I appreciate the money and time put into building and maintaining the lovely buildings on campus. However, I think there are adjustments we can make to save money for the university and also to make an effort to use fewer of the earth’s non-renewable energy resources in an effort to be good stewards.
The most apparent of these adjustments comes in our use of climate control.
It’s August and the heat of the Utah summer is beating down on us. Most students and employees dress in short sleeves before they leave their houses in the morning.
The buildings on campus are air-conditioned, which is a nice comfort in a hot environment, but the AC can be turned up so high in many buildings I’ve had to start bringing a light sweater when I come to work.
The irony of this does not escape me.
A similar thing happens during Provo winters: BYU buildings are toasty warm and inviting, but so much so as soon as you come in from outside and sit down in class you have to strip off your outer coat, sweater and hat and sit around in a T-shirt to prevent yourself from overheating.
There’s a simple solution: let’s turn down the AC a couple notches in the summer and back off the heaters a bit in the winter.
Of course we want to have a comfortable environment for learning and working, but let’s be a little more willing to dress for the weather in sensible clothes and feel a little warmer in the summer and a little colder in the winter.
This way, we’re not only saving money, we’re saving the electricity created by burning the earth’s limited supply of coal and oil and leaving a little something more as an inheritance for our children.
Anneke Majors
Stevensville, Mont.
