In \Heat bills will go up,"" [9/25/02], a UW-Madison junior was lamenting about the rising cost of heating homes as a result of the increase in natural gas prices. Although this student felt that this was a problem for money-strapped students, he reconciled himself to paying more, saying, ""I don't know what you could do about it, really.""
There is a lot that can be done about lowering energy costs. We can look into alternative forms of energy. Besides being a strain on the environment, natural gas is subject to market forces with a limited supply. Renewable energy sources do not pose this problem. While sunlight is certainly a limited commodity during the winter, wind energy is bountiful, and MG&E already owns wind turbines, so the option is available. On a campus level, lots of steps can be taken to cut down on energy use.
WisPIRG's Big Red, Go Green! campaign is working toward better energy efficiency on campus, saving resources and money. Energy efficiency is worth it: It saves not only money, but it also decreases our use of coal, which will help human health and the environment as well.
