As a founding member of the campus Sustainability Coalition, I applaud the administration s appointment of a Campus Planning Committee at the University of Maine. One of its four charges is to incorporate environmental protection issues into campus planning. But we need not await Planning Committee decisions to treat our campus with more care.
Energy use has major environmental and dollar implications.
On two occasions the Sustainability Coalition has offered to assist the administration by coordinating a cadre of volunteers to monitor energy use in campus buildings and to promote energy conservation. Fuel prices have risen 82 percent over last year and we await their response. For many years, students have complained that the only way to regulate the temperature of many dormitory rooms in winter is by opening windows. Other campus buildings have the same problem. It is great news that the campus will retire our ancient highly polluting steam plant and switch to natural gas.