Cell phones. Computers. Appliances. Lamps. Without electricity, we would have none of these amenities that make life at Tufts more comfortable. But while scrambling to squeeze one last plug into the power strip, many of us may forget that electricity doesn't just come from the wall.
Tufts University purchases a conventional mix of electricity originating mostly from nuclear, natural gas, oil and coal power plants. Although this electricity is the least expensive on the market, there are many implicit costs excluded in the monthly electric bill. Nuclear power results in the creation of radioactive byproducts that we still have not figured out how to dispose of, and nuclear facilities are huge terrorist targets. Natural gas is the cleanest of the fossil fuels, but we currently rely heavily on its limited supply.
We also depend strongly on foreign sources of oil, resulting in spills during transport and the need for tax dollars, in addition to the price by the barrel, to go toward protecting our nation's oil interests. Finally, coal combustion, when done without the best control technology that many New England power plants lack, is largely responsible for acid rain, smog, increased frequencies of asthma (especially in young children) and mercury contamination that poses a hazard to women of our age who eat tuna and other fish on a regular basis.
There are other options available now. Energy can be captured when the sun shines, the wind blows and water flows. Thanks to deregulation, many consumers can now choose where their power comes from. At the same time, the price of wind power, the most viable of the "clean," "green" or "renewable" energy options, has significantly decreased in the last few years, making it much more competitive with other sources of power.
Universities are huge consumers of electricity, whether for good or for bad, and many are playing important roles in the demand for clean power. Over 50 universities, including Harvard, Yale, U. Penn, Penn State, Swarthmore, Duke and Carnegie Mellon have already purchased percentages of their electricity from renewable energy sources for ethical, health and environmental reasons. A few NESCAC schools already buy clean power as well. Colby gets 100 percent of its electricity from sources other than fossil fuels, Connecticut College is run on 44 percent wind power, and Trinity College powered its version of Spring Fling on wind power last year.
Wind power still costs slightly more than conventional power, and in order to cover the extra cost, many students at other schools have picked up the tab voluntarily. A few schools have witnessed student-led initiatives to create a fee to go directly to clean energy, like Connecticut College, whose students voted to pay $25 per year for non-polluting wind power. Certainly nobody likes fees, but I believe that the climate of social responsibility and environmental stewardship on this campus is such that we are destined to make the shift.
There are many reasons for Tufts to join these other institutions in buying clean energy. It's like instituting recycling programs was in the 1990s - any environmentally and socially responsible university will participate, it's just a question of who will be the leaders and who will be the followers. Tufts has pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to seven percent below 1990 levels by 2010. We are far from achieving this goal, but a purchase of energy that doesn't involve fossil fuel combustion would dramatically decrease our contribution to global warming and help meet our commitment. A local purchase of clean energy could also benefit our neighboring communities by creating jobs and lessening air pollution by shifting demand away from fossil fuels. Finally, our nation seeks to decrease its dependence on foreign oil and diversify its energy sources, which our purchase would help achieve.
I propose that we create a yearly fee of $20 per Tufts student (charged to our Bursar's bill) to obtain at least 20 percent of our electricity from sources other than fossil fuels or nuclear power. To put the cost in context, we would be giving up the equivalent of a pizza and a few bottles of soda from Domino's for cleaner air, water, a decreased contribution to global warming and a move toward energy independence. In my mind, there is no question of what the right move is.
Perhaps you have some doubts. In collaboration with Tufts Climate Initiative and UCCPS, Environmental Consciousness Outreach (ECO) has put together a panel discussion this week to discuss the issue. Speakers will include representatives from a wind power company that has worked with several universities, an NGO that markets clean energy, a state agency responsible for developing renewable energy technology, Medford's environmental manager working on related projects and a student from Temple University who led a successful campaign to create a clean energy fee for their student body, and will be followed by an open forum in which everyone can express concerns about renewable energy and the creation of a fee.
Many people knock environmentalists for trying to make them feel guilty about their lifestyles. By voting yes on the clean energy fee later this year, have a clear mind when you use electricity. Just keep an eye out for a vote on the referendum and future educational events on clean energy. If you remain unconvinced, take a look at the tall smokestacks of the Mystic Generating Facility (a natural gas power plant) the next time you descend the Memorial Steps. Is that really better than wind turbines?
Jennifer Baldwin is a senior majoring in Environmental Studies and Art History and is a co-chair of Environmental Consciousness Outreach<$>
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@contpage:see ENVIRONMENT, page ????<$>
@conthead:Tufts should promote clean energy <$>
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@pullquote:A purchase of energy that doesn't involve fossil fuel combustion would dramatically decrease our contribution to global warming and help meet our commitment.<$>
altpullquote:We'd be giving up the equivalent of a pizza and a few bottles of soda from Domino's for cleaner air, water, a decreased contribution to global warming, and a move toward energy independence.<$>
eds: leah, jt
