Olympic Medal Count
U.S. Germany Norway
GOLD
TOTAL
7 7 6
25 21 14
OVERCOME
ENTERTAINMENT Check out the Reveille’s five Winter Olympic events to watch, page 6.
Lady Tigers fall to Vols in Tennessee, 70-61.
THE DAILY REVEILLE WWW.LSUREVEILLE.COM
How much do you Put Out?
Volume 114, Issue 94
Calculate your energy usage:
(watts X hours of daily use X days a year appliance is used) / 1,000 = KWh per year
Desk lamp (60 watt bulb) 6 hours/ day $6.92/ year
KWh per year X $0.08 = appliance cost/ year
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
FINANCES
New credit card rules enacted Feb. 22 By Mary Walker Baus
Clock radio 24 hours/ day $4.61/ year
DVD player 2 hours/ day $0.77/ year
changes many students pledged to make this month. Nineteen on-campus dormitories and apartments are participating in the campuswide energy reduction competition sponsored by the College of Engineering. The month-long competition began Monday
The major changes of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 will impact the relationship between credit card companies and American consumers. The new regulations went into effect Monday and require credit card companies to give more notice on interest rate and fee increases, more time for consumers to make payments and more information about debt on monthly statements. “For too long, credit card companies have had free rein to employ deceptive, unfair tactics that hit responsible consumers with unreasonable costs,” President Obama said in a Feb. 22 White House news release. “These new rules don’t absolve consumers of their obligation to pay their bills, but they finally level the playing field so that every family and small business using a credit card has the information they need to make responsible financial decisions.” Emily Burris, coordinator of the Student Financial Management Center, said the new changes promote financial literacy and debt protection for consumers. Under the new regulations,
ENERGY, see page 16
CREDIT, see page 16
Microwave 1 hour/ day $14.40/ year Laptop 12 hours/ day $11.52/ year
27” TV 4 hours/ day $8.68/ year
Mini fridge 24 hours/ day $46.08/ year
photo by MELANIE SCOTT; illustration by ELLEN ZIELINSKI / The Daily Reveille
Calculations provided based on: -an $0.08/ kilowatt hour rate (average cost for residential electricity in La. during October 2009, according to the US Energy Information Administration) -235 days (total number students may live in RHA facilities during the 2009-10 academic year) -lowest given typical wattage use according to the US Department of Energy’s Web site, excluding the 5 cubic-foot mini fridge, which was assumed to use 100 watts.
Students encouraged to unplug to save energy By Sabrina Trahan Contributing Writer
For University students participating in the second annual UNPLUG competition, less is more. Unplugging unused electronic appliances, turning laptops on sleep mode and taking shorter showers are among a list of
Contributing Writer
ENVIRONMENT
Flood warning issued affecting BR
Major water damage not expected for area By Jacob Most Contributing Writer
The National Weather Service extended a flood warning affecting Baton Rouge until Thursday for the Mississippi River at Red River Landing. The river was at 34.3 feet in Baton Rouge at 7 a.m. Monday, according to the NWS. Flood stage is 35 feet, and the
levee top is 49 feet, said Phil Grigsby, NWS forecaster. The river was above flood-stage for most of last week, according to NWS. The flooding has been minor and has only affected river islands and should not cause major damage to residential areas, Grigsby said. Flooding typically puts stress on the levees, and city engineers are taking steps to mitigate problems that might be associated with floods, said Jim Ferguson, city-parish drainage engineer. “The river has gone above its normal height four or five times in the last few
years,” Ferguson said. Areas affected by floods include River Road, where the ditches on the side of the road fill with water, and the Brightside and River Bend areas where water comes up through the asphalt, Ferguson said. City engineers monitor the levees three times a week when the river rises above flood-stage in an attempt to be proactive, he said. High river levels have been caused by excessive rains affecting the eastern RAINS, see page 16
SARAH HUNT / The Daily Reveille
The river, pictured Friday, at the River Road levees by the Vet School has risen to the flood stages, according to the NWS.