1. Saving water saves energy. Letting a water faucet run for five minutes uses about as much energy as running a 60-watt light bulb for 14 hours. (source: http://www.epa.gov/watersense/pubs/waterenergy.htm
2. Screensavers don't save energy, they can actually suck more! Use energy management settings on your computer: turn off monitor after 15 minutes of inactivity, turn off hard disks after 30 minutes, and system standby after 45-60 minutes. There is no need to keep your computer running for updates, even at night. (Source: Dan Elis, UMD ITSS)
3. PepsiCo, which owns Tropicana brands, recently calculated that the carbon footprint of each half-gallon carton of orange juice is 3.75 pounds. (source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/business/22pepsi.html )
4. U-Pass ridership has been phenomenal lately, breaking monthly records every month this school year. Total number of rides to date on the U-Pass is 2.8 million. Way to go UMD!
5. Ever wonder how much water it takes to wash all those plates in the Dining Center? Thanks to a state-of-the-art LEED-certified dishwashing machine that was installed in August 2006, water consumption was reduced by 35%! The machine also saves on electric power and soap too! (source: http://www.d.umn.edu/aux/greenefforts.html)
6. Labovitz School of Business and Economics, which opened last fall, is LEED Gold Certified. 19% of the building's total materials are made from recycled materials. And yes, you're walking on bamboo in LSBE 118!
7. Ever wonder about those big dumpsters you see outside of UMD construction sites? No worries. During construction of the Life Sciences building (LEED-Silver), 80% of construction waste was diverted from the landfill. Even better, during the construction of Labovitz School of Business and Economics (LEED-Gold), 78% of materials were recovered.
8. The Civil Engineering building is currently under construction. It is being built to LEED Gold standards, saving energy, water, and operational costs.
9. Leftover food that can't be used by the UMD Food Service is picked up by Northern Lakes Food Bank and utilized at area shelters. (And don't worry, the food donations are sent back and forth in reusable containers!). As of October, the total amount of food donated in 2008 was 9,065 pounds. (source: http://www.d.umn.edu/aux/greenefforts.html)
10. Custodians at UMD use an efficient machine called an auto scrubber in UMD's hallways. They keep campus shining while using less water, less neutral-ph soap solution, and less time.
11. Are you a bottled water drinker? 3 liters of water are used to produce just 1 liter of bottled water, not to mention the oil used to create the plastic bottles and ship the product. (source: http://www.pacinst.org/topics/water_and_sustainability/bottled_water/bottled_water_and_energy.html) Calculate how much your bottled water habit is costing you and the environment: http://www.newdream.org/water/calculator.php
12. UMD has signed onto the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment. After detailing our carbon emissions through a greenhouse gas inventory, our campus will begin a Climate Action Plan, detailing strategies for reducing our carbon footprint!
13. President Obama recently stated, "At a time of such great challenge for America, no single issue is as fundamental to our future as energy." (source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog_post/Fromperiltoprogress/) You can be a part of the solution at UMD and join the ‘UMD Students Cutting Carbon' group on facebook. Watch this blog for future announcements.
