With a wire-cutting ceremony yesterday at Sidney Smith, U of T’s Sustainability Office kicked off Rewire, a campaign designed to reduce energy use in university buildings.

The program has received over $250,000 in government funding for its behavioral approach to energy conservation. Instead of doing technical research, as York University is currently doing, Rewire uses “social motivation” techniques, such as scattering signs throughout seven university residences, which remind students to flick off the lights when no one is around.

“We live in a bubble and we forget that the world is running out of natural resources. So, it’s great to have these little reminders to tell us to save,” said Louisa Gomez, a third-year environmental science student.

These “little reminders” led to great results in a pilot study done over the summer and have now opened the door for many new projects.

Another Rewire project in the works aims to reduce the amount of energy used to light the stacks at Robarts library with controlled lighting. Lights dim when no one is around, but as soon as there is any movement they brighten.

Speeches by noted dignitaries, including university president David Naylor, Toronto Hydro CEO David O’Brien, and Toronto Atmospheric Fund (TAF) executive director Philip Jessup, the Sustainaibility Office was lauded for its revolutionary approach towards “reducing the consumption of energy and other resources at University of Toronto.”

“Technology is not going to do the trick. We have to rewire our brains,” said TAF’s Jessup.

He said that students will have to get comfortable with the idea of dimmer lighting. The streets and buildings in Toronto are over-lit according to all the speakers, and people need to modify their thinking to get used to the idea of less light.

Toronto Hydro’s O’Brien said his company was looking towards hiring U of T students to establish a behavioral marketing program based on Rewire.

In particular, Toronto Hydro is interested in expanding a motivational program begun this summer. It promised consumers a ten per cent discount on their hydro bills, provided they reduced their power use by ten per cent.

O’Brien said the program was a success and hoped the percentage discount would increase to 33 per cent in the future.