SU, SUNY-ESF join forces to create Energy Council
It's that time of year again when people are thinking about ways to conserve energy and decrease heating bills during winter.

The Energy Council at Syracuse University and the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry are striving to make this kind of energy conservation awareness common year round.

"Our goal is to work with students, faculty and staff to educate the entire campus about energy conservation and conservation efforts," said Steve Lloyd, chair of the Energy Council and associate director of the Office of Energy and Computing Management. "Right now everyone is like Greek city-states; everyone is doing something, but we need to come together."

The council, which started in October 2004 and is currently comprised of 11 members from the SU and SUNY-ESF communities, is kicking off a campus-wide campaign called "Saving Juice in the 'Cuse" to increase energy awareness with a staff-to-staff meeting Wednesday. The meeting will be in Link Hall room 369 from noon to 1:30 p.m. Although the meeting is open to anyone who registers with Human Resources, it is mainly a presentation by the Energy Council to educate staff and faculty.

"We want to get more students involved in the future," said Nathan Prior, SU energy conservation manager and member of the Energy Council. "We're trying to get a cross-section of everyone at the university so that we have different perspectives and ideas."

Currently, two of the 11 Energy Council members are students.

"We have some students that are very interested in conserving energy, but right now it's primarily a staff thing," said SUNY-ESF assistant facilities program coordinator Bruce Marcham. "To the extent they have interest, they're more than welcome."

Although the Energy Council was formed with the goal of conservation awareness, members of the council said the SU and SUNY-ESF administrations have been energy-conscious and committed to sustainability for some time, proof of which is found in such actions as SU's recent green-power purchase.

"We have a voice in how the university uses energy," Lloyd said.

If an energy concern was brought to the attention of the Energy Council, the council would bring it to the attention of SU's administrators, Lloyd said.

The fairly new council has concentrated mainly on holding monthly meetings and discussing methods of energy conservation; however, Lloyd said it hopes informational meetings, such as the staff-to-staff meeting on Wednesday, will catch the interest of many people in the SU and SUNY-ESF communities.

The first step in the council's effort to reach out to the community was the creation of a Web site, EnergyCouncil.syr.edu, designed to provide useful information for all members of the community. On the Web site, information can be found on topics such as sustainability and green power. The Web site also gives conservation tips on how to save energy and money, especially important for penny-pinching college students.

Marcham said the Energy Council is optimistic they can have an effect on how the university community conserves energy.

"We're in the process of defining our role," Marcham said. "It's slowly but surely coming together."

Daily Orange – Ally Horn