UNI Unplugged challenges students to reduce energy consumption

Nine University of Northern Iowa students hope to encourage energy conservation with a campus-wide energy saving competition April 15-22.

The event, UNI Unplugged, is a week-long competition between UNI's nine residence halls. The hall that conserves the most energy, percentage-wise, is eligible for prizes, including gift cards from community organizations like Cup of Joe, Norma Mae's Pizza, Texas Roadhouse and University Book and Supply.

The amount of energy saved will be calculated by comparing the energy use in each residence hall during the week of the competition to a control week in February.

"We're in communication with the (Department of Residence) and the facilities managers on campus, and they track the amount of energy used in every building on campus, so we have access to those numbers," said Jessica Baumeister, sophomore theatre for youth major and one of the project's creators.

The Planeteers, a group of nine sophomore Presidential Scholars, are planning the competition. The Planeteers hope that the competition can raise awareness about energy consumption and encourage students to change their energy habits.

"UNI Unplugged is kind of what you might call a hearts and minds campaign," said Austin Foster, sophomore biology major and one of the project's creators. "We have rewards for students who participate in their dorm, but mainly we're just trying to change habits. So we have some curriculum that we're distributing through the Department of Residence through the In-Stalled Success that every student sees when they participate in that necessary activity."

This curriculum will list simple changes in behavior students can make to reduce their energy consumption, including turning off lights whenever leaving the room, washing clothes in cold water, air drying clothes and unplugging anything not in use, such as TVs and phone and computer chargers. These appliances still use energy when plugged in but not turned on. According to Foster, 15 percent of energy a TV uses is from when it's off but plugged in.

"All students have been exposed to the global warming debate, but we just wanted to show them that there are things they can do that would make a significant impact percentage-wise," Foster said.

The Planeteers planned the event as part of their Service Learning Think Tank course.

"We are in a think tank, and it spans both semesters," Baumeister said. "Last semester, we did a lot of planning, we researched issues on campus and in the community and considered how we could be involved to improve our community, and our group of nine decided we were most passionate about becoming a more eco-friendly campus. And we eventually narrowed it down to energy conservation on campus. We then made a sort of general plan for this semester, and this semester we've been working on implementing that plan."

The competition kicks off April 15 during Honors Week with a showing of the HBO documentary "Too Hot to Handle" and the movie "WALL-E." It concludes on Earth Day, April 22. For more information, visit www.uni.edu/unplugged.