Sustainability

Starting next week, Hamilton will compete regionally in the Campus Conservation Nationals (CCN) 2012, a competition in electricity and water use reduction among colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. The competition was created by the Students Program at the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council and in partnership with Lucid, Alliance to Save Energy, and the National Wildlife Federation.

Lauren Howe ’12 spent the fall semester conducting an independent study project in which she researched and recorded campus food purchasing at Hamilton.  She collaborated with Bon Appétit and Real Food Challenge (RFC), a student-led organization based in Boston advocating “real food” on more college campuses.

During Hamilton’s winter break closure from Dec. 17 through Jan. 2, the College saved enough kilowatt hours to power 20 average homes in the U.S. for an entire year, according to Steve Bellona, associate vice president for facilities & planning.  The savings are largely attributed to a reduction in (electrical) plug load (TVs, lights, computers) and building lighting.

A panel discussion, “Creating Sustainable Urban Communities in Syracuse and Utica,” will be hosted by the Levitt Center on Thursday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m., in the Taylor Science Center’s Kennedy Auditorium. The discussion is free and open to the public.