By Tim Ayers
Associate Editor

By Tim Ayers
Associate Editor

Currently, a group of students on campus is working with the administration of the College to develop a plan for Bates to use less energy in the future. While the process has been ongoing, the first campus-wide results have been seen in the last week.

Last Thursday, the Environmental Coalition and the Environmental Studies Department hosted a discussion titled, “Can Bates Pass on Gas?” to discuss feasible ways for the College to reduce its emission of greenhouse gases. The panel was moderated by Physics Professor John Smedley.

Approximately 70 students attended the event, which focused on the possibility of Bates buying electricity produced from renewable sources in the future. The switch to all-renewable energy would cost about 23 dollars more per student per year, and a number of different ways of raising this extra money were discussed, including increasing tuition or adding it on to parking permits.

“There was a lot of support for the idea of switching to 100 percent renewable energy” said Ben Wish, Vice President of the Environmental Coalition.

During the discussion, it was also revealed why Bates has yet to consider a switch to reduce emissions. Also, the school does not know how much money may be available for large-scale changes.

This Audit, conducted by the Combined Energies (a company hired by the school), shows how the metric tons of carbon dioxide Bates contributes to the environment increased by more than 60 percent between 1990 and 2000. These emissions include factors on campus like the oil burned to heat the houses. It also showed that it would cost a little under 2.4 million dollars to implement many of the energy reducing changes, and the payback time would be less than six years.

Member of the Environmental Coalition Erin Bertrand explained that part of the reason for this large increase stems from the construction of several new buildings on campus during the 1990s. The College added the Village, Underhill Arena, and Pettengill Hall, all of which greatly increase the energy demands of the campus. Also, she cited a large increase in students bringing appliances, such as refrigerators and microwaves, as another cause for the increase.

In an attempt to encourage the College to reduce these emissions, the Environmental Coalition has been asking students to sign a petition addressed to President Hansen. The petition, currently signed by more than 600 students, asks for the College to go along with the Voluntary Reduction Bill, recently passed by the Maine Legislature, eventually reduce its emissions back to the 1990 levels. Hansen will not act until she is fully informed about the contents of the petition. And the petition will not be presented to her until she has been informed.

The switch to renewable energy would immediately drop Bates back to the level of the early 1990s, and other energy saving measures would lower it even more. Currently, Colby has already switched to 100 percent renewable power, along with a new building heated and cooled by geothermal energy, and Bowdoin is considering designing new dorms to be climate controlled by geothermic means.

However, Bertrand says that the biomass and hydro sources Bates would use “are not the best option, but it is a good first step, as it is far and away better than fossil fuels.” She also described other energy saving measures, including carpooling by faculty and encouraging students to walk more, as car emissions factor into the total amount Bates produces.

“It is an opportunity for Bates to get wonderful publicity,” says Wish, describing his excitement about the possibility of switching to renewable energy, as the College would be only the fourth college in the country to do so.

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