In an effort to encourage Boston University to “go green,” the philosophy department and chairman Charles Griswold are urging university officials, faculty and students to save energy while going about their everyday activities.
Griswold started the initiative in September in response to a recent department-sponsored environmental philosophy conference, as well as scientific reports, conversations and former Vice President Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth.
Griswold is encouraging philosophy faculty and students to turn off lights, computers and printers when not in use, reuse one-sided paper and take advantage of on-campus recycling services.
“The environmental crisis is among the largest we face,” he said.
Griswold’s ideas meld environmental subjects with his department’s teachings. He said he encourages the BU community to put more thought into environmental issues.
“We are not just taking practical steps,” he said. “We are thinking about this philosophically, considering the intrinsic moral nature of environmental responsibility.”
Assistant Provost Michael Field, who has been a leader in encouraging green-friendly campus initiatives within the Provost’s Office, said he was pleased to hear of Griswold’s actions.
“I think it’s wonderful that an academic department ‘go green,'” he said, “and I hope more of them follow this lead.”
Referring to a Cornell University study, Griswold said, “There is an urban legend that if you turn [a computer or printer] on and off, you use more energy. This has been refuted.”
That study reported 1,000 computers left on for 24 hours a day use more than $1 million in electricity. If left on for 40 hours a week, approximately $850,000 would be saved.
To ensure energy conservation, Griswold attached reminders to public and graduate student computers reminding them to conserve energy. He also requested syllabi be posted online instead of on paper copies, had low-cost-energy-efficient fluorescent light bulbs installed, suggested the use of recycled furniture and paper and had recycling bins placed in offices.
“Many faculty and students are doing things to help environmental impact,” Griswold said. “The problem is that there’s an up-front cost.”
While the BU administration favors a “green” campus, some initiatives are outside the department’s budget. Although long-term recycling efforts eventually save money, initial costs are high, Griswold said. He said he wants the philosophy department to be the first to receive leak-proof, snap-on “green” storm windows, which trap heat better, but the department has not made specific plans to start this project.
Griswold has also included students in the initiative.
“Since the university is some sort of a microcosm of society at large, it might be easier to implement a green policy in it,” Graduate Student Body Co-President Gal Kober, a doctoral candidate, said.
Field said other efforts, including using recycled paper, are simply too expensive. He said he found recycled paper would be 15 to 20 percent more expensive than using non-recycled paper.
“We cannot achieve the necessary savings by using bulk purchasing,” he said. “There are also some issues with the color quality of paper with recycled content and the copiers used in many departments. In the meantime, everyone should be copying on both sides of paper and using the backs of single-side pages for printing and copying rough drafts.”
Although other departments and offices on campus contribute to environmental greening, Field said not enough students take advantage of university resources.
“We have already noticed that recycling levels are relatively low in the West Campus residences,” he said. “Students must realize and practice the dictum that environmental stewardship, including recycling, is everyone’s job.”