Students say fee one of many ways to help the environment
Katherine Smalley
Issue date: 4/12/07 Section: Culture
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By Katherine Smalley
Staff Reporter
The majority of students who voted on a proposed environmental fee during SGA elections last week indicated they would be willing help UTC get greener and cleaner.
Students were given the opportunity to vote for or against a proposal to convert to green energy at UTC. A decision to go through with the energy change would mean a $10 tuition increase for students.
"Green energy is clean, renewable energy; in short, green energy is solar energy and wind energy. Most of the energy produced in the Southeast comes from the burning of coal, which produces air pollution," Brad Reynolds, an environmental science professor and faculty advisor for UTC's environmental group, Ecological Decisions for a Global Environment (EDGE), said.
Results revealed that 847 of the 1,180 students who voted in last week's election were in favor of adding the environmental fee, but further steps must be taken before the decision becomes final.
According to an article in the Chattanooga Times Free Press last Friday, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Middle Tennessee State University, Tennessee Technological University, and the University of the South are also participating in the switch to green energy.
"Improving our energy efficiency will positively impact the campus by saving
the university money in the long run," Reynolds said. "The money saved due to increased energy efficiency can then hopefully be put back into other programs that
will support learning and benefit UTC students.
"I want for students to know that there are many individuals on this campus
willing to work hard to make sure that the money goes where it's
supposed to go," he said. "Students can and should feel good about voting in favor
of the environmental fee."
Kira Spears, a sophomore from Nashville, strongly supports efforts to find new ways to generate energy.
"We rely too much on fossil fuels, and I hate gas prices," she said. " Plus, it gives other countries a chance to have power over us because we need what they have, and I think we should have a natural resource so that we can take care of ourselves."
Staff Reporter
The majority of students who voted on a proposed environmental fee during SGA elections last week indicated they would be willing help UTC get greener and cleaner.
Students were given the opportunity to vote for or against a proposal to convert to green energy at UTC. A decision to go through with the energy change would mean a $10 tuition increase for students.
"Green energy is clean, renewable energy; in short, green energy is solar energy and wind energy. Most of the energy produced in the Southeast comes from the burning of coal, which produces air pollution," Brad Reynolds, an environmental science professor and faculty advisor for UTC's environmental group, Ecological Decisions for a Global Environment (EDGE), said.
Results revealed that 847 of the 1,180 students who voted in last week's election were in favor of adding the environmental fee, but further steps must be taken before the decision becomes final.
According to an article in the Chattanooga Times Free Press last Friday, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Middle Tennessee State University, Tennessee Technological University, and the University of the South are also participating in the switch to green energy.
"Improving our energy efficiency will positively impact the campus by saving
the university money in the long run," Reynolds said. "The money saved due to increased energy efficiency can then hopefully be put back into other programs that
will support learning and benefit UTC students.
"I want for students to know that there are many individuals on this campus
willing to work hard to make sure that the money goes where it's
supposed to go," he said. "Students can and should feel good about voting in favor
of the environmental fee."
Kira Spears, a sophomore from Nashville, strongly supports efforts to find new ways to generate energy.
"We rely too much on fossil fuels, and I hate gas prices," she said. " Plus, it gives other countries a chance to have power over us because we need what they have, and I think we should have a natural resource so that we can take care of ourselves."
