'Power Down, Add Up’ aims to reduce energy usage

With the arrival of Energy Awareness Month comes a call for students to adopt energy-saving habits by participating in the "Power Down, Add Up" contest, which begins following tonight's 7 p.m. kickoff on the steps of the Crosby Student Center.

The contest will allow students to keep track of behaviors aimed at reducing energy consumption and prizes will be awarded to those who tally the most energy savings by the end of October. Coordinated by Avista Corp., with support from the Residence Hall Association (RHA), the contest will involve Gonzaga's residence hall blocks as well as the residences and Greek chapters of Washington State University.

"To bring energy awareness is the goal," said Mary Tyrie, marketing manager for Avista.

She emphasized the importance of doing little things to save energy, such as powering down computers at night, making sure lights are turned off when not in use and not wasting hot water.

"Each action may seem small," Tyrie said. "But when you put all those together, it really adds up."

For example, a 2008 study by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Ecos Consulting found that video game consoles nationwide consume approximately the same amount of electricity in a year as San Diego (about 16 billion kilowatt-hours). As many college students are no strangers to late night video game marathons, this is one such area where repetition of a simple measure, such as turning off the Xbox when finished playing or maybe ending a game early, can save a significant amount of energy.

Students will be able to monitor their energy savings by recording their efforts in an online journal, at everylittlebit.com/powerdownaddup, which will keep track of not only individual savings, but also those of respective residence hall blocks or living groups and of the entire school. There will be three living group winners and the results will be scaled to account for the varying numbers of students in each group, Tyrie said.

Sophomore Erin Tovey, director of community programming for RHA, said she hopes the energy awareness raised among students will continue once the contest has finished. Additionally, Tyrie noted how "[students] are energy users now, but the energy bill payers in the future," so it is good for them to gain an early understanding of just how much energy they use, and how much they can save.

Students will be responsible for logging their activities online each day, said Tovey, and the prizes will be determined for each living group winner, according to Tyrie. In keeping with the theme of the contest, the prizes will not require power, she said.

To launch the "Power Down, Add Up" energy challenge, a kickoff event will be held tonight, Thursday September 30th, at 7 p.m. outside the Crosby Student Center. The event will last roughly an hour, during which time an Avista representative will explain the contest and discuss the importance of energy conservation, Tyrie said. An engineer will also be present to examine energy inefficiencies in a dorm room.

David's Pizza will provide food for the event, according to Tyrie, with music provided by the Danger Bears (in a "powered down" performance). In addition, the mascot of Avista, Wattson the energy watchdog, will take on Spike the Bulldog in an energy trivia contest.

"I think it's great that Gonzaga is stepping up and participating in a sustainable event," sophomore RHA President Sheila Canavan said. She hopes to get as many people involved in the event as possible.

This is the first year this efficiency challenge is taking place, according to sophomore Katie McCarthy, the director of programming for RHA. She said she hopes it will encourage students toward more eco-friendly behaviors, and help them reduce their overall energy footprint.