What’s happening, UVM?! I wanted to write about something important to all students, regardless of what your views are, and that is the need to conserve energy. ?I am just going to list some ways by which we as students can conserve power. I want to first talk about an idea my roommates and I came up with this last winter. ?I understand that spring will some day come to Burlington and that temperatures will increase; however, this is a little food for thought, ?particularly for next winter and those to come. ?My roommates and I decided to turn off our ancient refrigerator this winter. ?In order to keep our food cold, we decided to fill several two-liter bottles and milk containers with water and to then set them outside to freeze. We then placed them in the fridge. ?I know some of y’all may think this is too heady or just ludicrous; but, man, it works and it’s mad easy. ?We saved about 15 dollars a month by turning that pile of junk off. ? If y’all are concerned about keeping meat and fish and whatnot cool, don’t worry if you put four two-liters in the fridge; this should be enough to keep it cool. And your freezer is right outside your door. ?Having a thermometer is also important of this little trick though. I am going to relay some other simple suggestions that you may have heard, but there is nothing wrong in hearing them again. ?First, turn your lights off! ?If you are not in the room, then why do you need the light on? ? Secondly, use a power strip in your rooms. ?This way, if you are going to work, or to classes for the day, you can just walk up to the power strip and hit the switch. ?Even though our TV or computer may be turned off, there is still a small amount of energy powering it-this is called phantom power. ? An example of this is the power running to your TV while it is turned off. This power is indeed fueling your TV, because there are remote sensors running, just waiting for you to hit power on your remote. Another area in which all of us can conserve energy is with florescent light bulbs. ?Burlington Electric Department, located on Pine Street, sells them for 10 cents. ? Fluorescent light bulbs last three times longer and use a third of the power of conventional light bulbs. ?Also, every now and then, it is good to wipe the dust off your light bulbs, because the dust on them will reduce the amount of light coming off.?? ? ? ?So, in conclusion, conserve energy! ?Chittenden County uses the most power out of any county in Vermont. ?And the need for power is increasing, because of people purchasing more AC units and simply because more people are moving to the area. ? So my thoughts to all y’all reading this article are to do your part in conserving energy!