I don?t drive, so I?ve been able to forego the enjoyment of parking on campus.

Since I?ve started riding to school with a friend, cutting my commute down by an hour. While hiking in from the Overflow Lot, I noticed the solar panels on top of the light stands?those flat things on top of the poles. These panels were the idea of Linda Hafer, the energy manager at Facilities Management.

In addition to providing power to an area devoid of wiring, the choice to use them was both economical and ecological. “It would have been very expensive to put in enough wiring to serve that area, and they are reusable too, for if someday an arena or something is built there, those [light poles] can be relocated,” said Ron Richardson of Facilities Management.

Somehow, solar power has become a mockable resource to the average person, even though our dependence on oil and coal is the real embarrassing fact. Oil dependence has caused plenty of strife in the Middle East, and now with power plants as potential targets for terrorist attacks, it makes sense to diversify. The Christian Science Monitor reports that solar panels can provide enough energy to power the building they are placed on, and even make a profit by selling the excess energy back to the power company.

Humboldt State?s Campus Center for Appropriate Technology in Arcata has a net zero energy bill, from the power gained and resold. Their energy is created by wind, solar, human and bio-diesel generator power.

Other schools, such as Oberlin College in Ohio, have made renewable power sources a priority. Their solar panels generate a surplus of electricity. The Department of Energy has worked with North Carolina State University to create the North Carolina Solar Center. The NCSC is a dynamic vortex providing increased research through the school on solar technologies, providing support to the extended community by providing solar plans specific to the climate and with humanitarian aid by collaborating with Habitat for Humanity.

According to the Sacramento Business Journal, Sacramento is reported to be a leader in using solar power, with Sacramento Municipal Utilities District currently offering eight megawatts and expanding through projects like Community Solar, where the roof of the Sacramento Zoo provides enough solar power for an average home.

Comparatively, schools are notoriously inefficient power hogs with endless lighting and idling computers for easy e-mail. Most schools are using more energy than they were a decade ago, even though we are technically smarter about our consumption. “There are exceptions, and some schools are doing well. But, on average, it?s worse than the private sector,” said Mike MacDonald of Rebuild America.

The Department of Energy?s Rebuild America program, which works with communities and schools to improve energy problems, has done a survey of 200 college campuses, some of them spending $1,000 or more per student simply on energy. This leads to higher fees for students.

Solar power and wind generators and mandatory energy reduction would provide and easy way for the schools to reduce their energy budgets, while educating students on alternative technologies that will become necessary in the near future. If the University developed an energy program integrated with the community, we could see additional research opportunities for students with related majors and provide an integrated program with the Sacramento developers to cohesively connect our campus to the area.

Let Samantha Hinrichs have it at [email protected].

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