By Kate Carone

  Everybody’s talking about it, you’ve seen the chalkings and the banners, but what is green energy and why do you care? Green energy harnesses power from natural and renewable resources such as sun, wind, and water, and its production has minimal environmental consequences. On the other hand, traditional energy comes from burning coal, oil, and natural gas, all of which emit large amounts of pollutants into the air and water. Currently, Wesleyan purchases about 27 million kilowatt-hours per year (multiply a 60-watt bulb 450 million times), and it all comes from dirty traditional sources.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Recent deregulation of the energy market in Connecticut means that we can now choose from whom and where we get our electricity, and there are several companies offering green alternatives. Having Wesleyan switch over to green power would lower carbon dioxide emissions (the main greenhouse gas responsible for global warming) boost the state’s renewable energy market, making green energy cheaper for everyone in Connecticut, and make us a trendsetter, motivating other colleges to switch to green energy. In the long run, renewable energy is cheaper, cleaner, and makes the U.S. more self-sufficient and less vulnerable to international politics of the foreign oil and natural gas market.

A student forum, appropriately named Green Energy, is working with the administration and physical plant to switch some of the energy purchasing to include a percentage from a local green power company, Connecticut Energy Co-op (www.energyforme .com). Currently the forum members are fundraising the $1500 fee that it costs to join the co-op, with the purpose of attaining that goal by November 6th. In the next three weeks there will be bake sales in front of the campus center, in Olin, and maybe even in one of your classes. Buy a cookie for a friend, a lover, or for yourself, and help get green energy at Wesleyan.

Any questions or comments should be sent to greenpower@wesleyan.edu.


Carone is a member of the class of 2003