Although Boston University students may be able to surf the web while sitting on the green BU Beach, the tech-savvy university needs to work on increasing its green credibility by using its focus on innovation.
New buildings at BU have been developed to be environmentally friendly and economically efficient. Motion detection sensors in the School of Management allow the university to save energy and money by only heating and lighting rooms when people are inside. Plans for Student Village 2 include many innovations to reduce costs and waste.
BU must overcome many challenges to become as green as some of the rural colleges Grist, an environmental news and analysis website, ranked as being the most environmentally friendly. Old facilities, a sprawling campus and up-front costs may all discourage the school from improving its green reputation. However, as older, urban campuses like Tufts University and Harvard University prove, an old school can learn new environmental tricks.
It is especially important that colleges, many of which set the pace for innovation in society, take simple but significant steps toward creating cleaner campuses. Better coordinated student organizations could consolidate and maximize the efforts of student volunteers who work toward making BU greener.
Other small steps can facilitate this goal. Student Union President Adil Yunis has said he wants to make recycling bins more accessible around campus. All BU dorms could use energy-efficient compact florescent light bulbs, replacing current bulbs as they burn out. Such bulbs use 75 percent less energy than standard incandescent bulbs. The federal Energy Star program says $30 is saved over the lifetime of each CFL bulb.
It’s hard not to notice flagrant energy waste around campus, especially in the winter when overheated dormitories and classrooms prompt residents and professors to open windows. This obvious waste of energy costs the school and the environment. Modifications to an inefficient heating system could save the university in heating costs while reducing the school’s ecological footprint.
Greener campuses make sense for students who will set the standards for future environmentalists and schools looking to lengthen the life of facilities and reduce costs in the long run. Surely with all the innovation around BU, the school can, at the very least, provide a recycling bin for this newspaper on Commonwealth Avenue.