By Alexis Young
Staff Writer
St. Bonaventure experienced an unusually warm winter this year.
This year, the Bonaventure campus was down in degree days by 20 percent for the months of December, January and February. A degree day is the unit of measurement used to determine the heating requirements of buildings. It represents a fall of one degree below a specified average outdoor temperature for one day. According to Philip Winger, associate vice president of facilities, this drop has translated directly into the campus’s natural gas consumption. The drop in gas prices has also saved the university 29 percent as compared to the end of last February.
On top of the savings in heating, there was also a reduction in the amount of money spent on snow removal, although the university was unable to provide exact numbers.
We will begin to see more extremes in our winter weather in the future as the global climate enters a new phase, according to The Weather Channel.
“It’s been in the news recently that we are now told that the increase in extremes in weather are part of global climate change, and we are going to have to learn to live with it,” Winger said.
Winger said these extremes can range from warm to cold weather.
“That doesn’t necessarily always mean it’s going to be warmer though. Two years ago it was cold, and the next year it might be again, so we’re just going to have to be more flexible, and in this climate we’re lucky because there isn’t anything really catastrophic that’s projected for us,” Winger said.
youngam13@bonaventure.edu
