Going green across the nation

Efforts have been taken on a greater scale recently across the nation to go green. Colleges and universities are now embracing the money-saving benefits of helping the environment. The University of Texas will use reclaimed water in one of their power plants in the upcoming year. There are also plans to use reclaimed water in landscaping on the campus.
The treated wastewater will not be used in direct contact with people. According to Dan Pedersen, who is in charge of the program in Austin, Texas, the reuse of wastewater helps the entire region when in a drought, not only the budget of the university.
With the new plans, the university Web site states they will save about 340 million gallons of clean water in one year. It will take one year and a half, and approximately $1.6 million, to make the transition to using reclaimed water. However, reusing the wastewater will eventually save the university much more.
At Rhode Island College, efforts are also being made to go green. New Hall was built with environmentally-friendly measures and energy savings. According to the RIC Web site, the building was designed with a more efficient heating system to prevent losing energy. The system will save the college more than $155,000 every year. During the actual building of New Hall, the college recycled more than 56 percent of the waste produced by the construction. Special efforts were also made to gather materials from within a 500-mile radius to cut down on transportation costs. New Hall provides recycling facilities for its residents. Recycling bins are also located in various locations on the RIC campus.
The RIC cleaning crew has also joined the green initiative. Bathrooms are stocked with certified-green products, and garbage bags used are 50 percent more biodegradable than average garbage bags.
Instead of using new cardboard boxes, offices on campus are also going green by reusing boxes. As new buildings are renovated, the college is replacing former lighting systems with energy-efficient lamps.
By electing to take part in energy conservation efforts, RIC will be paid four times per year for reducing energy usage. The contract was made with EnerNOC, Energy Network Operations Center, wherein RIC will use less electricity during times specified by ISO-New England, the regional transmission organization that transmits electricity around the region. The program is just one more step RIC has made on campus to help the environment and save money at the same time.

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