GREEN Homecoming 2009

Why we decided to turn Truman State Homecoming GREEN:

Truman State University is not only home to Spike the Bulldog, but also an increasingly environmentally conscious student population. With our own recycling center, regular compost collections from the residence dining halls, and a new bike co-op to reduce petroleum based transportation, having an entire week of student and alumni activities powered by Missouri-produced renewable energy seems to fit right in.

We as the Homecoming planning committee, have decided to make a  commitment to choices that allow us to use less, recycle more and leave the smallest environmental impact in our wake. It is the sum of a million simple, thoughtful, acts that will allow us to reverse the impact that our current way of living has on our earth.

So we are going GREEN for this Fall’s Homecoming Week.  And despite what we have been taught, these days you can judge a university by its color.

Here’s what we’ve learned.

Large events such as conferences, sports competitions, concerts, festivals, and conventions can be major sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Electricity, heating and air conditioning, ground transportation, paper and other materials are just some of the ways that large events contribute to climate change. However, many event organizers (like us) are recognizing that large events do not have to have a huge climate impact and, in fact, can play a positive role by becoming low-carbon or even carbon neutral.

Here’s what we are going to do to minimize the climate impact of Homecoming Week.

We will start by calculating the carbon footprint of this Fall’s event.   This means we will be determining the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from all the activity and energy usage associated with Truman State University Homecoming.  And in addition to the sustainable actions we already take at Truman, we are going to take Homecoming one step further by offsetting the electricity with 100% Missouri Wind Power.

Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) will be used to offset the electricity used at the various events during Homecoming Week. Every time we flip a switch to turn the power on for Homecoming, and this applies to every event... from the Lip Sync competition to the Football game against the UNO Mavericks, we will be helping to make Homecoming “carbon neutral”. 

The RECs to cover the energy used at Homecoming will be donated to us by AmerenUE’s Pure Power program.  Here’s the great part, these RECs will come from Missouri’s First Wind Farm, located in King City, Missouri and so not only will we be supporting renewable energy in Missouri but we will also be supporting the economy in that small town.  We can go about all our activities as we normally do during Homecoming week with the new knowledge that every time we use electricity we are making a difference in Missouri.

The time is now to move beyond looking at sustainability as someone else’s problem. This is our world.  We will make a difference.