UT Austin Gets Aggressive at Energy Conservation
May 8th, 2008
We’re very proud of our alma mater, the University of Texas at Austin for their energy and water efficiency program, named UTakecharge. Part of the $16 million effort includes replacing 193,000 light fixtures across the Forty Acres. Like many changes at the 125-year old institution, this one was initiated by students, who were concerned about the environmental impact of 47,000 students and 20,000 employees.
UT Austin produces its own electricity on campus
Al Lewandowski, the UT conservation program’s department manager told the Daily Texan, “After payroll, energy is the second biggest bill a university has to pay, and yeah, this affects the cost of education in some way. We can’t stop the prices of education from going up, but we can help keep the costs under control. It was successful at the University of Connecticut, and it will be here too.”
According to a May 6 news release from UT: “The University of Texas at Austin adopted a Campus Sustainability Policy to integrate sustainability in academic programs, operations, campus planning, administration and outreach, becoming one of the first Texas public higher education institutions to introduce such a rigorous plan, President William Powers Jr. has announced. Sustainability refers to societal efforts that meet the needs of present users without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainability presumes the planet’s resources are finite, and should be used conservatively, wisely and equitably. Decisions and investments aimed to promote sustainability will simultaneously advance economic vitality, ecological integrity and social welfare.”
UT’s new policy is a great start. It will be great to see what specific pollution reduction goals and other conservation tactics are put in place. (hmm…about that Godzillatron) Students and staff are being asked reduce their own energy use by turning off lights and computers when not in use. As their slogan says, “What starts here changes the world.” Hook ‘em!














