By Brittany Kenworthy For the CDT
It is an early morning at Penn State, and Lydia Vandenbergh is riding her red, 15-year-old Trek mountain bike across campus.
A program coordinator for the Campus Sustainability Office at Penn State, Vandenbergh forgoes a commute by car and opts for the 15- minute bike ride, stowing her briefcase in the “functional, yet dorky” basket attached to the back. She’s determined to decrease her carbon footprint, and even this time of year, she opts to pedal rather than drive her car most days of the week.
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Described by her colleagues as innovative and resolute, Vandenbergh developed and is implementing a program called “Green Teams” that uses teams of staff and faculty to advocate to their peers to save energy by changing behaviors, such as turning off lights, shutting down computers, opening the blinds to let sunlight in and sharing appliances.
Vandenbergh said the key to conservation is that people “look at their circumstances and look at all of the implications of their actions.” It is important for people to make decisions about how to conserve energy based on their own circumstances, she said.
She admits that an action that is right for one person may not be for another. Her family hangs clothes in the attic to dry instead of using a dryer, but for a student living in small apartment this would not be practical.
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Learning to conserve is a two-stage process in the home, on campus and in society. “First an action becomes conscious and then it becomes unconscious because you just do it,” Vandenbergh said.
She believes that if people consider their circumstances and the implications of their actions, they will be able to understand the consequences of their choices. By biking to work she conserves energy and exercises at the same time. It is much faster than walking or taking the bus, and it prolongs the life of her car. She can park outside the building instead of a far parking lot.
Vandenbergh said, “When you observe the personal and societal impacts of conservation, it just makes sense.”
https://www.centredaily.com/2010/03/27/1879114/leading-the-way.html
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