Berkeley Students Become Leaders In Growing Green Power Movement.

BERKELEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 12, 1999--The largest student housing cooperative in North America -- the University Students' Cooperative Association (USCA) in Berkeley -- has switched its facilities to a new 100 percent renewable electricity product being offered by Vermont-based Green Mountain Energy Resources.

This is the first purchase of green power by a student organization in California.

"The USCA Board of Directors recognizes that we vote with our electricity dollars. When we purchase power from power plants that burn coal or generate radioactive waste, there are health costs and global environmental consequences that we usually do not see or recognize as consumers," said Sarah Robinson, a USCA Vice President. "Since the USCA is organized democratically, student members get the opportunity to actually vote -- translating our concern for the environment in a real, practical way."

The USCA is a non-profit housing cooperative consisting of 17 houses and three apartment buildings, which house 1,300 students. It's owned and operated by and for students, primarily at the University of California, Berkeley.

As a result of AB 1890, California businesses, residents and all public entities have had the ability to choose from whom they buy their electricity since April 1998. A number of companies now offer electricity from renewable electricity generation -- including cleaner power sources such solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, and small hydroelectric sources.

"We commend the USCA for playing a leadership role and helping to create a more sustainable energy future," said Lori Jablonski of the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies (CEERT). "The ability to choose environmentally friendly power supplies is of particular significance to students. The environmental and public health damage linked to the status quo will not reveal itself until decades later, when these kids have grown up and are raising their own families."

The USCA has pledged to educate other student organizations and co-ops across California about the importance -- and simplicity -- of switching to a green electricity provider.

The electric industry is the single greatest contributor to air pollution and climate changing gases in the United States. It's estimated that by staying with incumbent providers, the USCA would continue to be directly responsible for hundreds of tons of air pollution, including gases contributing to global climate change, annually.

The Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies (CEERT) is a nonprofit coalition of leading environmental organizations, including the Sierra Club, Natural Resource Defense Council, Conservation Law Foundation, Environmental Defense Fund, and the Union of Concerned Scientists, and sustainable technology companies.