Nicholas Carroll is sharing a house at the edge of the Lynchburg College campus with five other like-minded students. They have all chosen to turn off the lights, unplug their cell-phone chargers, turn off their computers when not in use, and even hang their clothes on the line.
These students live in the Eco-House, a new special interest house started in time for "A Greener Tomorrow Today: LC's Year of the Environment." They are dedicated to reducing their energy use and waste, as well as educating their fellow students.
"The point is getting everyone aware that we can make a difference in college," says, Nick, an environmental science major from Atlanta, who has a green thumb. He wants to pull the weeds around the foundation to plant flowers, and wonders if he could do a small vegetable garden in the side yard.
Casey McManus of Newtown, Conn., who is doubling up in communication studies and environmental science, says what they will do every day in the Eco-House is "how people should be living to begin with."
Alan Gebhardtsbauer, a junior from McLean, Va., is the eldest among his sophomore housemates and the only business major. Conservation and preservation, he says, are things we should think about every day.
"It's really easy to save electricity and energy when you think about what you're doing," Casey chimes in.
Kristin Puckett of Craigsville, Va. is also an environmental science major who hopes to improve her own awareness while sharing it with others. To that end, the Eco-House students are trying to get other students in nearby off-campus housing to join their recycling efforts.
Jonathan "Johnny" Torres of Ashburn, Va., who shares an environmental science major with most of their housemates, and Natalie Painter of Waynesboro, Va., who is a music education major, round out the group. Natalie points out that she will be on her own in a couple of years and wants to know how to manage a house in an ecologically-friendly way.
The students know how much energy occupants of the house have used for the last three years, and they will be tracking their own energy use to see how much they can reduce it.
For more information, contact Shannon Brennan at 434/544-8609.