MCC Sustainability Efforts for December 2011

Did You Know? McLennan Community College is a charter member of TEMA (the Texas Energy Managers Association, Central Texas Chapter), with MCC’s Dianne Feyerherm serving as a TEMA officer. TEMA promotes interaction between energy managers at Central Texas colleges, universities, and public schools in an effort to share ideas and successes in managing energy at their respective organizations. MCC will be hosting the December 8 chapter meeting, which will address renewable energy with a focus on solar energy.

1. Sustainability Activities on Campus this Fall:
   
   1. Results from MCC’s November 4th Semi-Annual Shred & Recycle Day: Certi-Shred reported 5,192 lbs. of recyclable paper turned in for shredding, equivalent to conserving:
      
      
      
      • 44 trees
      • 986 gallons of oil
      • 18,172 gallons of water
      • 12,461 kilowatt-hours of energy
      • 260 cubic yards of landfill space
      
      In addition, the large dumpster was filled to ¾ capacity with recyclable materials. The free mulch day was well received, and we gave away quite a few truck and trailer loads. The campus still has plenty of mulch, so we will continue to do this each shred day.
      
      
   2. Computer Tips: Save energy and printing costs with a few changes. First, change your default font to Century Gothic. It uses 30% less ink than Arial, the standard default setting in Microsoft Office programs. Also, use a smaller font size to reduce the number of pages and ink. Before printing, use the Print Preview option to see what your printout will look like and to find last-minute errors or formatting problems. Then, set your printer to "Fast Draft," which uses less ink and prints faster. Did you know that a typical ink cartridge costs about $30? That translates to about $10,000 per gallon! We also encourage all to shut down office computers, computer lab computers, monitors, and printers during the holidays. This helps save on energy costs plus reduces the College’s vulnerability to hackers and other malicious activities this season.
      
      
   3. Tips for home energy savings during the holidays. When stringing outside lights, put them on a timer. You will save energy and $ by insuring the lights go off at a designated time.
   
   
2. What are your thoughts on our sustainability efforts? Check out our website at http://www.mclennan.edu/gogreen/ and our blog at http://mccgogreen.blogspot.com/.

Thanks for your support and a Happy Holiday Season to all. Remember, it takes the entire College to make sustainability work!