Ack! I just found out my carbon footprint is 34 acres! A carbon footprint is a measure of one person's activities in terms of greenhouse gases, or carbon dioxide units, released from things like heat, light and all transport-related emissions. If you live alone or with others, it impacts the planet differently. If you use public transportation, or insist on driving everywhere, it makes a difference. Sometimes a carbon footprint is measured in acres, to give one a sense of how much land it takes to support a person's consumption. Up until today I considered myself an individual who had a low impact on the planet compared to my fellow Americans. I recycle whenever I get a chance, I ride the train to school, and I even jog the three miles to the train station. I always turn off lights and appliances, and when I go to bed I turn the heat off even though it means I'll freeze my tush in the morning. Well, according to www.myfootprint.org, the average American's carbon footprint is 24 acres. Mine is well above average. "If everyone lived like you," scolds the Web page, "we would need 7.7 planets." Ouch.

I received this uncomfortable education from a press release about Brandeis' new Energy Savings Program (ESP) Web site, www.brandeis.edu/energy. We've all learned about "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle." It's an exciting move that relies on the integrity and intelligence of the students and staff of the campus. In exchange for some education and tips from ESP, each one of us can do our part. This cooperative approach to change appeals to me, and I'm so appreciative that Brandeis didn't simply drop more rules onto us.

The ESP Web site-yet to be launched-is the main resource for a wealth of energy-saving information targeted specifically at the Brandeis campus. Soon we will be able to log on to ESP's Web site and watch a running clock that tallies Brandeis' electricity use in kilowatt hours (over 26 million since July). We will also be able to take an energy use quiz, and log on to an Energy Starr back-to-school shopping list with the most environmentally-friendly purchases we can make for our university needs. For example, a typical halogen floor lamp burns at 1100 degrees. Who needs a lamp hot enough to fry an egg?

The Web site will also include an explanation of the three terms we can become familiar with in order to reduce our campus impact: "Conservation" includes things like turning off the lights, "efficiency" refers to more efficient uses of energy in the first place by actions like turning down heating and cooling when a building is unoccupied, and "renewables" refers to the use of renewable energies like solar power. My full support goes to Brandeis for incorporating these concepts into future campus development.

But here's your heads up: These technologies are more expensive than traditional energy sources. Students on some university campuses have already formally agreed to an increase in tuition in order to fund their school's purchase of renewable energy. If we want our school to adopt alternative fuels use, we will need to come up with effective and creative ways to pay for it.

The ESP Web site will also provide links to help students get more involved politically by participating in the Massachusetts state summit that helps students network and collaborate with other campuses and other individuals pursuing climate and energy initiatives in the state.

There will even be an opportunity to join energy conservation forces with your dormmates and possibly win a prize. ESP will join another Brandeis program called Brandeis Environmental Sustainability Team and Students for Environmental Action to bring us an inter-dorm competition to reduce energy use and increase awareness. There will be a place on the ESP Web site to check the current status of each dorm's energy conservation, and a long list of things to do to help your team win!

So be on the lookout. This new Web site will arrive any day now and truly looks to be a giant resource for positive action. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go reduce my carbon footprint.