While the Sierra Club's "Cool Schools" ranking of "eco-enlightened" universities ranked Penn 45th out of 135, the school's sustainability experts believe Penn is significantly reducing its carbon footprint.
Focusing this effort specifically on the college houses this summer, Facilities and Real Estate Services replaced all showerheads with new Oxygenics low-pressure showerheads, which will save 17 million gallons of water and nine millProxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0
n British thermal units of energy per year, according to Business Services spokeswoman Barbara Lea-Kruger. Students can also choose to exchange regular light bulbs for lower-wattage, longer-lasting, compact fluorescent ones.
FRES also installed energy-efficient windows in King's Court/English and DuBois College Houses.
Penn Sustainability coordinator Dan Garofalo said he does not think the Sierra Club ranking accurately reflects Penn's environmental efforts.
"We take it seriously, but whether we're number two or number 20 according to some ranking system is not the key," he said. "We keep track of how many students are taking classes in sustainability, we measure recycling - [the rates] go up every year. People are getting the message."
Although the changes in the college houses make the buildings more energy efficient, many students have complained, particularly about the low-pressure showerheads.
"We keep hearing this persistent anecdote, that 'I have to take longer showers to get clean'," said Lea-Kruger. "That really depends on how you shower, and the reality is that [reduced water flow] is federally mandated."
She also said she believes that some students may not know how to use the showerheads properly.
According to FRES spokeswoman Jen Rizzi, FRES is developing an awareness campaign to educate students about sustainability. After arriving at Penn, students will get an e-mail describing how to use the new showers, where the recycling bins are and how to be environmentally responsible on campus. Rizzi said FRES hopes students will adopt a "green" lifestyle.
"What makes people care the most is what their peers are doing," said Garofalo. "We are strategizing to change social behavior. Try taking the subway downtown instead of a cab."
Garofalo, Rizzi and Lea-Kruger agreed that increased student participation in recycling or awareness campaigns would boost Penn's ranking as an environmentally conscious university, but that significant progress is already being made.
"We can do more, but we're doing a lot, and I want people to be aware of that," said Lea-Kruger.
