Global Energy

Energy on college campuses is usually harvested through a steady diet of energy drinks, coffee runs, really anything with high caffeine content generally believed to take less than 5 years off one’s lifespan. However, late night/early morning study habits aside, Penn State University will soon find itself knee deep in a different type of search for energy. A Nittany Lion led team will receive up to 122 million over the next five years, courtesy of the United States Department of Energy in order to set up an Energy Innovation Hub. Much like its name suggests, the purpose of the Energy Innovation Hub will be to develop new technologies that make buildings more energy efficient.The concept of building green buildings is not entirely new, though the specific project will focus on new ways to make them, well, greener. Though the green building movement traces its roots as far back as the 1970s, when the increase in global oil prices sparked a widespread interest in improving energy efficiency and discovering alternative, renewable energy sources. Green building formally entered American vernacular in the early 1990s, soon after the American Institute for Architects formed in the Committee on the Environment in 1989. The Energy Star program, a joint effort between the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy that labels the most energy friendly products for home and the office, was developed in 1992. In the same year, the first small scale green building program was introduced in Austin, TX.While the past decades have seen massive upgrades in constructing more environmentally responsible edifices, building energy use remains a pressing concern, accounting for nearly 40 of United States carbon emissions and energy use. Hopefully, the commissioned team led by Penn State researchers will find new and innovative ways to further scale back the problem, resulting in lower energy bills, less pollution and more secure future for the long term health of the planet.