And my thermostat doesn't change the temperature (at least that is the way it seems after the campus began sustainability efforts and began posted about energy savings):
Carbon emissions per square foot of building space have declined by 13 percent since 2007 at 343 American colleges and universities, says a report released on Wednesday. But the report, based on a study conducted by the University of New Hampshire’s Sustainability Institute and the company Sightlines, also says that campus energy use has declined by only 2 percent over the same period.
The drop in energy use, modest as it is, can be attributed to colleges’ switching from coal and oil to natural gas, the report says. And while carbon emissions declined, it says, the total decline in emissions was only about 5 percent, which is roughly in line with that reported by other industries.
via chronicle.com
So, most of the sustainability gains on campus have been due to the change in relative prices for energy sources? Imagine what might happen if a carbon tax (or cap-and-trade) is implemented and coal prices rise.
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