| Forget that claim made by CNN that its news has been brought to you by the likes of Toyota, Sears and the hottest toymaker.
 At the Treehouse, Dickinson College's Center for Sustainable Living at 136 N. College St., Carlisle, Pa., CNN's news - like every other telecast - is made possible by a strong pair of legs and an even sturdier commitment to environmental education.
When junior Brian Bytnar, an environmental studies major from Lexington, Va., and one of 10 residents of the Treehouse, tuned into CNN on Nov. 30, he first had to do a little hard pedaling on his own Tech mountain bike.
That's the black bike in the Treehouse living room that's connected to the generator that's connected to the 12-volt battery that makes the 23-inch television work.
At the Treehouse, the student-directed environmental learning community that will mark its 15th anniversary next year, Dickinson's innovative educational opportunities take center stage. So does the conservation of power and water.
"Last year we were trying to think of new ways to make the house more sustainable," says Bytnar. He teamed with his then-roommate, Dave Imlay '04, to devise a fully energy-conscious way to operate the TV that, coincidentally, Treehouse students won in a 2002 water-conservation contest. The students had first considered a solar-power project, but the abundance of trees in the neighborhood made that impractical.
Thanks to some mechanical assistance from Jake Bear in the college's facilities management department and online research into what parts would be needed, Bytnar was able to get the pedal-for-power system up and running.
As the rider pedals the stationary bike, its back wheel turns a cylinder, which, through the use of a small generator and a controller that regulates the flow of energy, produces electricity that is stored in the battery.
"This shows that there are things everyone can do to create renewable energy and that it's relatively easy and practical to do and that we have the technology today," Bytnar says.
The bike-powered energy system, he explains "can run the stereo and the VCR at the same time. If the battery is less than fully charged, the TV won't work; that's mainly because the TV screen is so big."
Any bike can be used. "The stand is a typical stationary-exercise stand that you can get out of most bicycling catalogs," Bytnar says. "I can take my bike out and put in someone else's bike. I'm a pretty big person [at 6-foot-4], so someone smaller is not going to be comfortable on my bike."
The project is the latest initiative driven by the Treehouse's basic goals:
- To foster an atmosphere of student understanding toward sustainable living and responsible environmental actions at the local level.
- To educate one another and the college community about environmental issues, sustainability, environmental student activism and stewardship toward the environment.
- To aid the other environmental groups on campus, so that through combined efforts a more green campus can be achieved.
- To act as a liaison between the Dickinson campus and the Carlisle community for issues concerning sustainability and environmental student activism.
- To act as leaders in environmentalism for the college and community.
Treehouse residents are selected on the basis of their environmental awareness, willingness to make a difference and ability to contribute to the house.
"I'm thrilled that we finally have the bike completed," says Treehouse resident and sophomore Lisa Maas. "It will be a wonderful educational tool to raise awareness and interest in renewable energy and sustainability."
Sophomore Audrey Fisher adds that the Treehouse-along with campus organizations like Earth Now!, Students for Social Action, ALLARM, the Student Garden and the Commission on the Environment - show "that we are continuously striving to educate ourselves and the world about the importance of minimizing our impact."
Current Treehouse activities range from monthly soup-and-bread dinners that include guest speakers on environmental topics to open-mic nights. Residents this fall also have been involved in the community-supported agriculture organic-food program at Broad Valley Farms in Biglerville, Pa.
"We hope to continue educating the campus about sustainable living by hosting events at the house," says Fisher, "and by reaching out to the campus, possibly through a 'sustainable-eating' dinner in the spring in partnership with the Student Garden and Earth Now!." |
