2008 Woodie Awards
Developing Solutions
Courtesy of the National Wildlife Federation
Issue date: 1/30/08 Section: News
RESTON, VA-As Congress considers legislation that seeks to reduce the nation's greenhouse gas emissions, colleges and universities may hold the key. Campuses nationwide have launched climate-driven projects that are taking a significant bite out of emissions along with saving money, according to a new publication from the National Wildlife Federation, "Higher Education in a Warming World: The Business Case for Climate Leadership on Campus." The report demonstrates how schools are stepping up efforts in response to the potential threats of global warming and the multiple rewards they're reaping.
The report highlights the business, educational and ethical arguments for reducing greenhouse gas emissions on campus, featuring examples from U.S. schools.
"With rising energy prices and growing energy insecurity, institutions of higher learning are finding that conserving energy and shifting to sources of safe, clean, renewable energy make sensible investments," said Julian Keniry, director of the National Wildlife Federation's campus leadership program.
With examples from over 100 schools, "Higher Education in a Warming World" is an illustrated online guide for taking climate action. It covers the opportunities and challenges confronting higher education, steps required to create a campus climate action plan, as well as dozens of cost-effective ways to reduce CO2 emissions on campus.
A sampling of campus initiatives featured in the report includes:
- A 1.6 megawatt wind turbine built by St. Olaf College in Minnesota provides 33 percent of campus electricity, saving over $250,000 in utility costs a year.
- Richard Stockton College in New Jersey is heated and cooled using one of the country's largest closed-loop geothermal systems, cutting natural gas consumption by 70 percent and reducing CO2 emissions 13 percent below 1990 levels.
As many campuses have discovered, clean energy and efficiency projects can also yield an attractive return-on-investment, especially when funded in part with grants and other incentives. Using lifecycle accounting and by "bundling" different-sized projects together, campus emissions - and long-term costs - can be greatly reduced.
"We have been implementing cost effective and energy saving measures for more than a decade resulting in nearly a $10 million annual savings," says Hank Baier, Associate Vice President for Facilities and Operations at the University of Michigan.
The report highlights the business, educational and ethical arguments for reducing greenhouse gas emissions on campus, featuring examples from U.S. schools.
"With rising energy prices and growing energy insecurity, institutions of higher learning are finding that conserving energy and shifting to sources of safe, clean, renewable energy make sensible investments," said Julian Keniry, director of the National Wildlife Federation's campus leadership program.
With examples from over 100 schools, "Higher Education in a Warming World" is an illustrated online guide for taking climate action. It covers the opportunities and challenges confronting higher education, steps required to create a campus climate action plan, as well as dozens of cost-effective ways to reduce CO2 emissions on campus.
A sampling of campus initiatives featured in the report includes:
- A 1.6 megawatt wind turbine built by St. Olaf College in Minnesota provides 33 percent of campus electricity, saving over $250,000 in utility costs a year.
- Richard Stockton College in New Jersey is heated and cooled using one of the country's largest closed-loop geothermal systems, cutting natural gas consumption by 70 percent and reducing CO2 emissions 13 percent below 1990 levels.
As many campuses have discovered, clean energy and efficiency projects can also yield an attractive return-on-investment, especially when funded in part with grants and other incentives. Using lifecycle accounting and by "bundling" different-sized projects together, campus emissions - and long-term costs - can be greatly reduced.
"We have been implementing cost effective and energy saving measures for more than a decade resulting in nearly a $10 million annual savings," says Hank Baier, Associate Vice President for Facilities and Operations at the University of Michigan.
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