How Green is Swarthmore?

Colleges & Universities Swarthmore College
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<p>I would expect that Swarthmore would be at the forefront of energy conservation, such as using solar energy panels in the new dorms. In addition, I would hope they would have a focus on issues such as locally grown, organic foods, etc. </p>

<p>Is much of this happening there?</p>

<p>There was a showcase meal last year at Sharples that was locally grown, maybe organic foods, but this doesn’t seem to be a constant feature of the food service. Is this going to occur more?</p>

<p>Does anyone know how involved Swarthmore is in trying to use renewable energy sources?</p>

<p>I am hoping that besides growing the endowment, the new president will have a focus on environmentally friendly programs. I have not seen Swarthmore named as a “green campus,” but have seen other LACs, some Ivys and a couple of state universities cited recently.</p>

<p>What’s the status of this at Swarthmore? How involved are the activist students at Swarthmore in trying to initiate these changes?</p>

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<p>See this webpage:</p>

<p>[Swarthmore</a> College :: The Greening of Swarthmore :: The Greening of Swarthmore](<a href=“http://www.swarthmore.edu/x10854.xml]Swarthmore”>Sustainability :: Swarthmore College)</p>

<p>The links at the left and right sides of the linked page will answer most of your questions.</p>

<p>For example, 40% of the College’s energy purchases come from wind power.</p>

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<p>Thank you. </p>

<p>I wonder why they didn’t build the 2 new dorms with solar panels, or maybe they did? I don’t see anything about solar energy on the website. It could have been used for a lot of the heating at the dorms.</p>

<p>They do seem to have a commitment to having a “greener” environment.</p>

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<p>Swatties are taught to evaluate complex issues from all sides before making decisions. It could well be that solar panels on dorms, right now, are just a bad decision.</p>

<p>That is arguably the case at UNC-Chapel Hill where they just spent $446,000 to install solar panels on a dorm for heating hot water for showers. The theoretical maximum annual savings in energy costs will be $11,275, which experts believe will not be achieved in actual use. Thus, the energy savings will not even pay for the installation for 40 years. </p>

<p>[Carolina</a> Review | Green Energy Wastes Greenbacks](<a href=“http://www.unc.edu/cr/features/green-energy-wastes-greenbacks.html]Carolina”>http://www.unc.edu/cr/features/green-energy-wastes-greenbacks.html)</p>

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<p>Contrast to Swarthmore where 40% of all electricity used on the campus comes from renewable energy sources (windmill farms). This is an investment by the College because the renewable source electricity is more expensive. It is money spent on real results, however, unlike a “feel-good” but ultimately inefficient, ineffective solar panel installation.</p>

<p>I think the coolest initiative at Swarthmore is a College-funded program where Earthlust gives every student a high-efficiency compact flourescent light bulb at the beginning of the year to replace incandescents in desk and room light fixtures. This not only saves energy, but serves as a campus-wide action focusing attention on energy savings.</p>

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<p>And actually, the recently built David Kemp hall has the first ‘green’ roof of any college dorm in the country.</p>

<p><a href=“http://swarthmore.edu/Images/homepage/sl_greenroof2.jpg[/url]”>http://swarthmore.edu/Images/homepage/sl_greenroof2.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Alice Paul and David Kemp both have green roofs.</p>

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<p>I got a tour of some of the academic buildings and they made these mailboxes so to speak completely out of sunflower seeds - i think thats pretty green lol</p>