CMU Goes Dark for Earth Hour

From 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 31, the exteriors of many of Carnegie Mellon’s landmark buildings will go dark as part of Earth Hour, a global environmental initiative that asks individuals, businesses and communities to turn off their lights for one hour to show their support for environmentally sustainable action.
 
This year, CMU will turn off the Hamerschlag Hall tower lights, and the exterior lighting to Doherty Hall, Walking to the Sky, the East Campus Garage, Hunt Library, the Pausch Bridge  (except for the safety lights) and Mellon Institute. CMU’s Green Practices Committee (www.cmu.edu/environment) asks that members of the CMU community consider turning off the lights in their homes at the same time.
 
Earth Hour started in Sydney, Australia, in 2007 and has grown to include 5,251 cities around the world. CMU has been participating since 2008.  Last year, 1.8 million people in 135 countries across all seven continents participated in Earth Hour. 

Hamerschlag House Wins Campus Conservation Contest

The Hamerschlag Residence House reduced electricity by 6 percent in the Campus Conservation Contest (Feb. 6-27). Carnegie Mellon students living in Hamerschlag House saved 3,249 Kilowatt-hours (kWh), averted 3,951 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) and saved $292 dollars.
 
Here are the final results:
 
Hamerschlag House:  6 percent reduction
Scobell House: 3.4 percent reduction
Stever House: 2.9 percent reduction
Boss House: 2.5 percent reduction
Mudge House:  2.2 percent reduction
McGill House: 0.3 percent reduction