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Exploring Sustainable Housing at Evergreen College: Student Findings and Future Insights

A student research project presenting findings on the energy use in on-campus housing at Evergreen State College, highlighting challenges faced, results obtained, and insights for future sustainability initiatives.

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Exploring Sustainable Housing at Evergreen College: Student Findings and Future Insights

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  1. Sustainable Housing at the Evergreen State College A student research project by Robin Fenske and Mark Retzlaff Winter 2005

  2. Purpose of this presentation • Summarize the results of our project • Summarize what we’ve learned • Does not describe framework or plans for spring quarter

  3. Goal • A demonstration of the viability of currently available solutions to sustainability issues • Goal requires that we • Maintain widespread applicability • Effect lasting change

  4. Our research question • What can be done to make energy use in Evergreen’s on-campus housing more sustainable?

  5. Hypothesis • A detailed analysis of the current energy system will reveal effective points of leverage for structural change to a more sustainable system

  6. The Definition of Sustainability • Allowing future generations to meet their needs while continuing to the meet the needs of today • Therefore: The energy analysis must include the human and financial benefits of the current energy system

  7. Our plan • Prioritize energy uses for measurement • Gather data on current energy use • Determine more efficient alternatives • Work with institution to create change

  8. The Data We Collected E-L Dorms A-D Dorms

  9. What happened • Specific data collection proved to be very difficult • The meters for the heating energy were not in operation • Electricity meters were not prevalent enough to allow effective metering • The housing system lacks the metering mechanisms to use energy savings as leverage

  10. Exploring – the financial cost of housing’s energy use • Only a small portion of the total housing budget is spent on utilities • There is little incentive for keeping track of the data we needed

  11. Results • We disproved our hypothesis • A good analysis of the energy system is insufficient to reveal effective points for change • The housing institution was unmotivated by the prospect of changing to a more efficient energy system

  12. Conclusions • When seeking institutional change, • the motivation of the institution should be understood before deciding course of action • the range of potential change due to alternative behaviors is necessary, but not sufficient, for implementing change

  13. Our new hypothesis • In order to identify leverage points to move towards a more sustainable on-campus housing, we must know • Motivations of the agents of the system • Alternative behaviors

  14. More depth • See our website for • Essays • The development of the project • A response to the current framework of environmentalism • Plans for the future www.academic.evergreen.edu/curricular/energy0405/students/sustainablehousing

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