Lights, Camera, Sustainability...?

For this weeks assignment we were asked to assess how sustainable our campus is. For those who don't know what sustainability is, it basically means how "green" something is. We were asked to compile a list of areas that can be measured for sustainability. Here is the list I came up with:
1. Are paper towels still used in campus restrooms?
2. Is the air conditioning on campus powered by "Energy Star" units?
3. Does the cafeteria use plastic utensils or reusable utensils?
4. How much waste is accumulated on a daily basis? Where does this waste go?
5. Is recycling available on campus?
6. Are buildings built with "green" materials?
7. What types of resources are available online as opposed to paper?
8. Where does the cafeteria food come from?
9. Are their community gardens on campus?
10. What is done to preserve plant life?
11. How much water is used on campus?
11. Is smoking allowed in any area?
12. What is transportation for students like?
13. Pesticide use?
14. How well is the land used?
15. What kind of lighting is used throughout campus?

Next we were asked to look up what other campuses have done in regards to sustainability assessments. In other words, how they figured out their ecological impact, not solutions to the problems they found. A great example I found is from the University of Oregon (really, is their any surprise there?) In regards to the Universitys Materials Management they assessed the extent to which the campus incorporates sustainability into the procurement and disposal of packaging, office supplies, furniture, computer equipment, and chemicals for custodial, landscaping, research, and teaching use. They also assessed their materials management through trends in solid waste and recycling, as well as efforts to reduce waste and properly dispose of waste and hazardous materials. They figured out that solid waste is a big problem in the campus society and the effect landfills have on the environment. They then looked at the dollar amount spent on goods and services (over $132 million dollars during the 05-06 fiscal year) and the amount of waste sent to landfills each year.

The entire University of Oregon assessment is available at http://uplan.uoregon.edu/subjects/Sustainability/SustDDprojects/UOSustainabilityReport.pdf
I recommend skipping down a few pages to the "Indicators" section if you're interested in the actual assessment process.

Next in the assignment we were asked to pick one of the factors we listed (above) and devise a detailed assessment. I choose to look at lighting throughout the campus. What kind of lighting is used? What is the cost each month spent on replacing lighting? Are lights motion censored? What time do lights turn on at night and how many lights on campus turn on during that time? How many watts are in each bulb used? How many bulbs are needed to light up a room? Are all bulbs turned on or is it every other bulb? Who is in charge of making sure the lights on campus are energy efficient, if applicable? If not applicable, why isn't lighting a concern? Is solar lighting available anywhere on campus? What kind of lighting is used to power classroom projectors? How much money is spent on projector lighting? How much is spent each year to light up the football field? Do high schools that use our football field for graduations pay a fee? How much is that fee and is the lighting cost factored in? When do parking lot lights turn on and when do they turn off? Are all areas of the parking lots lit up?
In order to conduct such an assessment, I think my first step would be to contact the President of the school,  Dr. Cynthia Azari and explain my assignment and ask her for permission as well as resources. I would need to examine light bulbs in every room (classrooms, bathrooms, the gym, office buildings, parking lots) and find out what kind of lights are used. I would need information on how lighting is controlled, how the football field is rented out, and so on. I would ask for help from the administration as well as student services. I would need to do research on the different types of lighting available and which is the most energy efficient and compare it to the lighting currently used.