2008 Woodie Awards
Thinking globally, acting locally
UNH students celebrate Earth Day
Cat Salerno
Issue date: 4/24/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 3 next >
Under a large white tent on T-Hall lawn, dozens of groups, clubs and organizations promoting sustainability gathered for Friday's Earth Day celebration.
Guest speaker Bob Varney, the Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator of New England and a UNH alum, moderated the event.
Varney started with an enthusiastic "Happy Earth Day!" and praised UNH for its efforts in sustainability and energy conservation.
"When people do great things they should be recognized, and UNH is doing great things," said Varney.
Varney then awarded ENERGY STAR labels to the buildings Randall-Hitchcock, Sawyer, Jessie Doe, Woodsides and Taylor Hall.
"UNH dorms earned the first ENERGY STAR in the nation," said Varney. "UNH has taken it to a new level. They now expanded ENERGY STAR labels to five buildings that are ENERGY STAR-labeled."
Varney said that this wasn't only about the environment, but about saving money. It is estimated that the university is saving $4 million because of energy efficiency.
UNH is doing a good job working with Durham, but Varney challenged UNH to reach out to other towns. "Multiply the benefits to all across New Hampshire," said Varney.
Tom Burack, New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services Commissioner, also addressed the crowd. "I want to say congratulations to UNH and its students for promoting sustainability. We're very proud of the work that you're doing," said Burack.
Burack stressed that now was the time for this generation to step up. "We have to get it right and we have to get it right now," he said. "At the end of the day it's smart choices that are made by individuals."
Burack also recognized UNH students for their participation in the Waste Watch Challenge.
Under the tent, Matt O'Keefe and Jim Dombrosk from the UNH Energy Office stood by a demonstration that showed the amount of energy required to use compact fluorescent light bulbs as opposed to incandescent bulbs. Compact fluorescent bulbs use one fourth the electricity of incandescent bulbs.
Guest speaker Bob Varney, the Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator of New England and a UNH alum, moderated the event.
Varney started with an enthusiastic "Happy Earth Day!" and praised UNH for its efforts in sustainability and energy conservation.
"When people do great things they should be recognized, and UNH is doing great things," said Varney.
Varney then awarded ENERGY STAR labels to the buildings Randall-Hitchcock, Sawyer, Jessie Doe, Woodsides and Taylor Hall.
"UNH dorms earned the first ENERGY STAR in the nation," said Varney. "UNH has taken it to a new level. They now expanded ENERGY STAR labels to five buildings that are ENERGY STAR-labeled."
Varney said that this wasn't only about the environment, but about saving money. It is estimated that the university is saving $4 million because of energy efficiency.
UNH is doing a good job working with Durham, but Varney challenged UNH to reach out to other towns. "Multiply the benefits to all across New Hampshire," said Varney.
Tom Burack, New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services Commissioner, also addressed the crowd. "I want to say congratulations to UNH and its students for promoting sustainability. We're very proud of the work that you're doing," said Burack.
Burack stressed that now was the time for this generation to step up. "We have to get it right and we have to get it right now," he said. "At the end of the day it's smart choices that are made by individuals."
Burack also recognized UNH students for their participation in the Waste Watch Challenge.
Under the tent, Matt O'Keefe and Jim Dombrosk from the UNH Energy Office stood by a demonstration that showed the amount of energy required to use compact fluorescent light bulbs as opposed to incandescent bulbs. Compact fluorescent bulbs use one fourth the electricity of incandescent bulbs.
Be the first to comment on this story