Even the most prolific electricity-using, gas-burning, TV-watching, light-switching Brandeis student surely has the right idea when it comes to saving energy, even if it's not apparent.Take, for example, the decision of whether to eat at Usdan or Sherman. If one lives in the Village, it's cold outside, and he knows he must drag his feet up the hill to reach Usdan, you better believe he'll opt for Sherman. Like any smart Brandeis student, he should know better than to waste energy.

Now all that's next is applying this logic to other forms of energy use, other activities we perform and other decisions we make. It is time to recognize that the choice to save environmentally-derived energy is as logical and easy as the choice to take a shortcut to one's dinner.

In short, it's time we say, "Earth to Brandeis!"

Perhaps it's worth thinking about energy initially in terms of how the everyday things we do play a role in how we use energy at Brandeis, how much we use and what this should mean to us.

At first glance in a dorm room, it doesn't take an expert at "Where's Waldo?" to spot energy-consuming appliances, such as a computer, printer, mini-fridge, microwave, television and stereo-not to forget heating and cooling systems built into residence halls.

No one expects a college student living in the 21st century to immediately abandon all traces of technology and retreat to the Usen Castle as if it were a medieval fortress. But certainly, we must all admit to wasting energy when it isn't always necessary. Electricity is not-contrary to what we might wish to think-just some invisible, ubiquitous resource we can simply tap into as we choose. It must come from a place and a person's pocket.

That place is usually the ground and its resources within. Among the myriad of other resources and means, fossil fuels-such as coal, oil and gas-are burned and nuclear power is used in order to create energy. Resources such as these have varying levels of environmental impact, but they all-to some extent-contribute to problems such as global warming and pollution, which, aside from endangering our environment, create hazards to our own health.

The process of creating energy also precipitates disastrous impacts to land, water and other resources, affecting our health in many ways that are imperceptible at first. Resource limitation itself is an issue. Just take a look at the price of gas to get an idea of how we are quickly exhausting resources we desperately need. And even the cleanest energy sources like water, wind and solar power have their limits.

Limits create costs and it is through both our own and our parents' pockets that we are paying for all this energy. For all the energy Brandeis uses, one can only ponder the extent to which energy costs are, in fact, reflected in our tuition bills.

Indeed, for such a small university, we are certainly not small consumers of energy. Peter Baker, the director of operations for Facilities Services, said that Brandeis uses on average 25 to 30 million megawatts of energy per hour-or approximately the energy consumption of a small town. We all contribute to this statistic. In fact, the energy we use in our daily activities makes each individual nationwide equal to the equivalent of about 7.5 gallons of gasoline each day. Wouldn't it be great if we could actually fill our cars with all this fuel?

While we cannot completely eliminate our everyday consumption of energy, it is amazing how much we could reduce this consumption using very simple means.

Have you ever left your room without turning off the lights or shutting off the TV? Have you ever left the computer on before going to sleep at night? Have you ever forgotten to unplug your hair dryer from the electrical outlet?

There are other less obvious but equally simple solutions. Consider washing your clothes in cold water. They will be just as clean and save about 90 percent of the energy involved in washing. When purchasing a light bulb for a desk or another lamp, a compact fluorescent light bulb can last up to eight times longer and uses less energy than the average light bulb. Also, look for the Energy Star label on your appliances to know if they are acknowledged for efficient use of energy.

Perhaps at times it is tempting to give in to laziness. We are hard-working Brandeis students after all. But even if we lack sufficient appreciation for the environmental issues at hand, perhaps it is time we take the initiative in appreciating our University's legacy. Since its inception, Brandeis has been at the forefront in promoting change across a broad spectrum of issues. Only in the past decade, however, has Brandeis begun to significantly address the environment in such a way as to secure its future and promote environmental justice on a wider scale. If we wish to continue taking pride in our school's tradition of social justice, we must start focusing more on the environment.

In a class titled "Greening the Ivory Tower: Researching and Improving the Brandeis Environment," we use the University as a microcosm, illustrating how in everything that we do we affect the community and environment around us. We, a small group of students in this class, chose to research the issue of energy reduction at Brandeis, employing avenues of awareness-building, such as new signs and publications. The "Earth to Brandeis" energy project is only one of many projects you may notice, as we-and our fellow students-hope to see our goals fulfilled-not just as students in a semester's class but as people who care about our community.

Ultimately, even the slightest steps we take to reduce energy consumption at Brandeis can have a significant effect. Starting with one student and expanding to include an entire hall, building and school, remembering even these small energy-saving measures can literally mean "a world of difference" for us in our own "Brandeis world" and beyond.