Energy Wars 2014 arrives

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You may be wondering, "What is Energy Wars and why should I care?" Well, the Eco Reps are here to fill you in on the deets.

Energy Wars, a school-wide competition to see which dorms and which greek chapters can reduce their electricity consumption the most, is designed to measure the percentage of energy reduction. That way, no matter the size of your living accommodation, every dormitory and greek chapter can compete: Dorm vs dorm, greek chapter vs greek chapter.

The competition began in 2008 as part of an inaugural national competition called Campus Conservation Nationals. The best part of this competition: was that DEPAUW WON! A national competition going up against 30-some other universities and WE conserved the most electricity. How cool is that?

Next question: How do you reduce your energy usage? Don't you worry: in honor of beginning the competition, we've got a couple of ideas to get you started! When you leave a room, turn the lights off. Unplug your computer or phone charger if you're not using it. Take shorter showers to conserve hot water and use the water heater less. Let your hair air dry instead of blow-drying it. Study by a window and leave the lights off during the day. Turn the TV off at night. Unplug your Xbox or Playstation when you're not using it. That's just the beginning. Get creative!

While the goal of this competition only lasts two weeks, we hope that this will expand into a long-term goal for the future. We hope for a university-wide awareness that promotes individual reflection each day to see what impact we have on our community within DePauw, Greencastle and the world.

Energy Wars strives to put each individual's actions into perspective and to show us that small changes in everyday lifestyles do indeed have an impact.

Energy Wars 2014 will run February 24 - March 16. With that, we wish you all the best of luck! Look for weekly updates for the standings.

May the greenest living units win!