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Alumni Review - Spring 2009

Small Steps to Make a Big Difference


treePlant a tree. On average, it will absorb a ton of carbon dioxide in its lifetime.

Cut the flow. Letting your faucet run for five minutes consumes the energy equivalent of a 60-watt bulb burning for 14 hours. A leaky faucet that fills a coffee cup in 10 minutes will waste about 3,000 gallons of water a year, or a one-month water supply for the average consumer.

Moderate the ­temperature. Mov­ing your thermostat down two degrees in winter and up two degrees in summer can save 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.

light bulbsReplace incandescent bulbs. Only about 10 percent of the energy from an incandescent bulb is light; the rest is heat. Compact fluorescent bulbs are up to four times more efficient. Replacing one incandescent bulb with its fluorescent equivalent can cut the production of carbon dioxide by 150 pounds in one year.

Shower efficiently. A full bath uses about 70 gallons of water, a five-minute shower about 10 to 25. Additionally, a family of four using low-flow (two gallons/minute) instead of old-fashioned showerheads can save about 20,000 gallons per year.

hands in waterWash with care. Use a low-water setting on your washing machine and wash in cold water. It can save about 500 pounds of carbon dioxide a year and about 80 percent of the energy of a hot-water wash. Newer energy-­efficient models also cut average water use per load from 41 to 28 gallons.

Upgrade. A toilet made before 1992 is likely to use 3.5 to 7 gallons per flush. A newer one uses less than 1.3 gallons.

plugPull the plug. Many idle electronic devices, including TVs, DVD players and microwaves, are still drawing substantial amounts of "vampire power." Turn power strips off to shut nonessen­tial devices down completely when not in use.

Recycle paper and use both sides. The average U.S. office worker goes through about 10,000 sheets per year. Recycling one ton of paper saves 7,000 gallons of water, 3 cubic yards of landfill space and 4,100 kilowatt hours of electricity.

Recycle drinking bottlesRecycle plastic. The United States uses 12 million barrels of oil annually to make the 100 billion plastic bags it uses. Fewer than 1 percent of those bags are ever recycled. Five recycled PET bottles make enough fiberfill to stuff a ski jacket.


From the online Building Dashboard, which allows members of the Hamilton community to monitor electrical use in many campus buildings, including residence halls, and full electrical, water and natural gas use at the Science Center. Tools on the dashboard, created by the LucidDesignGroup, allow real-time comparisons of different buildings, energy consumption over time, and translations of energy consumption into various familiar units such as dollars, gasoline consumption and light-bulb use. It also provides practical advice for smarter energy consumption.