< Back to News & Articles List
03.24.2005
Ecological Footprint of The Vermont Commons School
To undertake the task of cutting down a family’s carbon emissions, or that of a school, or even a business, it is important that the concept of the ecological footprint is understood all around. An understanding of the different aspects of this concept will allow future energy conservationists to pick out a solution to their individual problem. At the Vermont Commons School we have picked out a way to cut down our carbon emissions, through the concept of the ecological footprint.
The ecological footprint is just a term for the destructive impact humans have had on the planet. It is important to understand that before mankind was thrown into the ecosystem and began to pollute, the world had a stable system that functioned well. The 10% Challenge and the Carbon Emission Project are only a small component of the goal that environmentalists have set to decrease the impact of the ecological footprint.
Our plan is to calculate the carbon emissions at Vermont Commons. We are going to gather all of the information from our bills and input them into a carbon calculator found online. Right now we have people looking up the most efficient calculator and when we have all the info, we will use it. We plan to neutralize our carbon emissions by planting some trees on property provided by a parent at the school. We will also find out how many trees we need to plant, and the right kind of trees that absorb the most carbon.
This is only one part of our plan as we all agree that planting trees may not take up the total amount of carbon emissions at the school. New plans and actions that happen concerning this issue will posted in the next several weeks.
Efficiency Vermont
Efficiency Vermont created a list of energy saving suggestions that we could improve on in the school. Some of these suggestions were out of the price range of the school, so we looked at the less expensive improvements that we could go out, purchase, and install. We surveyed the school for the lights that needed improvement and with this survey we were even able to make further improvements on top of what Efficiency Vermont had originally suggested (like eliminating too many lights in one area). After, we researched online for the prices and where we could buy this new energy saving equipment; which was primarily more energy efficient lighting items. Some of the items we found easily, others took extensive searching; we even needed to call the people at Efficiency Vermont for the location of one the new lighting items. From our research we came up with this list of minor changes in the schools lighting that would reduce electricity costs and would be inside the school’s price range. Eventually we found all the parts and with these small adjustments combined, such as changing incandescent bulbs to fluorescent bulbs, we are hoping save over approximately 8000 kWh per year.
List of More Efficient Lighting Suggestions
- Cost for replacing incandescent bulbs to lower watt usage with Compact fluorescent bulbs- (6-11) $8 each from Home Depot
- Cost of replacing T-12 ballasts with Super T-6 Technology$15-20 ea. from home depot
- Installing occupancy sensors that will shut lights off after certain amount of minuets of no motion for offices and bathrooms- $20 ea. from Radioshack.com
- There are currently 26 non-glare fixtures that were used by a company that had occupants using computers under the lights when the school owned only half of our building. The solution is to replace 13-20 of those non-glare fixtures with lensed troffers which broadcast more light $50 each from Home Depot.