Monday, May 4, 2009 @ Olin
The Ignite Clean Energy competition quarter finals will be hosted at Olin on Monday, May 4. Feel free to attend, become involved and volunteer.
Sponsored by the MIT Enterprise Forum Energy Special Interest Group, the Ignite Clean Energy (ICE) business presentation competition began in 2004 to stimulate the growing clean energy industry in New England. It provides start-up clean energy companies and entrepreneurs with the opportunities and resources to develop business skills, network with industry professionals and the chance to attract potential investors. The winners will be awarded a total of $200,000 in cash and services. The leading sponsor for the 2009 ICE competition is the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative.
More information on times and the event location will be posted soon. In the meantime, if you want to attend or would like to volunteer, you can visit www.ignitecleanenergy.com.
The results from Recycle mania are in! Thanks to the efforts of the entire community, Olin came in number two in the country (out of 514 participating institutions) in the Grand Championship Division (California State University San Marcos was 1st). The Grand Champion category combines trash and core recyclable materials to determine a school’s recycling rate as a percentage of overall waste generation. Olin also placed 3rd in the Per Capita Classic, 2nd in Targeted Material - Paper and 5th in Targeted Material - Bottles and Cans. Full results are available at http://www.recyclemania.org/. During Recyclemania Olin was recycling between 60 and 63% of its trash.
Olin College has been nominated as a Green Business of the Year by the Newton/Needham Chamber of Commerce. This is due, in part, to the success of Olin meeting the Green Needham 10% Collaborative Challenge in the past months. (Please see below.)
The Green Needham Collaborative is made up of concerned Needham organizations and citizens who seek to save valuable resources and save money for individuals, businesses and the town of Needham through "Green" initiatives.
The collaborative has recently issued the "GNC 10% challenge" which challenges the community to reduce energy use by 10% or more. GNC members at Olin have committed to this challenge and are pleased to report on energy reduction results for the month of February 2009:
If you have any questions, please contact Stephen Durfee, Energy Manager, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering.
Earth hour was a successful event at Olin resulting in a 30% decrease of electricity demand. Way to go everyone! Students took notice by curtailing power usage at the dorms and some turned out at the oval to witness the dimming of the lights!
On March 28, 2009 at 8:30 p.m. local time, World Wildlife Fund asked businesses, governments and organizations around the world to turn off their lights for one hour – Earth Hour – to make a global statement of concern about climate change and to demonstrate commitment to finding solutions. Olin College signed on as a Flagship Campus for Earth Hour.
Facilities staff assisted the community with the event enhancing the energy reduction by strategically adjusting non essential lighting for the one hour period. Faculty and Staff participated by setting a reminder to switch off nonessential power consuming devices and lights before leaving for the weekend. Students participated in reduction activities for the event including personal energy usage. Campus energy intensity levels were measured before, during and after earth hour providing an "energy snapshot" of the effort.
Students in particular, honored the event by curtailing power usage in the dorms and some turned out at the Oval to witness the dimming of the lights.
Kudos to members of the Olin Community for decreasing electricity demand by 30% during Earth Hour 2009.