Beginning Nov. 1, University of Colorado at Boulder students, staff and faculty will notice posters and stickers around campus asking them to turn out lights and put their computers in "sleep mode" when they are not in use - all in the name of conservation.
The stickers and posters, which read "Generation Green: When Not in Use Turn Out the Juice," are part of a yearlong experimental effort by the CU Environmental Center and Facilities Management to curb electricity use on the Boulder campus. Facilities Management has provided $15,000 for the project.
The program will focus on reducing electricity use in six buildings on campus. The buildings being monitored are Benson Earth Sciences Building, Environmental Design, Mathematics Building, Business, Kittredge West and Sewall Hall, according to Ghita Levenstein Carroll, program coordinator for the CU Environmental Center.
"Our temporary goal is to see a reduction in the amount of electricity used in these particular buildings this year compared to last year," Carroll said.
The six buildings used 6,570,924 kilowatt-hours of electricity at a cost of $486,448 last year, according to Carroll. She said the goal is to reduce electricity use by enough to pay for the project, or about 3 percent.
"If we see a reduction in use in these buildings, we hope to extend the program on campus," Carroll said.
CU-Boulder was one of 11 organizations and companies to receive a Green Power Leadership award in 2001. The award was given to CU-Boulder for its role in building demand for green power, or electricity generated by renewable energy sources including solar, wind, water, geothermal, biomass and biogas.
CU-Boulder also is one of the largest purchasers of wind power in Colorado. In April 2000 , CU-Boulder students voted to increase student fees by $1 per semester for four years to purchase wind power. The student-approved purchase of wind-power was the first in the nation, and has been used as a model by several other colleges and universities.
For more information about the Generation Green project, visit the CU Environmental Center Web site at .