According to the Feb. 16, 2007 edition of the Chronicle of Higher Education, 70 college presidents signed an agreement to become “carbon neutral.” Essentially this agreement recognizes the detrimental environmental affects from human-induced carbon emissions and binds colleges to create plans and take steps to limit their carbon output to the point where it can be offset by renewable energy resources and oxygen produced by the campus. The colleges and universities that signed this pact are diverse, ranging from state schools to Ivy Leagues, proving that this type of reform is possible for a variety of institutions. Wash. U., however, despite the lip-service it has given to environmental concern, remains absent from the list.
It is true that this aggressive reform would be expensive for the University – the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment requires actions such as building new buildings to the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Silver standard as a minimum, only purchasing Energy Star products, accounting and offsetting all carbon burned including that consumed through transportation including flying, and leading the surrounding community in environmental reform. Deciding to become part of this agreement is no light commitment and the University would have to rethink not only its use of funds, but how the campus functions. The school would likely be forced to make sacrifices in its budget, and because of the massive effort involved in undertaking such drastic reform, in the priorities and attentions of the University administrators.
However, great strides can be taken toward environmental sustainability with less work than one might think. For example, The Chronicle of Higher Education mentions the large impacts of some fairly actions taken by the University of Pennsylvania, which raised its building temperatures by one degree in the summer and lowered them by one degree in the winter. This simple action saved the University $1 million, which it used to purchase energy from wind farms.
Though small changes in how the school is run would make a large difference, becoming carbon neutral still requires sacrifice. But sometimes making sacrifices is necessary to ensure a better future. It is becoming increasingly clear that our current lifestyles and environmental practices will lead to future problems. The recent release of the latest Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change report confirms, yet again, beliefs by scientists that anthropocentric global warming is occurring. The report also says that it’s likely we can remedy the problem by changing our emission patterns.
As an educational leader within this country, it is critical for the University to take a stance on the issue. The position and actions of Wash. U. not only affect the environment through the direct carbon emissions and pollution emitted by the University, but also in the way the community perceives the issue. The University is in a position to influence others’ perceptions of acceptable environmental practices. By showing a serious dedication to the environment and tangible efforts to decrease the harm this University does to the environment, Wash. U. can cause others to approach the issue with the same seriousness and initiative.
Responding to environmental concerns is necessary to ensure that others do not suffer the affects of our actions. Because the Wash. U. community not only contributes directly to the problem, but also has the ability to exert an influence on the large number of people who respect the institution’s decisions, there is a responsibility to begin aggressive environmental reforms. This University should align itself with those who have accepted the ethical responsibility for their contributions to environmental degradation, are confronting the difficult challenge of finding ways to neutralize their negative impact on the environment, and making a commitment to the future. Sometimes the right actions may not be the easiest, but they are the right actions nonetheless, and Wash. U. now needs to rise up to meet that level of action.