Comments on: WU buildings bring wind power to Loop

By: Jerome Howard Bauer

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 14:38:39 +0000

PS. When i bought my house I was of the WashU gentry. Then, I could have afforded to make some sustainable improvements to my house, including weatherizing, rooftop solar panels, green roofing (perhaps), and hydroponic gardening in my basement. I researched all these options, in order to set a good example for my neighbors and students.

Now, I am no longer of the gentry. I am an official hardship case, one of the subaltern class, having lost my salary and my health insurance, in the midst of a medical crisis that left me partially disabled (really, differently abled). I am in the same boat with so many others in my neighborhood, especially on the other side of Des Peres where the other subaltern still dwell. Is the University really trying to set a good example for US? Sure, let’s all put solar panels and wind generators on our roofs.

Lecturer Dr. Jerome Bauer
–who worked loyally for WashU’s Religious Studies, Focus, Social Thought and Analysis, and Faculty Associates Programs, 1999-2007, in a medical job lock situation, and still works here, on unpaid unofficial teaching sabbatical; an active resident member and Community Lecturer of the WashU Coop…

By: Jerome Howard Bauer

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 19:15:21 +0000

This looks like greenwash of the coal plant to be built on North Campus, on the very same block. Whatever happened to the sustainably designed graduate dormitory proposed for that spot, and the bike path that would have connected it to the Danforth Campus? North Campus is the perfect spot for a new dorm, right next to the Metrolink, two stops from the Medical and Danforth campuses. Now the University has to buy more apartment buildings for its students, contributing to the gentrification and company-town-ification of our neighborhood. The wind generators will no doubt contribute to a pleasant shopping experience on the Delmar Loop, encouraging our students to spend a lot of their parents’ money, or a lot of borrowed money, in upscale shops and restaurants. Surely this is what a University is for. Why bother to pretend otherwise?

That having been said, Peter Murray’s praise of the University’s sustainability initiative is constructive. Every little bit helps, and setting a good example for the neighbors to follow is certainly one thing an educational institution should do.

Lecturer Dr. Jerome Bauer
local homeowner and taxpayer

By: Dan

Dan — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:30:57 +0000

Small wind generators like the ones to be installed are an important first step. Solar and wind will never fully replace conventional power generation due to the lack of constant wind or sun coverage. Installing a wind generator helps by setting an example for the community. Hopefully more will follow this example.

The points on better insulation and conservation policies are well made.

Dan
BSME, 2004

By: matt

matt — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 05:03:06 +0000

still better than nothing.

By: Jonathan March

Jonathan March — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:33:57 +0000

“14 megawatt-hours of power per year”? That is an average power generation rate of 1600 Watts, or about 15 Amps out of the wall. This is the capacity of a single typical household circuit (one breaker switch), or enough to run one medium-sized space-heater around the clock. A commendable gesture? Perhaps. Sustainable? For a building of this size? Not even close. The impact of insulation and windows, and the building policy on “vampire” electronic devices, will be hundreds of times greater. A story like this contributes to delusional thinking about energy production and use.