Each year, the Office of Sustainability picks a theme to focus on to demonstrate how the Conn community can be more sustainable. Last year, the theme was “Pass on Plastic,” where we tried to reduce the amount of plastic that the college consumes by encouraging community members to use paper or reusable straws, reusable utensils, and reusable cups and mugs. This year, our theme is “Energy and Climate.” But what does that mean? Well, the Office of Sustainability’s goal is to show how the college is working to combat climate change and how everyone in the community can make small changes that will have a huge impact on Conn’s carbon footprint and energy consumption.
During the beginning of October, we had Campus Sustainability Week in which we began to talk about the different ways Conn tries to be conscious of our energy consumption. For example, did you know that New London Hall is heated by geothermal wells, we have six solar panels down by the Athletic Center to produce renewable energy, or that the college aims to make more solar panels to expand our access to renewable energy? These steps are part of the college’s goal to develop more renewable and clean energy on campus. These actions show we are abiding by the commitment that President Bergeron signed onto in 2017 known as the “We Are Still In” pledge, alongside hundreds of other academic institutions, to show our support for the Paris Climate Agreement. Under this agreement, the college has pledged to reduce our carbon emissions by 26% by 2025 by increasing energy efficiency, upgrading facilities, and educating the college community.
How can we all do our part to help Conn meet this ambitious goal? You can do something as small as unplugging electronics and appliances when you are not using them, or turning the lights off when you leave the room. Small things like enjoying daylight and only turning your lights on when it is needed, or keeping your windows closed when the heat or air conditioning is on, can have a huge impact on the college’s energy consumption. You can even do bigger things like going one day a week without meat or cutting down how long it takes for you to shower. Regardless of how we decide to participate in order to help reduce the Conn’s energy consumption, it is important to remember that in order to fulfill our goal, we all must play our part. •
