A representative from the Living Green program through Spokane Neighborhood Action Partners (SNAP) came to Gonzaga to educate students how to live with less impact on the environment while saving money. The workshop was held on April 1, in Twohy Hall and was put on by CCASL.
"I wanted to present resources to students so they could lessen their environmental impact in their daily lives if they choose to. It is important to be armed with such knowledge as students learn to live on and off campus," said Environmental Outreach Coordinator for CCASL Jace Bylenga, who brought SNAP Living Green to Campus.
The Living Green program strives to teach people how to live while reducing their impact on the environment and move people in the direction of a sustainable lifestyle, the brochure says.
The workshop presented ideas and statistics to both help people understand why this is an important topic, and give specific ways students can help.
Argyle Baukol, Living Green specialist and speaker at the workshop, explained how we currently get our energy: In the Northwest, 69 percent of our energy comes from hydropower. While this is substantially higher than the national average, we still only produce about one percent of our power from the cleanest forms: wind, biomass and solar energy. If we choose a cleaner energy future, we need to invest more into these. One of the most surprising facts about creating a cleaner future was the impact individuals can have. SNAP estimates that we can save 13 percent of our energy expenditure simply by living a greener lifestyle.
"We have a system that's inefficient and a lot can be changed just by looking at our behavioral attitudes toward energy," Baukol said.
Baukol asked, "What's the one thing we normally do to save energy?"
Most people quickly thought of turning off the lights. However, lights, cooking, and other appliances, such as toasters and microwaves, account for only 7 percent of average energy usage within a household. Meanwhile, space heating consumes 60 percent of this average energy usage.
Since such a large portion of the energy comes from heating, it makes sense that a majority of the tips given to reduce our impact were geared toward insulating a household. One of the easiest examples was to buy window plastic. This plastic adheres to window frames creating an air barrier between the cold outside and the warmth within. Another place where draft is created and energy can be lost is light switches on outside walls. This cold air can be stopped by a foam insulation piece that fits snugly inside the case. These are fairly inexpensive ways (window plastic kits running about $15) to make a big difference in the heating bill.
One of Baukol's best selling points to convince college students to act was the money-saving aspect. Saving energy is an extremely important topic in its own right, and we all should be motivated to guarantee the future of the environment. But since this reasoning often falls short for most individuals, consider the previous statement: If everyone lived greener lifestyles, we could collectively be 13 percent more energy efficient. If your average energy bill is roughly $175 a month, saving 13 percent means about $23 a month.
Other examples of living a greener lifestyle included understanding the Spokane's recycling program, cleaning the coils on the back of your refrigerator, shopping with reusable bags, and eating local organic food. The workshop included a packet with hundreds of energy saving, clean ways to navigate a household the green way.
"The Living Green department is most well known for giving energy assistance to low income homes that can't afford their energy bills," Baukol said.
Through a process called weatherization, homes are tightened up to hold in the heat better. Examples of weatherization include installing insulation, furnace tune-ups and repairing windows and doors.
To learn more, visit www.livinggreensnap.org.
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