University at the war front

Hills News
Tuesday 8/4/2008 Page: 28

THE University of Western Sydney is practicing what it preaches when it comes to bringing about change to combat global warming. Not only are UWS scientists busy carrying out groundbreaking research into the effects of climate change on the Australian environment, but the university itself is also treading lightly to reduce its Ecological Footprint. UWS is taking a wide-ranging approach to the climate change issue and is introducing many different strategies to minimise the amount of power and water that is used across its campuses.

These strategies include planting more trees to soak up greenhouse gases, recycling ink cartridges and mobile phones, and recycling about 13 tonnes of paper every month. Every tonne of paper that's recycled saves about 13 trees, 2.5 barrels of oil, 4100 kilowatts of energy, 4 cubic metres of landfill and 31,780 litres of water.

Add that up over the year and paper recycling at the university makes a huge difference to the environment, saving approximately 2000 trees a year and making significant carbon savings. UWS is also offsetting its water usage by installing water tanks to collect storm water run-off and recycle 500 mega-litres of water every year. This builds upon water recycling initiatives such as that on the Hawkesbury campus, where approximately 700 mega-litres of recycled water and storm water are used each year.

The university is testing the use of green power - electricity generated from environmentally friendly sources such as solar and wind power - as well as offering staff hybrid fleet cars for travel between UWS campuses. hybrid cars use a mix of electricity and petrol and emit only half the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the air that normal cars do. The hybrid vehicle averages only five litres of petrol per 100km and has the best air pollution rating of any vehicle on Australian roads.

Every litre of fuel produces only 2.3 kilograms of CO2, so there's no doubt that the low fuel consumption of this car certainly contributes to a cleaner planet. Thermal insulation is being installed in some buildings, which means that heat is retained in winter and coolness in summer. Energy-efficient air-conditioning is also being investigated. All new buildings are being built to make most of the sun and shade throughout the day to cut heating and cooling costs.