College Students Willing to Pay Extra for Green

The St. Mary’s College Student Government Association (SGA) put environmental spending in students’ hands this week when it held a referendum on whether or not students would be willing to pay a $25 increase in fees to be used to purchase wind energy credits so the campus can operate on 100% green, sustainable energy. This referendum is part of the college’s ongoing commitment to become more environmentally friendly.

On February 6th, the SGA Senate, comprised of student representatives from each residence hall and the commuter population, passed a bill allocating $65,000 to fund half the cost of a geo-thermal heat pump for the college’s new River Center. The school provided the remaining funding and acknowledged that the green, energy-efficient heat pump wouldn’t have been financially possible without the SGA’s support.

The heat pump operates by taking advantage of the fact that the earth’s core temperature remains relatively constant. The system uses a series of wells and pipes to heat water in the winter and cool it in the summer, which then heats or cools the building. The college estimates that the heat pump will save $30,000 per year in energy costs and greatly reduce carbon emissions. The funding was approved by the SGA just days after students plunged into the icy cold water of the St. Mary’s river to raise awareness about global warming and the key role of carbon emissions in that process.  

In order for the referendum to pass, one-third of the student body had to vote with a majority of those votes in favor of green energy. The first fifty voters received free mugs made from recycled materials, but no actual incentive was necessary.  Students stood in lines sometimes more than thirty people long while they waited to vote.

After weeks of debate, publicity, and discussion sponsored by the Student Environmental Action Coalition, more than half of St. Mary’s 1,934 students turned out to vote. On Thursday evening, at the conclusion of three days of voting, the results were announced just hours after voting ended.  1,005 students voted in favor of the green energy initiative and only 75 against.

With 93% of student voters in support of Green Energy, the referendum clearly passed. The SGA will allocate a $45,000 bridge fund from its budget surplus to fund wind energy credits beginning this fall since student fees have already been set. Then, for the 2008-2009 academic year, the student fee increase will take effect as a permanent way to keep the college operating on green energy.

The college will buy wind energy credits largely from a national supplier. Although the college does not directly receive the energy generated by the wind turbines in this process, enough wind energy will be produced and pumped into the national power grid to offset the college’s energy usage.

A Green Power Team has been assembled to look at contracts and the possibility of the college becoming an Environmental Protection Agency Green Power Partner in hopes that these environmental student initiatives will result in increased grants and funding for future projects.