In this day and age, many people are “going green” by recycling, keeping track of their carbon footprint and driving more environmentally friendly cars. But just how far are people willing to go to save the world they live in?One University professor is willing to sacrifice air conditioning, a precious commodity in this environment.Most people in south Louisiana could never imagine going without air conditioning during the hot summer months, but Irvin Peckham, English professor and director of the University writing program, chose to save energy by shutting his air conditioner off.”We’ll never go into air conditioning again. We prefer this lifestyle,” Peckham said.Peckham, currently on sabbatical, and his wife live without air conditioning, a decision he says isn’t as miserable as it might seem.”We have a lot of tall windows that open easily, so there is a cross current,” Peckham said. “It’s very pleasant.”Peckham made the decision to go without air conditioning when he was weatherizing the house.”It was built around 1938, so it needs a lot of help, but it was putting the new windows in that made it easier to open them,” Peckham said.To help beat the heat, Peckham also uses fans and the pool in his backyard.Peckham said there are other bonuses to living with the windows open.”There are a lot of birds that live around the house, so it’s really pleasant to hear them. We would never close the windows if we didn’t have to,” Peckham said.In addition to not using the air conditioner at all, Peckham minimizes his use of a heater when it is cold.He said he and his wife try to keep the temperature low in the winter and close off some parts of the house.”We live in a fairly wooded area, and I cut a lot of wood, so we use the fireplace frequently. When it gets really cold, we camp out in the living room,” Peckham said.Peckham said he’s also environmentally conscious in that he weatherizes his house, minimizes garbage and drives a motorcycle.And it pays to live the way he does.”We save $400 a month, maybe $350, just by turning off the air conditioner,” Peckham said.While he and his wife call themselves pretty low-level consumers, they have friends who consume nothing, relatively speaking.”If we consume more, we would help the economy. But if we consume less, it helps the environment,” Peckham said.While he isn’t a part of any environmental organizations, one of Peckham’s daughters is a rainforest ecologist, and he has friends who are also very environmentally conscious who keep him honest.”It’s a social imperative: Like attracts like,” Peckham said. “People gravitate towards others who share a certain set of convictions.”Finding people who are environmentally aware is becoming an increasing trend. People across the nation are jumping on the “going green” train.Hundreds of Web sites, like goinggreen.com and National Geographic’s thegreenguide.com, feature green news and ways to be environmentally friendly.Magazines printed using entirely recycled products are also devoted to the topic.Students also feel that it’s important to be environmentally aware.Rebecca Morales, anthropology sophomore, actively recycles daily, purchases products made of recycled materials and used energy efficient light bulbs.”As of now, the earth is the only place that we know of where humans can physically live,” Morales said. “We have to be knowledgeable about what we do to the environment so that down the line there can be a place that we can live.”Morales noted there was a social benefit to going green, as well.”Being environmentally conscious is sexy.”—-Contact Catie Vogels at [email protected]