Richmond Community College students had the opportunity to see Progress Energy’s Prius Hybrid Plug-In model during Earth Day. The celebration was to bring awareness of the need to protect the earth by reducing energy consumption and learning to recycle.
“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children,” said Richmond Community College Vice President Johnnie Simpson. The Native American proverb set the tone for the college’s second Earth Day celebration Thursday and reinforced the concept that every day is Earth Day.
Students and employees attending the celebration learned this is RCC’s first year in recycling plastic bottles, aluminum cans, and cardboard throughout campus. However, the college’s replacement of heating, cooling, and mechanical equipment over the past several years has significantly reduced the college’s consumption of energy and earned the college rebates from Progress Energy.
Progress Energy Community Relations Manager Andy Honeycutt and Senior Account Executive Wade Johnson were guest speakers and brought an electric car for display. Honeycutt explained plugging in the vehicle at night uses Progress Energy’s base load and further reduces the car’s carbon footprint.
Honeycutt quizzed the students on types of sustainable energy. He explained their Blewett Falls plant uses water to turn turbines and solar energy is being implemented at other sites. He discussed new technology experimenting with the effectiveness of using poultry waste as a biofuel source to offset the use of coal and natural gas. All of this exploration will help the industry meet a mandate to have over 12 percent of its resources come from sustainable energy by 2020.
Johnson explained how the company works with commercial and industrial groups to provide rebates for their assistance in reducing loads during peak hours. The Progress Energy plant in Hamlet provides the additional energy for those peak loads. Everything focused on reducing consumption.
Waste Management Territory Manager Michelle Hunt was on the panel of speakers and said it was “time to talk trash.” She said her company uses the latest procedures to effectively manage waste in landfills and recycles plastics, glass, aluminum, and cardboard at a Raleigh facility. She said programs to recycle florescent lamps, computers, and batteries have been in place for some time.
RCC Professor Randy Henson is the chair of the college’s sustainability committee and encouraged everyone to visit websites on green energy to see how they can cut energy consumption.
“Talk about sustainability began in the 70s, but it is here today. We must worry about ourselves, right now, and not just about our children in the future. It is very important to be informed and to get involved. What we do impacts us all,” said Henson.
CUTLINE: Progress Energy Community Relations Manager Andy Honeycutt participated in Richmond Community College’s Earth Day celebration Thursday by explaining how his corporation is working to reduce its carbon footprint and is exploring sustainable energy
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