Social Context (GK)

Social Context:

The aspiration to make Lafayette’s fitness center more energy efficient has come about as a result of a conglomerate of social forces. Developments in climatology research have led to an overwhelming consensus amongst the scientific community that anthropogenic produced greenhouse gasses are the main driver of climate change. The increase of the average global temperature and frequency of severe weather events have led to a rise in public awareness of greenhouse gas emissions. Since the United States is recognized as a global leader, there is an inherent pressure to set a precedent by reducing emissions. Additionally, it is commonly known that the United States has historically been and remain today, one of the largest contributors to the climate change problem. Many academic institutions across the globe are actively seeking to successfully reduce the carbon footprint of their facilities. Such institutions are more attractive to prospective students and potential employees. There is no reason why Lafayette should be any different.

This raises the questions: why should Lafayette College be concerned and why does the problem focus on Kirby Sports Center?

Lafayette College and similar institutions invest a great deal of time and money into developing and maintaining their reputation. As the climate change debate has matured and its reality has become more widely accepted, there has been a social movement to act responsibly by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This has presented companies and institutions alike with an incentive to frame themselves as environmentally conscious and morally responsible.  At this point in time, there already is a movement within the Lafayette Community to do so. In fact, the social impulse is so strong that President Byerly and the administration deemed sustainability one of Lafayette’s three core values. (Lafayette College. 2015)  Additionally, climate change is a topic on the student’s agenda. Recently, the student run environmental group, LEAP (Lafayette Environmental Awareness and Protection), held a rally to raise awareness to environmental issues and try to establish a campus sustainability representative to spearhead the school’s sustainability efforts. (Hayet. 2015) This proves that there is a clear consensus among Lafayette’s community that the administration should continue to make the school’s facilities greener.

Students at Lafayette are generally aware of their carbon footprint. However in order for students to actually make a difference, they need to make lifestyle changes which can be easier said than done when balancing schoolwork with extracurricular activities. The school needs to aim to make it easy and fun for students to develop energy saving habits by integrating sustainable systems in various facilities on campus. The school should focus on the most commonly used facilities because they generally require the most energy to run. The Kirby Fitness Center is constantly in use, whether it be by student athletes, locals, or the school’s faculty. The building plays a key role in the daily lives of many people in the surrounding area which is why it is the perfect place to integrate new sustainability practices.

The people who use the proposed regenerative equipment will be playing a direct role in saving energy on campus without having to make a huge change in their lifestyles. They will also feel a sense of accomplishment because not only are they staying fit but they are doing so in a way that benefits the environment. We want to provide the users of this new equipment with as much information as possible regarding how they are contributing to energy generation. This will make students more aware of their individual energy consumption habits. The equipment will have a visual display that does this in a user friendly way. This element may have the effect of encouraging friendly competition among users to see how much energy each individual can produce in a given time period. In 2009, students at both the University of Oregon and Oregon State University hired a company called ReRev to retrofit their elliptical machines with a system that converted the user’s input to usable energy. A pre-existing sports rivalry between the two schools inspired exercise competitions among students to see who could generate the most energy. (Lovgren. 2011) This could happen between Lafayette and Lehigh as the rivalry between the two institutions could fuel a similar competition that would ultimately benefit both schools. In addition, it’s possible that students will use social media to share how much energy they have saved with their friends and family which could help increase student interest in sustainability.

One of the overarching goals of this project is to successfully capture the attention of both Lafayette’s community and other institutions as well. Successfully making the gym’s exercise equipment regenerative would capture the attention of other organizations which would help Lafayette establish itself as a leading institution on the sustainability front. Lafayette has the potential to be a model for sustainable achievement in the greater Lehigh Valley. Outside organizations that read about the college’s increased sustainability efforts may work to achieve similar goals in local communities. Additionally, Lafayette can work together with Easton on sustainability projects off campus which would allow students to have a direct impact on the community while learning a great deal in the process. Easton has already begun to ramp up their efforts through several sustainability projects that aim to increase the city’s energy efficiency and reduce pollution. One of these projects involves building a facility called the Easton Sustainability Complex that “combines innovative energy technology with Easton’s state-of-the-art wastewater treatment technology”. The new facility aims to reduce the town’s dependency on purchasing electricity from the power grid. (Bollinger. 2015) If Lafayette students were to participate in projects such as this one, they would gain valuable experience which could then be applied to future sustainability projects on campus.

Drexel University implemented regenerative fitness equipment back in 2010. We reached out to Drexel University and were put into contact with Bryan Ford, who is the Director of Recreation in the Department of Athletics. During the conversation we were informed that they have twelve precor elliptical machines that have been retrofitted to work with ReRev technology. (Ford. 2015)

These machines are connected to a display as well as a light up sign. When the machines are being used, the display shows the amount of energy the user is generating and a sign lights up.  Bryan informed us that these elliptical machines are the most popular pieces of equipment in the gym. They are used primarily for an awareness campaign on Drexel’s campus and their Drexel Green movement. However, they do not use the equipment to generate power for the gym, nor do they plan to advance the program to do that in the future. Drexel will only use the gym equipment for educational purposes. (Ford. 2015) The sign that reads “I am a dragon.”, is particularly effective because it gives users the ability to see power generation take effect. This shows that installing regenerative fitness equipment can help to strengthen sustainability awareness on campus through education.

Increased interest in the school’s sustainability efforts could lead to the development of additional research opportunities for students who are interested in this field. This would encourage innovation by providing students with opportunities to actively make an impact on campus while learning a great deal during the process. New York State University has added a School of Sustainability Student Research allowing students to work collaboratively across disciplines on sustainability projects that have real-world applications. (Redden. 2009) This program is similar to Lafayette’s Engineering Studies B.A. degree in that it teaches students how to work with people from a wide variety of academic backgrounds. The development of a separate sustainability major may not be too far away in Lafayette’s future as sustainability is becoming an increasingly relevant topic in today’s world.

Administrative support of student-led sustainability projects is essential for allowing students to play a central role in making important changes on campus. Why hire a sustainability consultant when you can rely on the bright minds of Lafayette’s academic community? It is important that Lafayette addresses campus sustainability issues by having the college community drive change instead of simply throwing money at the problem by hiring outside experts to do the job for them. Members of the college community understand the different contexts involved when considering certain projects because they spend so much time on campus. Students often find flaws in the school’s infrastructure that are overlooked by the administration. The ultimate goal is to make people care more about living a sustainable lifestyle.

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