Colleges Pay Attention to the Wrong Kind of Green

In today's San Gabriel Valley Tribune, three of the Claremont Colleges touted their greenness at the same time when all three colleges are trying to cut costs during an economic downturn. 

First, let's discuss Harvey Mudd.

At Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, they've turned energy conservation into a competition among dorms.

The idea came from a 2007 sustainability audit conducted by students and faculty at The Claremont Colleges that found the schools could save as much as $250,000 a year.

In October, the top three dorms at Harvey Mudd College saw energy consumption drop 33percent, 22percent and 20percent.

The college's eight dorms used a variety of ways to cut energy, including setting computers to sleep mode, turning off lights, washing clothes in cold water and unplugging cell phones when not in use.

I have a theory for why energy consumption may be done in October. It tends to be a cooler month and so students with air condition may not feel the need to run their appliances. 

Now, Claremont McKenna College.

Claremont McKenna College spokeswoman Dorothy Buchanan said the college proudly posts its green efforts on its Web site.

The college is switching to compact fluorescent bulbs, installing more efficient underground moisture sensors that make irrigation more efficient, promoting recycling and using pesticides and herbicides sparingly.

Sam already did the legwork on the kind of hardwork it is to dispose of fluorescent light bulbs and how they are hazardous to your health, in addition to being a poor source of light. In my room, the minimal light emitted from the overheads has meant that I've had to borrow another lamp. Apparently, I'm not alone. Several of my friends in the new dorm have done just that! 

I can't speak to the irrigation or to the pesticides/herbicides, but I am told that there's a many million dollar effort to promote recycling by sorting through all the cans and paper put into our waste bins. 

I think it's rather curious though, that Ms. Buchanan didn't mention the $3100-3900 solar trash bins. Insofar as I can tell, there are only three on campus (One in the shadow of Gannville, one in the shadow of the Hub, and the other in the shadow of Marks. Something tells me that they might not work so well, being solar and all, in the shade.)

Finally, Scripps College

At Scripps College, going green means compacting trash to take up less space in landfills and expanding recycling efforts.

Scripps College is also looking into reusing pool water for a future soccer field and using gray water for irrigation, as well as teaming with the other Claremont Colleges to compost food scraps from dining halls.

Does it not strike anyone else as weird that they'll be reusing pool water? 

And what of this 5C effort to compost food scraps? Don't colleges know that these release methane, one of the principle gases believed to cause so-called global warming? 

Unfortunately, not all of these efforts are cheap. In fact, as the current debate over the Bernard Field Station is indicating, greenness can come with real human costs, like denying others the ability to park their cars and fully participate in their educational environment. Why would a college want to build a parking lot in the first place, if not for increased demand? Some students, after all, depend on off campus jobs in order to continue affording this college and other colleges. More to the point, few students seem to be advocating increasing the fees for cars -- which would drastically reduce their number. Such compromises are tough-headed, rather than symbolic and therefore unlikely to elicit the kind of emotional reaction of "activism."

So while their friends and fellow students have trouble making that extra payment for college -- as I and many others do -- at least they'll be able to assuage their capitalist guilt as their friends fall further into debt. 

We must check ourselves though, jealousy, is after all, the green-eyed monster.