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We’re having gridiron success here at the U of R:

So how did we do? We collected a total of 943 pounds of recyclable and compostable materials, with 450 pounds of trash sent to the landfill. With an overall attendance of 3125 people, that breaks down to .3 pounds per person for recyclables (paper, cardboard, plastic metal, and glass), as well as .014 pounds per person of compostable material collected. Our overall waste diversion rate was 67.7%, meaning that out of all the waste, recyclables, and compostable material generated from the game,two thirds was diverted from being sent to the landfill!! These efforts saved 1.54 Metric Tons of CO2 Equivalent from being released into the atmosphere. Here’s our rankings:

· Waste Min- 38th place out of 62 schools

· Recycling per capita- 18 out of 67 schools

· Organics- 24 out of 29 schools

· Diversion Rate- 18 out of 61

· Green House Gas- 16 out of 67 Schools

Encouraging collegiate sporting events can save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. During this year’s competition, 6.4 million fans at 88 participating schools kept nearly 1.46 million pounds of game-day waste out of landfills, which prevented approximately 1,980 metric tons of carbon dioxide from being released

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So, across the countries, hundreds of extra bins were created, tens of thousands of man-hours dedicated to organizing, marketing, counting, blogging, and of course hundreds of thousands of people participating in the ritual, and in total, with all of this effort, about $60,000 in “global warming damages” were prevented (assuming $30 per ton damages per IPCC). And this assumes the GHG reductions are real and not from some model that assumes an answer because the act was being done in the first place.

For perspective, they say our school saved 1.5 tons of GHG emissions. This is about $45 of savings. So, this is 1.4 cents per person savings even assuming that all of the work and effort going into this was costless.

3 Responses to “Giving Columbia Football a Run for Its Money”

  1. JB says:

    I suppose one could argue that the participants derived a sense of “feel good-ism” for their 1.4 cent contribution, however misguided that might prove to be (e.g. if someday it becomes clear there is no anthropogenic global warming, etc). As you’ve pointed out w.c., I guess it is a lot like religion; I go to church and I pray, and that makes me feel good too.

  2. Harry says:

    So, even by IPCC calculations, they saved $60,000? This is an achievement worthy of a United Nations medal. Did those metric tons of CO2 count all the extra CO2 expelled by all the huffing and puffing?

    Collecting 900 pounds of recyclables and compostables may impress city folks, but we used to recycle tons of it daily. Carbon recycling. Organic. Locally acquired.

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