Green GW Taking On Various Environmental Projects

Green GW, GW’s primary student org dedicated to energy efficiency, has been keeping busy these past few weeks participating in all sorts of events on-campus and off related to climate change awareness.

Last Friday, Green GW hosted GreenFest in Kogan Plaza to spread awareness about the climate talks coming up in Copenhagen this December. Other organizations, including SustainUS, the Sierra Club, the DC Project, Repower America, and the GW College Democrats were also on-hand.

“We were hoping to raise awareness about Copenhagen, show students the many environmental campaigns going on off-campus, and get students to sign petitions urging President Obama to support strong climate change action in Copehnagen and urging President Knapp to install more green roofs on campus,” said Spencer Olson, President of Green GW.

Green GW also participated in the International Day of Action Rally at Meridian Hill Park. The event was organized by 350.org, a non-profit environmental group named after the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere scientists say is an ideal goal for the future, 350 parts per million. The Rally was an endpoint to the highly-publicized No Impact Week, a week in which environmentalists and others tried to minimize their emissions outputs to show how easy being more environmentally-friendly can be.

Green GW is working on many other projects this semester, including helping on-campus offices “go green,” assisting GW’s eco-challenge - a competition to see which dorm can reduce their energy consumption the most - and expanding the use of green roofs on campus.

“With the success of the pilot green roof on the Elliott school we are pushing forward efforts to install full-size green roofs on academic buildings,” said Olson. “We are collecting signatures from supportive students and meeting with administrators and deans to expand awareness and action.”

Members of Green GW also spend Saturday mornings at local DC elementary schools teaching students about renewable energy and having the kids participate in green activities such as building model solar-powered cars.

Offering advice for students interested in lowering their energy consumption, Olson suggested buying only Energy Star or energy-efficient electronics and light bulbs, recycling as much waste as possible, utilizing public transportation, and making responsible purchases.

“Transforming GW’s energy use is really a no-brainer,” Olson said. “The university saves money, our carbon footprint is significantly reduced, and the quality of life on campus will improve.”