Jesse, Aber halls engaging in green battle

The sustainability battle between Jesse and Aber Halls began Friday, and the dorm that cuts more of its energy and water use will not only win bragging rights, but also a raffle of prizes donated by local businesses.

“This is so students can learn about sustainable living while they’re still in the dorms, so they can keep living sustainably when they leave,” said Emily Peters, sustainability coordinator for the University of Montana’s Facility Services.

She said since the school spends $3.1 million a year on heat and lighting, cutting down on use would help UM cut costs.

The competition, which will run through the end of April, has been going on for five days, accompanied by posters and sign-up sheets in the lobbies, and info packets on the front desks. But some Jesse and Aber residents were still unaware. 

“Well, I saw the poster, but I didn’t know anything about a competition,” said Leslie Whigham, a freshman Jesse resident majoring in health and human performance.

Others are well aware of the rivalry, and even said they’d begun to change their habits as a result. Corey Jamroz, an undeclared freshman in Aber, said he used to leave his computer on all the time.

“I power it down every night now,” he said.

While some are changing their habits, few are signing up for floor leadership roles.  By 5 p.m. Wednesday, there were only two signatures on the sign-up sheets, one at Aber and one at Jesse.

Regardless of whether the residents are aware or get involved, the battle is on.

Peters said Facility Services will score the competition from monthly readings of the dorms’ electricity, water and natural gas meters.

To account for building discrepancies caused by location or construction, the winning dorm won’t simply be the one that uses less energy. That would be unfair because for the past five years, Aber has used far less energy than Jesse.

Instead, the scores will be determined by comparing each dorm’s monthly consumption to the averages of the past five years. The winner will be the dorm that reduces its use by the greatest percent, she said.

Facility Services’ electricity chart shows that for the past five years, Aber has been buzzing on an average of 55,000 kilowatt-hours in the month of March. Jesse, on the other hand, uses a shocking average of 60,000. In natural gas, Jesse burns an average of 1 million BTUs, while Aber only uses 800,000. 

When it comes to water, the two dorms are neck and neck, each sucking down an average of 450,000 gallons in the month of March.

Some Jesse residents, despite their traditionally greater consumption, said they could beat Aber. 

“There’s some really environmentally conscious people in Jesse,” said freshman Jesse resident Brittnee Brown to bolster her prediction of victory.

Aber residents were less willing to predict the outcome, but Aber’s secretary Sue Hess said she thought her dorm might win. The victory would be nice, she said, but environmental awareness is the point. She said she’s noticed a change over the years in how students think about the environment.

“It seems like each year, the kids come in more and more aware of it,” Hess said.