Letter: Conversion to cleaner power entirely voluntary

I wanted to thank The Chronicle for its editorial regarding the Duke Green Power Challenge. Members of the Environmental Alliance have been working tirelessly the past couple weeks to spread the word about clean, green, renewable energy alternatives such as wind power. I would like to stress however that we are promoting this as a completely voluntary sign-up. It is for those individuals who value clean air and are willing to pay the $25 per semester difference between the cost of a coal kilowatt-hour and a wind kilowatt-hour. In return, the University will match that purchase. Starting next spring, undergraduates will have the option to purchase green power by checking a box on their housing forms. Again, this is completely optional and is intended for those who want the energy they consume to be replaced with 100 percent green energy. For more information, check out our website at: http://www.duke.edu/web/env_alliance/.