Image: glennfay36, flickr
Recently Middlebury College was named one of the top green campuses in the U.S.. I am proud to say that my alma mater, the University of Vermont is also a rising star in environmental awareness and action. For one, the VSTEP Club is behind a campus ban on sales of bottled water. This blog has examined the commercialization, ownership and control of a substance that we all need for survival (water). Water is controlled by large corporations and the industry leaves a significant environmental footprint involved in manufacturing water bottles, bottling water in places that have sketchy water quality standards, and the carbon footprint involved in transporting millions of water bottles around the world, not to mention the "Pacific garbage patch", plastic in fish tissues and other examples of epic pollution of plastic. Now UVM is leading the way on a new front.
The UVM Bookstore is selling Smart Strip advanced power strips at a pretty good clip. Smart Strips are the new power strips that automatically shut off devices that suck electricity even when the devices are turned off. Computer printers, fax machines, DVD players, audio systems, even phone chargers use electricity needlessly as long as they are plugged in and not in use. The average computer system uses 260 watts of electricity per hour, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year! TV's and entertainment centers can use even more!
Based on Efficiency Vermont and US Department of Energy Data each Smart Strip saves an average of 113 kilowatt hours each month, which translates to 3.4 pounds of CO2 a month or over 40 pounds of CO2 gas pollution saved per year! In dollars, one Smart Strip on average saves over $150 each year on your electricity bill! That is eco-fashon savings!
The first 100 Smart Strips the UVM Bookstore sells will will save close to $15,000 in electricity per year and will keep two tons carbon out of the atmosphere during the same time. Over the next ten years, those savings will be astronomical. THAT is something to cheer about!
Want to join the Go Green And Save Gold party? Buy Smart Strips 'locally' and support Vermont at the UVM Bookstore and of course right here at LoveEarthAlways.com!
