Global warming highlights need to save energy

Every time we turn on a light switch, the energy to sustain it must be produced in an electricity plant, the majority of which burn fossil fuels to generate their energy. \nAmericans understand fossil fuel use when it comes to their cars but not always when it comes to their homes, said Energy Star employee Laura Helmke-Long. On average, 30 percent of the energy used in homes and buildings is wasted, she added. \n"There is a lack of education (about energy)," she said. "People don't realize that they're wasting." \nEnergy Star is a government program that works with manufacturers and builders to produce more energy-efficient buildings and appliances, Helmke-Long said. The primary goal of the program is to decrease the amount of greenhouse gas emissions. \nStudents in dorms at IU don't directly pay their electric bills and are often unaware of the effects their energy use might have, she said. \n"They're not paying for (electricity), but the environment is paying for it," Helmke-Long said. \nFreshman Michele Bander, a resident of the 11th floor of Briscoe-Shoemaker, said she agreed that some students use too much energy in the dorms. \n"People misuse energy in the dorms because they have the mind-set that they are paying to live here anyway and that it is their right to use whatever they want," Bander said. "Plus, there aren't parents here telling them to turn the lights off." \nThe Energy Star Web site, www.energystar.gov, offers tips college students can use to decrease their energy use. Habits like unplugging chargers and power adapters when not in use or heating food with a microwave or toaster rather than the oven are easy ways to save energy.\nAverage prices of electricity have risen since 2001, according to statistics from Duke Energy Corp., a local energy provider. Customers who use 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity a month have seen an increase from $69.59 in 2001 to $81.80 in 2005. \nAngeline Protegere, communications manager for Duke Energy, said in an e-mail that the fluctuation of price has been caused by rising fuel costs and projects to reduce harmful emissions at power plants. \nNinety-eight percent of all greenhouse gases are natural, according to www.globalwarming.org. The other 2 percent are caused by people. \nIU climatologist Scott Robeson said there are forms of energy other than fossil fuels that would be renewable, such as solar or wind energy. However, the sun's energy is widely spread and more difficult to capture than energy from fossil fuels. \n"We need energy in a concentrated form," Robeson said. "That's why fossil fuels are so powerful."\nAlthough glaciers are melting, Robeson said, the scientific evidence for the cause is debatable. \n"What proportion (of glacial melt) is attributed to human activity is unknown," Robeson said.