Sarah Schulte/The Ithacan FRESHMAN JESSICA DUNCAN listens in her Mesoamerican Prehistory class Tuesday afternoon. The class, which is held in Friends 209, has been conserving energy by leaving the lights off.

The Ithaca College community has been in the dark about the college’s annual $2.7 million energy bill, according to the Ithaca College Environmental Society.

Now, members of the group are asking students, faculty and staff to stay in the dark — by turning off lights and reducing their energy consumption.

ICES began an energy reduction campaign last Friday, said sophomore member Kristina Plath, who chairs one of the campaign’s subcommittees. They hope to save a total of $90,000 in energy costs — $10,000 for each of the nine months of the academic year.

Plath said the group hopes the savings, which amount to less than 4 percent of the college’s annual energy bill, will be used by the college to invest in a renewable energy source such as wind power.

Mark Darling, ICES adviser and coordinator of the recycling and resource management program, brought the campaign idea to Richard Couture, director of physical plant.

Couture said there is no concrete agreement in place. However, he did agree to meet with New York State Electric and Gas to discuss the possibility of using a renewable energy source if ICES succeeds in reducing the college’s energy costs.

Gov. George Pataki announced Jan. 8 that by 2005, state agencies, including the state university system, must purchase 10 percent of their energy from renewable energy providers. In 2010, that amount will increase to 20 percent.

Although the college does not fall under the mandate, both Couture and Darling said they thought it would be beneficial to try and meet the state goals. Darling said he thought the college would take the group’s energy goals more seriously if they proved energy consumption could be reduced.

Some ICES members said they were unaware that no agreement between their organization and the college had been made. Darling cited the discrepancy as a result of the group’s excitement about the idea.

Buying renewable energy, such as wind or water power, costs about $90,000 more than buying from a nonrenewable energy provider, Darling said. Plath added that wind energy is more expensive due to a lack of subsidies, but the money the college saves can offset the cost.

Darling said he thinks the initial cost would be worth the environmental benefits.

“Right now we are getting most of our electricity from coal-fired plants that are 30 years old or older,” he said. “They are polluting, they are also going to start failing, and renewable [energy] makes more sense environmentally than more coal plants or nuclear power plants.”

To achieve their goal, ICES members are encouraging members of the college community to voluntarily turn off the lights and save electricity. Darling said the students are hoping to sponsor programs on campus to promote wiser energy consumption.

Sophomore Jessica Murray, head of the ICES energy policy subcommittee, said they will be sending pledges to departments and designing posters to inform people about reducing energy consumption.

Murray said students need to be more conscious of the energy they are using. She suggested turning off the water while brushing your teeth, turning off the lights when no one is in the room and shutting down personal computers at night.

“Hopefully once these ideas are implemented, they just become habitual,” she said.

Couture said it is possible for ICES to save $90,000. He and Murray said the group’s goal is to save the money in one year, but if the club does not reach its goal in that time period, the campaign will go on.

“It is not difficult to make little steps that do end up making a big difference,” Murray said.

Freshman Jessiah Jones said he believes the energy reduction campaign is very important.

“I do turn off the lights in the bathroom, and I have started turning off my computer at night,” Jones said, adding that he hopes other students are doing it too.

However, freshman Scott Edelstein said he is tired of bumping into things in his residence hall because the lights are always off. He has begun turning the lights on instead.

“I think it is an extremely stupid idea,” Edelstein said.

In response to students who don’t want to participate, Darling said, “We hope that when students complete four years at IC, they can become more mature.”