2018 Energy Challenge Winners Crowned (With Ice Cream)
The importance of energy conservation doesn’t end with annual competition
Dickinson’s annual Energy Challenge pits residence halls against one another to see which can conserve the most energy over a three-week period. And with Thursday night’s celebration bonfire on Morgan Field, the 2018 Energy Challenge came to an end.
This year, Kisner-Woodward and Adams came out on top: Kisner-Woodward edged out Malcolm and McKenney for the electric-heated buildings, and Adams defeated Conway and Longsdorff for the gas-heated buildings. The winners received a championship banner for display in their buildings and a Leo’s ice cream party for all residents!
But beyond lighthearted competition, the challenge hints at Dickinson’s Climate Action Plan and showcases some important themes.
“Changing norms and behaviors is an essential part of creating a more sustainable society,” says Neil Leary, director of the Center for Sustainability Education. “Three weeks of focused energy-conservation efforts on campus during the Energy Challenge is the beginning of creating habits and behaviors that carry over the rest of the year and to contexts beyond the campus.”
The results for the Residence Hall Competition can be found at the Dickinson Energy Dashboard. What they display is a small sampling of what people can do when they come together to make a difference.
“If we extrapolate the impact from the three-week competition over the full year, we would reduce electricity costs by more than $18,000 and carbon emissions by approximately 100 metric tons—at no cost!” says Ken Shultes, associate vice president for sustainability & facilities planning. “That’s huge, and it proves that our individual and collective behaviors really do make a positive difference.”
TAKE THE NEXT STEPS
Published April 20, 2018