RESET ignores student awareness

By Christoph Meyer     2/18/10 6:00pm

Over the past few years, Rice appears to have made a serious attempt to clean up its environmental impact. Mindful of its sustainability grade on the Green Report Card, which, according to the Sustainable Endowments Institute, tanked at a C- back in 2007, the university has seen its performance rise steadily above average to a B in 2010. Since Rice has come such a long way in such a short period of time, one may be tempted to assume the university is excelling in its environmental endeavors. The new college buildings, designed and constructed to meet higher standards of sustainability and environmental friendliness, embody these "green" ambitions. However, Rice's total energy costs continue to rise, with no apparent end in sight.

Or is there?

In light of the upcoming Student Association elections, a blanket tax for the Rice Endowment for Sustainable Energy Technology aims to establish a fund for renewable energy and energy investment for the Rice campus. RESET is the latest in Rice's efforts to join the nationwide league of environmentally aware colleges and universities that already boast hip programs of their own. These initiatives seek to both curb energy costs and spur green development and sustainable innovations on campus. The promotion of green technologies to reduce energy costs represents a worthy system transformation, but while it is a great idea in theory, RESET naively overlooks a fundamental step in the equation of reducing energy costs: wasteful consumption.

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Student awareness regarding energy consumption is a fundamental precursor to investing in the RESET tax. One need look no further than the average dorm room to find wasted energy; if rooms are not over-air-conditioned, they are over-heated, and lights are often left on in unoccupied rooms. Sadly, these and countless other examples epitomize the behaviors of the student majority, who don't give these practices even a hint of thought. If students are willing to promote RESET and spend $9 on a blanket tax, shouldn't they be willing to pay attention to their own behavior as well?

That being said, turning off the lights or opening the windows are by no means the only solutions to reducing energy costs. Investment in efficient reconstruction materials and renewable sources of energy represents a necessary move forward for Rice as it pushes towards an environmental career cum laude. Along with its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified gold and silver buildings, Rice must continue striving toward sustainability by renovating its older colleges, many of which are markedly outdated in comparison to the newer ones. Double-pane windows, improved insulation and more efficient light bulbs must become the standard across campus, as all of them can help reduce building energy consumption costs.

Therefore, the formula for Rice's success as a leader in energy sustainability involves both decreasing excessive consumption and pursuing - and carrying through with - new environmental efforts. While student initiative is important in these pursuits, RESET may not be the most appropriate solution. The blanket tax seems like an "out of sight, out of mind" action. Students may pay $9 and feel they have helped champion a cause, when in reality they haven't done much at all.

The system must change, but so must we, and unequivocally so. But for this to happen, students must begin living environmentally considerate lifestyles; transforming the source of our electricity alone will not guarantee reductions in associated cost. Installing a solar panel may be more glamorous, but lowering the air conditioning and turning off the lights may be just as effective for now.

Paying the $9 blanket tax is not the best solution. Just because you support an initiative doesn't mean you are living by its ideals. It's time the people of Rice, not just the buildings, went "green."

Christoph Meyer is a Hanszen College sophomore. Yves Meyer, a Jones College senior, contributed to this column.

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