BRITTANY YEAROUT
Assistant News Editor
From the food he eats to the detergent he buys and the shoes he wears, freshman Cliff Champion does his best for the environment. He says every little bit helps, and in trying to make a difference, Champion recently added solar power to his dorm room.
“It is so cool that I have the opportunity to be a part of a small beginning force,” Champion said. “I hope when I am 80 years old and about to kick the can and everything is powered by renewable energy, my grandkids can say, ‘My granddad was the first to build a solar generator at his college way back in the early thousands.’”
With a total cost of $450, a DC cable extension cord runs from a Duracell powerpack in his room through an open window to a panel on the roof. The panel, which is made of crystalline silicon, has an output of 20 watts and is at a 34-degree angle, creates direct current electricity from the sun and is stored into the powerpack.
Whenever Champion wants to draw out electricity to use his computer, printer or any other device that relies on electricity, he flips a switch and the direct current electricity is converted by an inverter into alternating current electricity, which is the kind of electricity one gets out of a standard wall outlet. Champion said anyone can do it, and he does not consider himself to be technologically savvy.
This isn’t the first time Champion has made a solar panel. He also made one when he was 16, right after he came back from Beijing, China. Champion worked with medical orphans in Beijing who had deformities, such as cleft palates and other abnormal growths. As he developed relationships with the children, he started searching for the causation and discovered that a lot of the deformities could be traced back to the regions they were from because of the pollutants that were prominent in their home towns. Many were big producers of coal (emissions from coal-fired power plants create pollution).
“Being in China with all the air pollution made me realize how serious the problem was — I mean, I got so sick,” Champion said. “People like to say nothing is happening with the environment, global warming is a hoax and pollution is not important; but very few people who say that have actually been to really polluted places. People like to complain about L.A., but it is nothing compared to other places.”
Although he admits solar-powering his room isn’t going to make a huge difference for the environment, he hopes it serves as an example so that other students, families, business owners or even Pepperdine consider the investment.
“It would be great if more people did it,”’ Champion said. “I mean, obviously, if I didn’t believe in it I wouldn’t have done it myself. I think if there is any campus that can really pull it off, it would be ours because we get so much sunlight. Whether it is the school or more students, it would be awesome and I would encourage anybody to give it a shot.”
Besides his research on solar panels, Champion also became a vegetarian after his trip to China. In addition he wears hemp flip flops, which are biodegradable, takes a portable solar charger on vacation and often shops for clothes that are made out of organic cotton, locally made or sweatshop free. In addition, Champion is the environmental intern for Intercultural Affairs and organized the screening of “The 11th Hour” documentary, which was produced by Leonardo DiCaprio and Lila Conners Peterson, on Tuesday.
Freshman CJ Bakke, Champion’s roommate, describes him as energetic and a friend who has taught him how to care for the environment, although, he still hasn’t asked Champion to share his solar panel.
“Even if I were to use his solar panel, I feel like at Pepperdine I would use so much other stuff that isn’t run on solar energy, such as the food from the cafeteria and other computers in the buildings, that I just don’t feel that my lamp, computer or cell phone would really make that big of a difference,” Bakke said.
Champion said he couldn’t have completed the project if it wasn’t for FM&P and the Housing Office.
“They were a big help — I was basically just watching them put it up,” Champion said. “Frank Villaseñor took my panel and made a mount for it so that it was at a 34-degree angle. They were so supportive, and I was so happy that they were all about it. They were 100 percent behind me.”
Residential Facilities Coordinator Scott Reynolds said the Housing Office enjoys working on these types of projects.
“I loved doing it,” Reynolds said. “These are the kind of things that I really enjoy about my job because you could see Cliff’s face light up when he talks about it, that is what is really exciting. I don’t like doing all the maintenance, but I love to make Cliff’s day.”
Professor Chris Doran, who teaches a Christianity, Ecology and Public Policy class, and will be starting a research project this summer combining Christianity and environmentalism, said what Champion did was extraordinary because he is only a freshman and he received a great amount of support from the staff and administration.
“I am an alum, so I have heard for many years that students are always getting pushed down by the administration,” Doran said. “I think this is a tremendous example of a student here at Pepperdine who wanted to do something, as a freshman for crying out loud, and did it. It should also be highlighted, really, that the administration really does support good ideas.”
Champion said people could consider him as progressive, an extremist, dumb or smart, because it all depends on where they stand on the issue. Although he isn’t “off the grid” and doesn’t have a “zero carbon footprint,” Champion said he feels justified in taking action for what he believes is truth.
“I would call myself nerdy because I get really excited over things that not a lot of other people would get excited about,” Champion said. “I asked for a portable solar generator for graduation. I don’t think many people would ask for that, especially for graduation. But I am stoked on it and I love it. It is such a cool idea that we can create a completely guilt free way of living.”
03-20-2008
