Do it in the Dark

When I was doing my undergraduate program at Northeastern University, we had a program called "Do it in the Dark." For one month, every residence hall monitored the electricity usage of the students living there. This number was compared to the average usage for that residence hall in previous months. Whichever one had the greatest percent reduction received a reward (typically something along the lines of an ice-cream/pizza party). Once or twice a week, there would also be special events held to educate the students on ways to make greener choices and reduce their carbon footprint. I'd like to see this idea taken to a greater level. So many schools could implement a program like this. The more schools involved, the greater the impact. It could even extend to different schools competing against each other rather than just comparing usage within one university/college. What ends up being so important about this is that it implants the knowledge at a very crucial time. When students go to college, it's typically when they first begin making really big decisions about electricity usage. By giving them incentives and educating them on how to improve their impact on the world, this program implants knowledge and habits that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.