Worthy legislative agenda: Chapel Hill Town Council is lobbying for environmental efficiency

The University should be able to keep all the money that it saves from implementing environmentally efficient building improvements.

According to The (Raleigh) News and Observer such savings are returned to the state government but the Chapel Hill Town Council is asking local legislators to push legislation so that UNC can keep its savings.

The University reported annual savings of almost $264000 since 2006 from energy-efficient improvements to campus buildings.

Worthy upgrades such as lighting replacement recommissioning campus buildings and improvements to heating ventilating and air conditioning equipment all cost the University a substantial amount of money.

In fact the University has spent $3 million since 2003 on energy efficiency improvements.

Because the University has invested so much in these projects it deserves to keep the savings.

Especially in this time of fiscal instability the University would greatly benefit from any money it could retain.

Furthermore allowing the University to keep such savings provides added incentive to embark on new cost-cutting energy-efficient projects in the future.

With major overhauls like the solar panels at Morrison dorm UNC has made it clear that it takes energy efficiency projects seriously.

Especially at a time when preserving the academic strength of the University makes environmental projects seem exorbitant UNC will find that the profits it garners from the energy-efficient projects may actually decrease the University's budget shortfall.

For the sake of the budget and the environment local legislators should carry this request to Raleigh and the state government should approve this proposal.