The lyrics of this year’s THON philanthropy’s line dance mention that “Going Green [is an] L.A. fad," but I beg to differ, at least in terms of efforts being made by colleges to become more environmentally friendly. The steps being taken by campuses all over the country to save more energy and use safer products are impressive, right here at Penn State and beyond.

At Penn State the program is called “Take Charge: Promoting Responsible Energy Use on Penn State Campuses.” The university posts stickers in bathrooms and bedrooms reminding us to “take shorter showers,” “turn off the tap” to save water when we brush our teeth, “keep it full” meaning keep the fridge stocked to avoid wasting energy, and “keep it closed” asking us to close the windows when the heat is on in winter. See www.takecharge.psu.edu for more ideas and some interesting facts about energy consumption at Penn State.

At Williams College in Massachusetts, students call their energy saving practices “Doing it in the Dark.” This competition between dorms had students studying, hanging out, or doing anything else they’d normally do in dorms, in the dark or at least with the lights dimmed. They also unplugged any appliances or charging devices not in use to see which dorm could conserve the most energy in the month of April.

In addition to specific programs aimed lowering energy consumption, many colleges and universities are, in general, strengthening their recycling programs and encouraging students to walk or bike more instead of driving short distances. I guess it’s worth it to have such an intense recycling program here at PSU, even though it takes five minutes to find a regular garbage can in the HUB or Redifer among the sea of different recycling bins.