The Big Ten's Environmental Impact

Impact of Schools on the Environment

I recently found this environmental journal called EJ, there was an article in it that talked about the environmental impact that some of the big ten schools have. I thought it was really interesting so I wanted to make a share and voice with some of the statistics found on the universities. The journal is from 2007 so its a little dated but I still think it gives you an idea of how much of an impact these schools can have on the environment.

The schools that were included in this article was: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin.

Electricity:

School, Electricity (Killowatts-hrs) per GSF (Gross Square Foot), Electricity (kilowatts- hrs) per student

Illinos No report No report

Indiana 17.73 6,672
Iowa 20.28 8,436
Michigan 20.63 7,738
Michigan State 12.61 5,387
Minnesota 18.50 7,614
Northwestern No report No report
Ohio State 24.10 9,400
Penn State 16.74 7,166
Purdue 16.67 6,623
Wisconsin 19.04 10,087
Average 18.47 7,680

Energy Terminology: (found in the journal)

Kilowatt- hours are the common curency among power producers

A killowatt is defined as the amount of energy needed to heat one pound of wter one degree Fahrenheit.

~The rate at which energy flows (electrical current) is the kilowatt-hour, which measures the amount of energy flowing from producres to consumers in any given system One kilowatt hour is the energy required to keep a standard ligth bulb lit for approximately 10 hours.

Recycle:

Illinois

waste recycled (tons/yr): 4,885

paper recycled (tons/yr): 2,062

plastic, glass, metal and aluminum recycled (tons/yr): 698

Indiana:

waste recycled (tons/yr): 1,900

paper recycled (tons/yr): 1,150

plastic, glass, metal and aluminum recycled (tons/yr): 155

Iowa:

waste recycled (tons/yr): 1,273

paper recycled (tons/yr): 1,272

plastic, glass, metal and aluminum recycled (tons/yr): 1

Michigan:

waste recycled (tons/yr): 3,458.45

paper recycled (tons/yr): 2,279

plastic, glass, metal and aluminum recycled (tons/yr): 234

Michigan State:

waste recycled (tons/yr): 2,000

paper recycled (tons/yr): 1,658

plastic, glass, metal and aluminum recycled (tons/yr): 342

Minnesota:

waste recycled (tons/yr): 3,306

paper recycled (tons/yr): 1,854

plastic, glass, metal and aluminum recycled (tons/yr): 544

Northwestern:

waste recycled (tons/yr): 1,200

paper recycled (tons/yr): 628

plastic, glass, metal and aluminum recycled (tons/yr): 231

Ohio State:

waste recycled (tons/yr): 1,446

paper recycled (tons/yr): 791

plastic, glass, metal and aluminum recycled (tons/yr): 95

Penn State:

waste recycled (tons/yr): 4,868

paper recycled (tons/yr): 1,670

plastic, glass, metal and aluminum recycled (tons/yr): 366

Purdue:

waste recycled (tons/yr): 1,592

paper recycled (tons/yr): 1,065

plastic, glass, metal and aluminum recycled (tons/yr): 295

Wisconsin:

waste recycled (tons/yr): 1,755

paper recycled (tons/yr): 1,179

plastic, glass, metal and aluminum recycled (tons/yr): 576

Average:

waste recycled: 2,517

paper recycled: 1,419

plastic, glass, metal and aluminum recycled (tons/yr): 321

From this data you can see how a school can effect the environment in a harmful way and how they can help out the environment! Its interesting to see what kind of an impact a major community such as a university has on the environment compared to a household or an individual.