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Turn Off the Lights!. By: Victoria Pan Sophomore Ridgewood High School. The Energy Conservation Initiative. An Introduction.
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Turn Off the Lights! By: Victoria Pan Sophomore Ridgewood High School The Energy Conservation Initiative
An Introduction • Hi! My name is Victoria Pan. A couple of months ago, I founded the organization, The Energy Conservation Initiative. Sponsored by Students for Environmental Action, the ECI implements multiple projects geared toward reducing my school’s energy consumption.
The Goals • To raise energy awareness to all students and faculty • To serve as a model for other institutions in our efforts to improve our carbon footprint • To educate others about this pressing environmental issue affecting our world today • To ultimately reduce as much of our school’s energy consumption as we can!
This is my school • Ridgewood High School • 1892 • 2010
Background • It was early evening, after sports practice. I was wondering in the halls of Ridgewood High School. The building was mostly empty; everyone had gone home for the day. However, I noticed that many of the unoccupied classrooms I passed by still had the lights left on. THE LIGHT WAS LEFT ON! This got me very concerned.
Time to put on my thinking cap… • I decided to do some investigation on this particular matter. • I talked to the janitors and Mrs. Shah, a science teacher, and from them I acquired some important information… A janitor Me
RHS’s Lighting System • 1 light bulb = 32 watts/hour • Approximately 36 light bulbs per classroom • 94 classrooms in the school • Lights left on usually from 6:00am to 6:00pm (12 hours) • But the school day only goes from around 7:30am to 3:30pm (8hours) • That’s four more extra hours of electricity use!
RHS’s Electricity Bill • Last year, my school paid $354,444.99 for electricity! Will we see a reduction this year? Last year’s total Now I knew something must be done.
Project #1 Turn Off the Lights! Start: December 23, 2009
The Process • I partnered up with my friend, Kristina, and we worked together to develop the project, “Turn Off the Lights!” • Our idea: To organize teams of students to raid RHS afterschool every Friday and turn off all the classroom lights. • We organized it into multiple steps: • Step 1: Proposal • Step 2: Organization • Step 3: Implementation • Step 4: Documentation
Step 1: Proposal • We put together a proposal and presented our project to our principal, Mr. Lorenz • We explained to him our goals to reduce RHS’s energy consumption through excessive light use.
Step 2: Organization • We mapped out the school and allocated a number to each corridor
Step 2: Organization • At the Students for Environmental Action club meeting, we presented our project to a large group of students, and many showed great interest. • This was one of the sign-up sheets (we used it to assign teams of students to different areas):
Step 3: Implementation • Every Friday afterschool, students report to the usual meeting place to pick up a chart. • Then they take off and raid their area, turning off all the light switches in the classrooms • Every classroom that is completed is checked off on the chart.
Here are a few of the charts taken from over the course of the project:
Step 4: Documentation • The charts will help us document our progress and keep track of which rooms we have completed every week. HOW WILL WE MEASURE OUR PROGRESS? We will measure our progress by keeping track of all the lights in RHS and monitoring their on/off status. At the end of each raid, we will compile our results from the students. We will determine our success by examining the monthly electricity bills and checking for reductions in energy costs. We will also measure our progress by the feedback we receive from students and teachers about their energy habits and how much this project influenced them.
Feedback from the students “Turn Off the Lights is a great idea. It's ridiculous that so much energy is wasted when solutions as simple as turning off a switch exist.” -Sophia, junior “It’s fun, and you meet new people. We have good times saving the environment!” -Marc, sophomore “It would be great if we were able to do it every day!” -Kim, sophomore
Conclusion • As an energy advocate, I want to do as much as I can to reduce our world’s energy consumption. But because I know that goal seems far-fetched, I’m starting small. At Ridgewood High School– my school– there are so many opportunities available to cut back on energy use. • That’s why I’m taking the initiative. I am passionate about energy conservation, and I want to make a difference. Turn Off the Lights is just the first step in reducing RHS’s energy consumption. • In the future, I hope to reach out to other schools across the nation to share the concept of Turn Off the Lights. If other institutions follow our model, we can all share the ultimate reward: achieving a greener earth.
My name is Victoria Pan, and I’m here to save energy. THE ENERGY CONSERVATION INITIATIVE