The independent student newspaper of Northeastern University

The Huntington News

The independent student newspaper of Northeastern University

The Huntington News

The independent student newspaper of Northeastern University

The Huntington News

Editorial: Students should continue with Earth-saving initiatives

Lights have been out around Boston recently. Not because tenants aren’t paying their bills or electrical companies aren’t fixing broken power lines, but because locals are taking initiatives to show their concerns for climate change.
In a society that revolves around ‘plugging in,’ we applaud students and members of the Boston community who are taking steps to save the Earth.
For the third straight year, the Husky Energy Action Team (HEAT) is sponsoring its ‘Do It In the Dark’ event, which began March 14 and will end April 3, as reported in the March 23 issue of The News. The competition strives to raise awareness about energy usage.
Throughout the competition, the Facilities department has been tracking the energy savings of each residence hall on campus. This year, students in the winning residence halls will receive free massages and be entered into a raffle for a chance to win MP3 players, bicycle rentals and more. ‘
Out of 25 residence halls, Light Hall was in first place with overall energy usage of only 24.69 percent as of press time. Kerr Hall was in second place with 25.43 percent and 780 Columbus Ave. was in third place with 25.54 percent, according to HEAT’s website.
The competitive atmosphere that HEAT has created to urge students to reduce their energy usages has fueled participants to join the ‘Do It In the Dark’ cause. The prizes for the winning residence hall make the competition more valuable for students, thus pushing them further to remember to flick off the light switch when they leave a room or unplug their phone chargers when not in use.
By participating in ‘Do It In the Dark,’ students have been turning off their lights, unplugging appliances when not in use, reducing hot water consumption when washing clothes and taking shorter showers.
People around Boston and the world participated in ‘Earth Hour’ Saturday night from 8:30 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. by shutting off their lights to express a global statement of concern about climate change and to demonstrate commitment to finding solutions for being environmentally friendly.
Lights on famous Boston structures, like the Citgo sign, Zakim Bridge, Prudential Center and John Hancock Tower went dark Saturday night for the climate-change campaign. Nearly 4,000 cities and towns in 88 countries joined the event.
‘Earth Hour’ was created by the World Wildlife Fund in Sydney, Australia in 2007 to reduce energy use and heighten awareness of climate change. It has since grown into a global movement.
‘While it will always be about climate change, this year it is about voting for action,’ said Dan Forman, communications and public relations manager for ‘Earth Hour,’ in an article in today’s issue of The News. ‘It doesn’t matter where you live or how much money you have ‘- everyone can participate.’
Everyone should start to follow the students who have already realized the necessity of saving energy. Whether students save energy as part of a global act like ‘Earth Hour’ or a university event like ‘Do It In the Dark,’ the importance lies within voting for action on climate change.
Let’s continue to keep it dark.

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