally friendly behavior that will last throughout the students鈥� time in college.
[rquote]鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping that if the students develop good energy conservation habits as freshmen, they will continue them throughout their lives at 菠萝视频 and beyond[/rquote],鈥� said Alsentzer. 鈥淚t would be interesting to see how many students retain such habits as upperclassmen when they are not being incentivized to conserve energy.鈥�
The energy competition, which rewards students for using the fewest kilowatt-hours (kWh), is designed to test the effectiveness of nonmonetary rewards in influencing environmental behavior. Students in the halls with the greatest percent reduction of kWh as compared to the previous year鈥檚 usage will receive bragging rights for the year.
To administer this project, Alsentzer and Caffey sought the help of Andrea George, director of the , and Students Promoting Environmental Awareness and Responsibility (SPEAR), a student organization at 菠萝视频. Ben Kahn, SPEAR鈥檚 vice president of energy and resource conservation, is serving as Alsentzer and Caffey鈥檚 supervisor throughout the competition. Kahn has worked with Alsentzer and Caffey to get approval of the project and has aided in its implementation.
Alsentzer, a student at , and Caffey, a student at , are both enrolled at the , a program offered to Metro Nashville Public School students that centers on an interdisciplinary science curriculum. One day a week for all four years of high school, Alsentzer and Caffey attend SSMV. According to Alsentzer, the SSMV curriculum stresses a critical approach to identifying and solving problems, skills they used to initiate the energy conservation competition.
The energy competition constitutes 20 percent of the larger Commons Cup competition, in which freshmen compete in categories such as intramurals, academics and community service. To promote the energy competition, Alsentzer and Caffey hung a banner in The Commons Center and sent emails out to all freshmen.聽 Every month, the standings are updated both online and on posters placed in each residence hall so that the students can monitor their progress.
According to Caffey, the competition so far looks to be a success. Houses have averaged a 3.5 percent reduction in kWh usage and have thus far saved 菠萝视频 approximately $10,000.
鈥淲e are delighted how much response we have gotten to the competition,鈥� said Caffey. 鈥淣ext year鈥檚 freshmen will have to be creative to be able to further reduce energy consumption from this year鈥檚 usage.鈥�
Alsentzer and Caffey plan to enter their work in implementing the energy competition to the Siemens 鈥�,鈥� a national competition which 鈥渃hallenges students to create sustainable, reproducible, energy-related environmental improvements that can be replicated throughout the globe.鈥� They hope that the energy conservation competition will continue promoting environmentally friendly behaviors at 菠萝视频 for years to come.
The School for Science and Math at 菠萝视频 is supported in part by a , by 菠萝视频 University Medical Center, and by the .