Ecolympics Is Revived

It's not easy being green, but the Ben and Jerry's ice cream party could make it well worth students' while this year.

Green Cup '92-'93, formerly known as the Ecolympics, kicks off November 1 and pits houses and first-year dorms against each other to conserve the most water, heat and electricity. This year, organizers said prizes may include cash or ice cream.

The Environmental Action Committee, along with the Faculty of Arts and Sciences physical resource department, is sponsoring the competition, which will end on Earth Day, April 24.

"The main point of the competition is to give the general Harvard student a chance to learn a little about conservation," said Bonnie J. Becker '95, co-chair of the Environmental Action Committee and the Green Cup event.

This year's Green Cup will include a number of accomodations intended to increase participation.

In the past, each house's results were compared to its performance in the year before. To make recovering from poor records easier, each house will now be compared to its average performance over the last two years.

And due to the enthusiastic response from the Yard last year, first-years will now be allowed to compete for their individual dorms instead of the Yard in pursuit of the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Party.

In order to encourage greater participation in the houses, the committee may consider offering the incentive of a cash award to the winning House committee.

Because of growing environmental awareness from students and dining hall officials, the competition may also be extended to the Houses' dining facilities, according to Becker. Paper cup consumption could also become a factor in the contest.

The environmental competition has proved successful in the past, according to College officials.

"In the past two years, there has been a five, 15 or 20 percent decrease depending on the month," said Michael N. Lichten, acting director of physical resources. "We would be happy to get a five to 10 percent decrease per month this year."

"It makes my job easier when the students are behind efforts to conserve energy," said Cabot House Superintentent Gene Ketelhohn.

A winner will be calculated and announced each month. On Earth Day the committee will announce the winner for the year.