Clean Energy Victory!!

TTU's Student Vote:

2522: YES!

326: No

 

This is a huge success, with nearly a third of Tech's students voting, and 88.5% voting in favor of the Clean Energy Initiative. Thanks to everyone for participating. We couldn't have done it without you.

For more information, download our Clean Energy Initiative Narrative (PDF, 24mb), created in 2005 by Tyler Pannell.

 

Clean Energy Bill

SEAC Bill to Promote Sustainable Energy Consumption and Production

 

Why this bill is needed:

1. 60% of electricity in Tennessee is generated in coal-fired power plants.
1. Coal is a nonrenewable, polluting resource.
2. Effects of Pollution from coal-fired power plants:

• CO2 emissions result in a thicker blanket of greenhouse gases, which contribute to global warming.
• Increased rates of asthma and respiratory ailments, particularly in children and the elderly as a result of Sulfur dioxide, Nitrogen oxide, Ozone, and other particulate emissions
• Release of Mercury, a dangerous neurotoxin, into the environment

1. Effects of mining coal

• Mountain top removal destroys the mountains, culture and communities in Appalachia.
• Land is permanently altered beyond repair.
• Topsoil is removed, so trees and native plant species do not grow back resulting in desertification and a reduction of biodiversity (and our natural heritage).
• Mining results in a drastic reduction in property values for Appalachians.
• In Tennessee, mountain top removal threatens the future of the Cumberland Plateau, a region listed by NRDC as one of the twelve most endangered ecosystems in the Western Hemisphere. [http://www.savebiogems.org/cumberland/]

1. Because Universities are the sizes of small cities, they possess huge ecological footprints and wield considerable economic power. Using this “purchasing” power, Universities across the nation are beginning to take action to responsibly minimize their impacts. At the forefront of the issues that require immediate action are the problems of energy generation/extraction and global climate change.
1. Because the problems of energy consumption and extraction are most severe in the southeast, southern universities are taking action to solve these problems.
2. The University of Tennessee and Sewanee both have enacted programs (by creating new student fees) to buy green power and promote energy efficiency on their campuses. This has resulted in a 25% growth in TVA’s Green Power Switch® program.
3. MTSU and Austin Peay (both Board of Regents schools) are also creating clean energy initiatives.
4. The solutions to our current energy problems are technological ones, and we believe TTU can help solve them. As the state’s only technological University, TTU should not fall behind on this issue, but should instead lead the way.
2. As the training grounds of tomorrow’s leaders and professionals, Universities are obligated to provide their students with an ethic of civic responsibility, and an education that will allow them to build a better world for current and future generations.
1. Sustainability is the ability to sustain a set of practices indefinitely. It entails taking advantage of current economic opportunities without limiting those same opportunities for future generations.
2. Using renewable resources, unlike burning coal, is a sustainable practice.
3. One of the University’s largest expenses is energy.
1. Conserving energy will save the University money.
2. This monetary savings can be used on campus for other purposes.
4. This bill illustrates the commitment of TTU students to address global issues by presenting viable local solutions.

 

What this bill will do:

1. Create a new environmental sustainability (ES) student fee that will result in a $10.00 per semester increase in tuition.
2. 1/2 of money generated by ES fee will be used to buy Green Power from TVA.
3. 1/2 of money generated by ES fee will be used on campus initially to increase energy efficiency. Later, when all outdated systems have been retrofitted, the money will be used to invest in on-site electricity generation (in the form of solar cells and small scale wind mills) to offset our consumption and decrease utility expenses.
4. Money saved by increased efficiency will be reallocated to other areas of campus to improve facilities, with priority to projects that support environmental sustainability.