OcroBeErR 12, 2005

THE CADRE @ 17

Energy Awareness Week to Hit UPEI

KimberleyJohnston _ A&E Editor

Kimberley Johnston

A lot of people, both on campus and across the Island, are putting their energies into maintaining and establishing energy awareness and

Members of the Energy Awareness Program Committee have organized a week solely dedicated to energy awareness and sustainability. The Committee, which is largely comprised of UPEI students and staff, hopes to educate people about the dangers of excessive energy consumption, and what people can do to reduce their own energy use.

Committee chair Anna Sawicki says getting the word out about energy awareness and-sustainability is one of the group’s main focuses.

“Our committee’s mandate is to raise awareness of being energy- Wise; educate individuals on how their actions impact energy consumption; motivate people to change their behaviours and to show that the university is committed to reducing energy consumption. We do that ina variety of ways.”

Energy Awareness Week, which runs from October 17 to 21, is one such effort. The week-long event will include a film night, an organic meal day, a speaker series entitled “EnerGuide and Homes”, and an Energy Awareness and Sustainability Fair. The fair will include booths from 19 stakeholders in PEI’s energy awareness and sustainability community. UPEI’s own Environmental Club will have a booth, as well as various other organizations, companies and individuals. Maritime Electric, Atlantic Wind Test Site, P-E.I. Certified Organic Producers Co-op, and PEI Energy Co- op will all be represented. Gilles Michaud, who is knowledgeable in the areas of solar energy and housing, will be on hand to answer questions about solar power and pass on his own tidbits of information.

Sawicki said the responsibility of reducing energy and creating a sustainable environment rests squarely on the shoulders of each individual. She said there are many easy ways to

Continued on page 18

Inky Tidbits

Mansum Yau Production Editor

One month into the semester, many of us have started printing out pages and pages of assignments and papers. Has it ever occurred to you when handing them in that they are essentially collections of ink dots on paper? Did you know that dots produced in inkjet printing are usually between 0.005 and 0.006mm in diameter, tinier than the average diameter ofa human hair?! Did you also know that an average of two and a half ounces of oil are used for every inkjet cartridge produced and three and a half quarts of oil for every laser cartridge, not to mention the amount of plastic, steel, aluminum, and rubber? Each year, an estimated 250 to 400 million empty ink cartridges are thrown away in Canada.’

Those empty ink cartridges could have __— been refilled with refilling kits or at retailers such as Staples, which has a nationwide school recycling competition with a chance to win $25,000.° (Cartridges can be refilled successfully on an average of 3-6 times.*) Those cartridges could also have been donated to various charity organizations such at the Canadian Diabetes Association, Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief, and the PEI Humane Society. Did you know

that the PEI Humane Society collects them for the benefit of needy animals and the environment? They donate a tree to Canada Green for every dozen cartridges collected.°

One of the goals of the UPEI Environment Society this year is set up an ink cartridge and battery collection program on campus to benefit local charity groups. The Environment

Society is open to anyone who would

like to get involved. Simply send an

email to upeienvclub@hotmail.com or

to myau@upei.ca, and stay tuned for next issue’s tidbits on batteries.

'www.cartridgesave.co.uk/help_info/ 45.html "wWW.Www.pacificink.com/ link.php?pg=toner-cartridge-recycling http://www.lknliving.com/modules/ news/article.php?storyid=95 1 *https://www.islandinkjet.com/ support.html *www.peihumanesociety.com