September 19, 2007

By Yuta Mizusugi
The Mirror

Interim President Todd Parnell has decided to set up a "green air-conditioning" system at the Stone Chapel through an individual donation in the name of a Drury alumnus, Dr. Archie Russell's family.

Dr. Russell graduated from Drury in 1939 and was on the Board of Trustees from 1970 to 1973. The donation from Russell's family will mean $1 million for the renovation project.

"I am excited to have an air -conditioner at the Stone Chapel because when I was there back in the 1960s, it was hot, and it's still hot today," Parnell said.

Stone Chapel, the oldest stone-made chapel in Springfield, has an old heating system but not an air -conditioner since it was built in 1880. It is used for many school events and weddings.

In light of the American College & University President Climate Commitment signed by Drury, Parnell chose a geothermal heating system, which achieves reductions in both emissions and costs from options suggested by the President's Council on Sustainability.

Several college presidents including Drury's signed the climate commitment to prevent global warming. Former Drury President John Sellars was one of the founding members among 25 colleges and universities, and now more than 152 presidents and chancellors have joined in it.

"I am proud of Drury for following its mission regarding sustainability," Parnell said.

Its construction will start at the end of October, and is scheduled to finish in March, 2008.

A geothermal heating system is a new type of air -conditioning technology that uses the earth's heat-retaining capacity to provide both heating and cooling to a building. For heating, pumps pull heat from the ground and provide it to the building. For cooling, heat in the building is transferred to liquid and pumped back to the ground through a loop.

Adopting a geothermal heating system is sustainable and economic for two main reasons: preventing global warming and saving money.

Today, Drury's campus relies on two different energy sources for air -conditioning. One is fuel-powered energy, which requires fossil fuels and emits carbon dioxide during the process; the other is electric-powered energy. The geothermal system uses little electricity and no fuel-powered energy.

By adopting the new system, Drury can help reduce carbon-dioxide emissions, an accelerator of global warming, and save its operating costs by using less electricity.

"[The geothermal system] costs more than the present AC systems do at first, but it is sustainable and will save costs in the long run," said Dr. Wendy Anderson, assistant professor of biology and director of campus sustainability.

Geothermal energy system is about 30 percent to 40 percent more efficient than the current-use systems, says Anderson.

According to Energy Information Administration (EIA), official energy statistics from the U.S. government, geothermal heat pumps are getting popular at consumer level, only four states, California (33 units), Nevada (15), Hawaii and Utah (1 each), employ geothermal power plans at government level, generating less than one percent of electricity in the United States.

As part of this renovation project, Drury will also construct an elevator at the Stone Chapel through a gift, $0.3 million, from a Drury alumnus, Mr. Bobbi Springer.