SOLAR TODAY - June 2010

new energy | for and about students and emerging solar professionals

A Party Girl Awakens by PAUL ROGAT LOEB

As a freshman, angie de soto picked her classes almost at random. Like her friends, she didn’t bother to vote in the 2004 election. but midway
through a resources geology lecture course, her professor discussed global
warming. angie was stunned. “i just kept asking myself why i hadn’t heard
about something this important, and why more people weren’t doing any-
thing about it,” she said. “didn’t they know? didn’t they care?”
California passed its state climate bill, and angie returned to virginia “on
top of the world,” she said. she kicked eC into high gear, setting up a concert
with local bands and training members to approach local media, expand
the e-mail list and run a table at the student center. she organized an eC
effort that brought more than100 virginia tech students to Power shift, a
national student climate change conference at the university of Maryland,
and helped plan the entertainment. as she looked out from the stage at
6,000 students, she “felt for the first time like we really have a movement,”
she said. the following year she hosted a Power shift for virginia schools.
working with 18 other student groups, eC built a Coalition for Campus
sustainability. For the campus recycling department, angie trained a team
of 30 student volunteers who educated dorm residents.
eC became one of the school’s largest student groups, with a 1,600-name
listserv. they asked college president Charles steger to sign the Presidents’
Climate Commitment. he agreed. in april 2008, steger formed a committee
to draft an environmental plan, and angie spent the summer pulling togeth-
er specific implementation strategies. the plan was adopted, and angie
was hired to carry it out as university policy. the school adopted recycling
procedures, switched to high-efficiency light bulbs, installed energy-saving
occupancy sensors in the classrooms and established strong environmental
standards for new buildings. the campus saved $200,000 in just one winter
month by lowering thermostats to 68˚F ( 20˚C), and saved even more money
by raising summer settings. dining halls reduced food waste 38 percent
by eliminating trays and composting waste. the university also pledged to
explore alternative fuels and phase out aging coal-fired boilers.