July 22nd, 2008 : Posted in Campus Communications | No Comments »
Greetings,
This is my third update for spring /summer 2008 concerning utility consumption and cost. The prvious two are also posted here.
First the good news. I want to thank everyone on campus who has helped to reduce our energy consumption.
We have the utility data for the past academic year and we are using less energy:
- Electricity consumption is down from last year by 273,956 KWH and down from our forecast by 389,373 KWH, or 2.25% and 3.2% respectively. A KWH costs us about $.16 each so we beat our forecast by $62,300. Physical Plant has done a number of projects that can account for some of this reduction, but I believe that many on campus have taken measures in their daily life that have reduced the amount of electricity we consume. I encourage everyone to join this effort so we can further reduce consumption in FY09 by an additional 3 to 5%.
Read the rest of this entry »
May 7th, 2008 : Posted in Campus Communications | No Comments »
Greetings,
Several weeks ago I sent an e-mail to the campus concerning the increased cost of fuel oil with a request for all of us to conserve energy. I appreciate the many responses that I have received since and I have shared them with the folks in the Physical Plant and the President’s Commission for Environmental Sustainability.
There is more work that needs to be done.
Read the rest of this entry »
April 21st, 2008 : Posted in News Coverage, News Stories | No Comments »
Plymouth State University is a regional comprehensive university with a strong record of teaching, research, and service focusing on the environment and sustainable development. This document highlights some of the many exciting initiatives specifically pertaining to mitigating and adapting to climate change. These activities represent every aspect of the University, and it is particularly relevant to note key PSU programs that have strong impacts in this area, namely: The President’s Commission on Environmental Sustainability, The Center for the Environment, The Environmental Science and Policy Department, the University Environmental Committee, and the Center for Rural Partnerships. Read the rest of this entry »
April 4th, 2008 : Posted in ESC Meeting Minutes | No Comments »
PCES Meeting Minutes
28 March 2008
Present: Ellen Shippee, Trevor Chandler, Bill Crangle, Steve Whitman, Linda Dauer, Danielle Dustin, Brian Eisenhauer, Brad Allen, Bill Bayard, Bruce Lyndes, Len Reitsma
The February 22nd meeting minutes were accepted as written.
Dwight Fischer, Ted Wisniewski, and Jo-Ann Guilmett from ITS (Info Tech Svcs) attended to discuss green strategies:
• Ted overviewed the effort to keep clusters updated for sleep mode functions, and a new “virtual server” strategy that allows us to run fewer servers.
• Jo-Ann reviewed use of paper and other supplies in the student clusters (handout). 12% of the paper users account for over 30% of the ¾ million pages used last semester (one of those 12% was a faculty member). Read the rest of this entry »
March 25th, 2008 : Posted in Campus Communications, News Stories, Press Release, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Energy Conservation – Be Energy Conscious…
With the oil prices rising, we need to conserve energy on campus. The University burns #2 oil to produce electrical power for the campus. The price of #2 oil has risen from $2.05/gallon in September 2007 to $3.32/gallon in March 2008 which is a 62% increase in costs. A truck load of oil in September cost $19,000 and our last load in March was $31,000.
We need your help in reducing electrical power consumption on campus: Read the rest of this entry »
March 3rd, 2008 : Posted in ESC Meeting Minutes, News Coverage, Uncategorized | No Comments »
PCES Meeting Minutes
22 February 2008
Present: Don Perrin, Ellen Shippee, Danielle Dustin, Trevor Chandler, Bill Crangle, Linda Dauer, Nancy Pettengill, Peter Laufenberg, Brad Allen, Bill Bayard, Thad Guldbrandsen, Danielle Ross.
Updates: Read the rest of this entry »
January 31st, 2008 : Posted in News Stories, Uncategorized | No Comments »
PSU is taking another significant step forward in environmental sustainability efforts, with students taking the lead. Sunday, January 27, marked the beginning of the 10-week long RecycleMania competition at PSU. Residents from each residential area on campus are encouraged to recycle glass, #1 & #2 plastics, and cans. Special “RecycleMania” bins are located in the lobby of each residence hall, and in several locations around the University Apartments, which members of Residential Life staff will empty and weigh on a daily basis. Read the rest of this entry »
December 7th, 2007 : Posted in News Coverage, News Stories, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Plymouth State University students saved nearly 12,000 kilowatts of electricity in a very successful energy-saving competition.
Danielle Dustin, Samuel Read Hall residence director who organized the ‘Do It in the Dark’ contest, reports students saved 11,764 kilowatt hours of energy during the one-month competition that ran during the month of November. Dustin reports the combined energy savings from all residence halls are the equivalent of 196,067 60-watt light bulbs burning for 16 hours each. Read the rest of this entry »
November 27th, 2007 : Posted in News Stories, Press Release | 1 Comment »
The Center for Rural Partnerships (CRP), working in collaboration with North Country Resource Conservation and Development Area Council (RC & D) and the State Forester, has secured funding from the U.S. Forest Service to conduct a feasibility study for converting PSU’s existing co-gen plant from fossil fuels to sustainably-harvested woody biomass from local forests. Conversion from fossil fuels to a renewable energy source (combined with sustainable forestry) has a number of positive attributes, according to CRP Director Thad Guldbrandsen. Read the rest of this entry »
November 7th, 2007 : Posted in ESC Meeting Minutes | No Comments »
