Carbon-reduction programs receive funds
Alex Roehrkasse
Issue date: 4/22/08 Section: Campus News
The funding of four student-initiated projects under the Community Carbon Use Reduction at Brown program was announced yesterday, though administrators refrained from outlining the selected projects in detail or naming the recipients, saying that partnerships and sponsorships with community members had yet to be hashed out in full.
The CCURB program was born out of substantial donations by the Sidney Frank Foundation and the Office of President Ruth Simmons to fund student-led projects that reduce carbon emissions in the Providence community.
The four projects that will receive the program's funding plan to install high-efficiency lighting, programmable thermostats and "weatherizing" technology in Providence homes. They also plan to partner with a local low-income girls' school to develop and implement emissions-reducing ideas.
CCURB committee co-chair and Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration Elizabeth Huidekoper said that more official details about those projects will unfold "in the next couple of weeks." In the meantime, the University has not released the names of leaders of projects whose proposals were successful.
Among the successful applicants for CCURB funding was Herald Higher Ed Editor Debbie Lehmann '10, who, along with Dan MacCombie '08, will lead a project to install programmable thermostats in low-income households in Providence.
Lehmann said the project is designed to help those who leave their thermostats on while they are out of the house or asleep, compounding skyrocketing utility bills and leading to unnecessary carbon emissions. Studies say that fewer that half of people adjust their thermostats when they go out, she said.
"It's a huge financial problem, and it's also a waste of energy" Lehmann said. She added that she is pleased the University has chosen to tackle climate issues directly by taking action locally, and that she feels her project is a great opportunity to do just that.
The CCURB program was born out of substantial donations by the Sidney Frank Foundation and the Office of President Ruth Simmons to fund student-led projects that reduce carbon emissions in the Providence community.
The four projects that will receive the program's funding plan to install high-efficiency lighting, programmable thermostats and "weatherizing" technology in Providence homes. They also plan to partner with a local low-income girls' school to develop and implement emissions-reducing ideas.
CCURB committee co-chair and Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration Elizabeth Huidekoper said that more official details about those projects will unfold "in the next couple of weeks." In the meantime, the University has not released the names of leaders of projects whose proposals were successful.
Among the successful applicants for CCURB funding was Herald Higher Ed Editor Debbie Lehmann '10, who, along with Dan MacCombie '08, will lead a project to install programmable thermostats in low-income households in Providence.
Lehmann said the project is designed to help those who leave their thermostats on while they are out of the house or asleep, compounding skyrocketing utility bills and leading to unnecessary carbon emissions. Studies say that fewer that half of people adjust their thermostats when they go out, she said.
"It's a huge financial problem, and it's also a waste of energy" Lehmann said. She added that she is pleased the University has chosen to tackle climate issues directly by taking action locally, and that she feels her project is a great opportunity to do just that.