Nelson Hall took first place in the energy conservation contest in which all dorms on campus participated.
The contest measured each dorm’s ability to reduce its usage of electricity, natural gas and water.
Centennial Towers, Centennial Halls, Nagel Hall, Nelson Hall and Johnson-MacFarlane Hall participated in the contest.
Nelson Hall residents were treated to a Ben and Jerry’s ice cream party for their success in energy conservation.
Nelson residents reduced the use of electricity by 28.9 percent and natural gas by 8 percent. Nagel Hall came in second with 27.3 percent saving in electricity., According to Christy Cerrone, the coordinator for sustainability initiatives for housing and residential education (HRE).
In water conservation, Centennial Halls was first with 16.4 percent reduction and Nelson placed second, saving 14.5 percent.
The contest compared consumption from fall quarter 2008 with that of fall 2009, factoring in the number of residents from each time period.
Cerrone said that overall students used 102,962 kilowatt hours fewer than last year which means 189,450 fewer pounds of carbon dioxide were released into the atmosphere. DU dorms also saved 1,082,000 gallons of water.
The energy conservation contest also gave away prizes through box drawings. Residents nominated their friends or wrote pledges about how they would save energy. Nearly 200 students gave input such as how they hang dry their laundry or how they won’t buy bottled water.
One winner was selected from each building.
Freshman Nick Graf, who lives in Towers, won a pair of Tom’s Shoes.
Tom’s Shoes has promised to donate a new pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair of shoes purchased.
“The more energy conserved the better off everyone will be in the long run,” Graf said.
Graf’s winning pledge was to take shorter showers, use less water when washing dishes and use the heater as little as possible.
Lauren Johnson is a freshman at J-Mac and another winner of a pair of Tom’s Shoes. Johnson is part of the DU environmental team and pledged to turn off lights when possible, to open her curtains during the day, to bring a towel to the bathroom instead of using paper towels and to turn off her computer at night.
“We can only hope we’re raising awareness for others to be more energy efficient,” said Johnson.
Campus Cycles also donated two cruiser bikes as prizes for students.
Another energy contest among the dorms will be held next fall. Other events include educational campaigns and green teams in the residence halls open to all students.
