Watt is Negawatt anyway? Negawatt is a statewide electricity reduction competition between six colleges: Skidmore, Union, Colgate, Hobart and William Smith, Hamilton, and SLU. The competition begins Sunday, November 1st and concludes November 21st, the Friday before Thanksgiving Break. For the past three weeks, campus has been tracking usage of individual residential buildings in addition to overall campus consumption. SLU has competed for the past six years alongside the other aforementioned schools but is never quite able to make the extra effort to unplug. For motivation, a student housing competition will be in place: theme houses will compete against Greek houses while residential halls will compete against each other. Rumor has it, the winner takes all with each resident gaining a Pub Cookie at the completion of the competition.
When asked why SLU students should care about the electrical intake of campus, Ian Brennan ‘18 replied,“It is important to realize where power is coming from because we often just consume without thinking. So what if you leave your light on? We don’t directly pay the bill every month.” The process behind reducing our electricity use is often not something we mindfully do. While Negawatt recognizes the convenience of leaving microwaves, phone chargers, and lamps plugged in, the competition also calls attention to the impact of leaving such devices on. Watt is more, Negawatt brings attention to the overall energy crisis and the wider effects of climate change.
According to the Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC), 23% of electricity consumed in US homes is not truly being consumed. Rather, the energy is on “stand-by.” Although not in use, microwaves, phone chargers, and lamps suck energy like vampires, leading to the equivalent usage of a 25-100 watt bulb running continuously.
The Environmental Action Organization (EAO) is a club on campus striving to create a more green environment for all. The club is an active voice on campus and works to connect the SLU body to the local community and even to the greater world. To support Negawatt, the organization is sponsoring a series of events beginning next week (11/1 through 11/21). EAO reminds students to leave dorms/theme/Greek houses dark in favor of shared light sources, such as the Student Center or ODY.
Events for Negawatt are scheduled to run throughout the three-week time span to promote students efforts in reducing consumption, particularly at night. To name club member favorites: the showing of “Trainwreck” on Thursday 11/5 will be held in the Winston Room (with munchies, of course!) and on Tuesday 11/10 there will also be an Acoustic Night at Java. Email jchuch14@stlawu.edu to be included in the set list. Make sure to be on the lookout for other events sponsored by EAO. In addition, the organization reminds the SLU body to attend other community/campus held events during the three week period in order to collectively lessen electricity. And, for the technologically advanced, EAO will be running the @herewegosaints student-run Instagram account the week of 11/21 and will also be including energy reduction tips on SLUWire.
Energy consumption is a consistent problem that applies to the greater world, and every watt counts: the machine drying clothes in the laundry room, the lights illuminating the text in your book, the TV streaming Netflix as you sleep. They all play major roles in the consumption of electricity. Negawatt is a campus wide call to action to be conscientious of this. EAO personally invites you to rise to the challenge. And plus, who doesn’t love a Pub cookie?