SNC Sustainable Energy Update
Lewis Pullen
Issue date: 5/6/09 Section: Features
Lately we have been bombarded by a variety of environmental and energy-conscience buzz phrases: carbon footprint, going carbon neutral, being sustainable, living the R's- renew/reuse/recycle/reclaim/restore/re-?, global warming, being green-and the list goes on. What do these all mean? And what do they mean to us-St. Norbert College? If you were to survey a group of people to define these phrases, the results would probably be quite varied. And that's okay. Each one of us has our own take on these topics. It is all of those diverse ideas we want to continue to look at and talk about. In hearing your thoughts and talking about your ideas, we can then better identify what directions we may wish to pursue. We recently have reached out to you by means of articles such as this one and by presentations to different groups on campus. We will continue to do this. Speaking to as many of you as we can and listening to your comments and suggestions regarding the "Green Movement" and what sustainability means to you, we can better direct our efforts toward being "Carbon Neutral."
There are a lot of very interesting things happening, both globally and regionally, in the sustainable energy front. As a result of the recent new awareness in environmental issues, we have witnessed significant advancements in green energy technologies. Solar water heating has become more sophisticated and now has what we call a relatively short-term payback (a quick return on investment). Consequently this type of alternative "renewable" energy has become attractive for many applications. If you have not noticed yet, stand at the intersection of Marsh and Third Street and look up at the top of the newly-constructed, beautiful Mulva Library. There sits an array of water solar panels mounted on the roof, which will provide all the domestic hot water needs for that building. We will continue to look for additional uses of solar water panels on campus.
Another somewhat attractive alternative "renewable" energy source is geo-thermal heating and cooling. Simply put, geo-thermal is using in-the-ground earth temperatures to cool or heat. There are many examples of this technology in Wisconsin, even in Brown County. We are working to identify potential applications on our campus for geo-thermal.
There are a lot of very interesting things happening, both globally and regionally, in the sustainable energy front. As a result of the recent new awareness in environmental issues, we have witnessed significant advancements in green energy technologies. Solar water heating has become more sophisticated and now has what we call a relatively short-term payback (a quick return on investment). Consequently this type of alternative "renewable" energy has become attractive for many applications. If you have not noticed yet, stand at the intersection of Marsh and Third Street and look up at the top of the newly-constructed, beautiful Mulva Library. There sits an array of water solar panels mounted on the roof, which will provide all the domestic hot water needs for that building. We will continue to look for additional uses of solar water panels on campus.
Another somewhat attractive alternative "renewable" energy source is geo-thermal heating and cooling. Simply put, geo-thermal is using in-the-ground earth temperatures to cool or heat. There are many examples of this technology in Wisconsin, even in Brown County. We are working to identify potential applications on our campus for geo-thermal.
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Llama
posted 5/06/09 @ 4:54 AM CST
"garbage-to-electricity machine"
Sim City anyone???
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