Cool it, Columbia
How many times have you left open your window on your way out because your dorm room was too hot?
And then returned that night to find your room freezing cold, so you closed the window and went to bed, only to wake up in the morning drenched in enough sweat to make you believe you sleepwalked the entire New York City marathon route?
I think we’ve all lived this routine more than a few times here, and given that fact, why does Columbia pump so much heat into its buildings and residence halls? Or perhaps the better question is: How much money, energy, and resources are we wasting by day after day pumping natural gas up the pipes, through our vents, briefly into our rooms, and then immediately gusting out the window?
Columbia housing has forced all of its residents into purchasing the deluxe all-you-can-eat buffet of heating, electricity, water, and air, without the option of only taking a small nibble, but what if they privatized utilities for each dorm room and billed students at the end of each semester based on their usage? What if we could shave off around $1,500 a year from our housing bills and then dictate on our own terms how much we wanted to spend on keeping our rooms like a Swedish sauna or a Hothian ice storm? Or would that be too much freedom?
(Or even more pressing—what if I managed to make this entire post a series of rhetorical questions? While my editors probably won’t allow that to become a reality, this tragedy of the commons is all too real.)
But this isn’t just an issue of cost. Making students think harder about how and when they use these resources will stop wasteful heating left on all day while we’re out at class, or the lights being left on all weekend while visiting friends upstate.
Privatizing utilities would not only save money and resources but also help students prepare for some of the practical realities of post-graduation life—something a liberal arts education doesn’t always leave us fully equipped to deal with.
Yes, the initial fixed costs of installing monitors to determine the amount of resources diverted to each room would be a loss, but the money saved from students no longer wastefully using resources with reckless abandon would surely recoup the costs very quickly. It’s a proposal I would think groups like EcoReps, and all students concerned with better managing our resources, could really get behind. Plus, the $1,500 or so you could shave off your housing bill wouldn’t be too shabby either.
Jim Pagels is a Columbia College junior majoring in American Studies and English. His favorite CC book is The Wealth of Nations, obviously.
This is such a great idea!! I hope Columbia listens to your proposal.
It sounds like you’re in favor of liberty… and maybe Ron Paul? :)
He’s the only hope for our country!!! Let’s talk about him in this comment thread instead of talking about Jim’s post! That sounds quite…APPROPRIATE! WOOOO!
What is wrong with you people.
Even if the renovations (which would be massive since the way the entire heating system works would have to be change to include meters and per-room thermostats) did pay for themselves, I think it’s crazy to think we could collectively be trusted with our energy usage. You’ll have one kid end up with a bill for 30 grand because he’s using his heater as a stove or something.
So the kid blowing through “30 grand” of heating shouldn’t pay for that himself instead of just throwing that on the tab for everyone else to pick up?
that’s kind of the point. why should that bill for the one kid’s overuse of the heat be shared by everyone who’s being more responsible…
104-97. Just saying.
Scrap meal plans. People should just make 15-20 pancakes every Sunday and live off those for the whole week. I hear that some people believe only two out of cost-effectiveness, time-effectiveness, and nutrition are important for one’s diet.
jim pagels have all 12 of my babies
Pagels probably lives in what we New Yorkers call a “pre-war” with boiler-provided building-wide radiant steam heat.
NYC law insists that landlords providing steam heat must keep the heat on if the temperature falls below a certain level. What is uncomfortable for you is not necessarily the same for others. While Columbia doesnt have to worry about elderly tenants – they do have to comply with the law.
Perhaps you should lobby Christine Quinn and Mike Bloomberg before going after PrezBo and others…
http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/html/tenants/faqs-for-tenants.shtml#Ihavenoheatorhotwater
There is a “sweet spot” where you can leave your window open just enough all throughout the day that will be just right for you. Get your heads out of your ass.
you irritate me.
THE SPEC. DESTROY THE SPEC. DOWN WITH THE SPEC.
It would be great if this were realistic, but the problem with this is that most people don’t actually have control over their energy usage. I live in Ruggles. My building is a furnace. I turned off the heater in my room (against university policy) and my room/suite/building is still a furnace. The RAs all complained and the building is STILL a furnace.
I like you, man, but why do you even go here.