Published in the Columbia Missourian
How much energy do you use? MU's Energy Management staff wants you to think about it.
The department held its seventh annual Energy Extravaganza on Wednesday in MU's Lowry Mall. The goal was to inform students, faculty and staff about how conserving energy can improve the environment.
"If we save energy, we save the environment," said event coordinator Leilani Haywood.
A number of environmental organizations set up booths and displays showcasing environmentally aware technologies, some of which are still in development. Steve Trokey, an MU sophomore, said the displays were informative. "I found lots of information that's not information you'd find every day," said Trokey, who spent about an hour at the five-hour event. "There are more uses for solar than I thought."
Trokey said he normally shuts off lights when he leaves a room and turns off the faucet when brushing his teeth. He said everyone can take care of the environment.
The Center for Sustainable Living's booth displayed the solar Nash Doll House, a model of how homes can be retrofitted to improve sustainability and conserve resources.
Nancy Boon, who attended the fair, lives in a passive-solar house. She said her annual heating bill is about $60 to $70 - the cost of half a cord of wood, which she burns to heat her home.
Boon, an architectural drafter at the university, built the house in 1983 to take
advantage of the environmental and economic opportunities of solar housing. She uses her window air conditioner three or four days a year. The house is warm during the day, she said, but cools rapidly at sundown.
"When it's hot and sticky outside, it's hot and sticky inside," she said. "But I work during the day, so when I get home it's cooled off."
A wall of windows on a brick wall store the sun's energy and radiate it back to the house, heating the interior.
"It's perfect," Boon said.
Another way to save energy and resources is recycling, said members of the MU Recycling Committee. Students, staff and faculty can bring materials from home to campus recycling facilities.
In addition to in-building recycling containers for paper, there are bulk recycling containers at the corner of Virginia and Lake streets, near Pershing and Defoe halls on the MU campus. The bins are for glass, cans, corrugated cardboard, news papers, magazines and brown paper bags.
University employees can complete the recycling cycle. University General Stores stock a variety of common products made from recycled materials, including notebooks, index cards, envelopes, binders, computer printer paper and toilet paper.
FOR INFORMATION
The MU Recycling Committee can be reached at 882-5054. The Energy Management office is at 417 S. Fifth St. and can be reached at 882-3094. Peaceworks and the Center for Sustainable Living can be found at 804C E. Broadway, by e-mailing sustlvng @mail.coin. missouri.edu or by calling 875-0539.