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Harvard Law Green Living Program
2007-2008 HLS Green Living Reps
L-R: Kobelah Bennah, Elizabeth Kruse, Brinda Dutta, Sameer Meralli
What is the Harvard Law Green Living Program?
The Harvard Law Green Living Program is ientering its fourth year of a peer-to-peer education program that promotes sustainable living in the Harvard Law School dorms. Four Green Living Representatives connect with fellow residents about energy and water conservation and recycling and waste reduction through activities and information sharing. They also suggest infrastructure and policy improvements that will remove barriers to student conservation.
The program is supported by the HLS Facilities Management and is coordinated through the Harvard Green Campus Initiative. A Steering Group made up of representatives from Facility Management, the Dean of Students Office, and the Environmental Law Society meets throughout the year.
Projects
Recycling
Increasing the amount of waste that is recycled is one of our main goals. In 2006, we distributed recycling bags and bins to all residents to keep in their rooms, which significantly increased our recycling rates. We have also worked on increasing signage and educating residents about what can be recycled at HLS. In fall 2006 we started a battery recycling program, with bins located in the Hark mail room and Holmes mail center.
Learn more about recycling at Harvard.
Waste Audits
We conduct two waste audits each year- in October and April. The results of the waste audits show that recycling in the dorms has been increasing since 2005. Since October 2005 the amount of recyclables in the trash has decreased each semester. Much of this is due to our distribution of recycling bins and bags in the dorms, new signs above bins, and the Reps' recycling education & outreach.
Promoting Waste Reduction
After the Fall 2007 waste audit, the Reps displayed the results visually to their peers through "Mt. Trashmore" outside the Gropius Complex. This was a day's worth of trash from the dorms, where 32% of the bags (representing what could have been recycled) were blue. The Reps tabled in the Hark and shared information with their peers about common recycling mistakes.
Sustainability Pledge
The Harvard Sustainability Pledge is an annual event across the University. Each year, thousands of students, staff, and faculty pledge to make changes in their lifestyle to reduce their environmental impact. For each pledge made in 2007, Harvard put aside $1.50 to fund a future renewable energy project on campus. Proposals for this project will be reviewed, and a winner chosen early in 2008.
Energy Competition
Every year, we conduct a month-long energy competition between the dorms to educate residents about what they can do to reduce their energy use and use the utility data to track the energy changes. In 2007, the score for each dorm in the competition was caluclated with electricity savings as 75% of the total and Sustainability Pledge participation rate as 25%. Holmes won in 2007, just nudging out Hastings in the final week.
Compact Fluorescent Lightbulb Swap
Compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) use about 75% less energy than traditional bulbs. This is because traditional incandescent light bulbs give off 90% of their energy as heat. Since 2006 the Reps have swapped out nearly 400 incandescent bulbs for CFLs in HLS dorms.
Water Display & Education
A display representing all the water in the world is used to educate HLS students about how precious fresh water really is. Students are asked to imagine that the 25 gallons displayed are all of the world's water and are asked to guess how many gallons they believe represent the amount of fresh water available for our use. Reps talk to students about conserving water in the kitchens and bathrooms and about keeping water resources clean by choosing non-toxic, eco-friendly cleaning products.
Laundry Education
The HLS dorms have energy efficient washing machines that need less detergent than conventional machines (only 2 Tablespoons) and have many settings which are not obvious to the user. We worked with our washer and dryer provider to design new labels for all machines to encourage residents to choose the cold water options, saving energy used to heat the water. We also use bulletin boards in the laundry rooms to post information and educate residents about greening their laundry.
Move Out Collection
At the end of year, students throw out tons of clothes, school and dorm supplies, and food. We have partnered with Harvard Recycling to collect these reusables, which are sold in September at the annual Stuff Sale. The Stuff Sale allows Harvard students to get what they need for the school year at a low price, promotes reuse, and the proceeds benefit Habitat for Humanity and other non-profits.