Clean Energy Goes To College
by Fred Durso Jr. There is a new wave of activism sweeping across college campuses. Student groups are coordinating efforts to reduce fossil-fuel dependency by pushing for more renewable alternatives and putting forth-specific goals for their colleges. They're also synchronizing their actions with other campuses across the United States, putting up a united front for cleaner energy. "This is a growing movement, and more and more students are getting involved," said Billy Parish, director of the Climate Campaign, a network of 10 student environmental organizations. "What's driving it is the Bush administration's disastrous energy policy." Some 125 schools took part in a National Day of Action last April 1. Also known as "Fossil Fools Day," the event included demonstrations promoting renewable energy and protests against the Bush administration's fossil-fuel-friendly energy plan. College campuses are pollution factories. A recent Yale University study reports that the school emits more greenhouse gases than 32 developing countries. With 84 percent of emissions coming from on-campus power plants (burning a mix of fuel oil and natural gas), Yale surpasses the Cayman Islands and Central African Republic in total annual emissions. Students are bringing the energy protests home. At Temple University in Philadelphia, students are rallying behind wind power, recently passing a resolution expressing willingness to pay an extra fee for it on their term bill. If the plan goes through, it will be the third-largest university purchase of clean energy, supplying 7 percent of the institution's needs, said Kim Teplitzky, a member of Students for Environmental Action at Temple. Sarah Hammond Creighton, author of Greening the Ivory Tower, is leading the Tufts Climate Initiative. "Tufts has a longstanding commitment to action on 'greening,'" she said. In 1999, the Tufts campus pledged to meet or exceed the Kyoto Treaty goals of reducing carbon dioxide emissions. In 2002, the campus began work on a "solar residence hall," which will incorporate energy-efficiency and photovoltaic electricity. Tufts has also joined the Zipcar car-sharing program and purchased four zero-emission electric cars from Toyota. Environmental groups at Columbia University have joined forces to create the C.U. Green Umbrella. The goals this year include pressuring the New York state legislature to cap carbon emissions and convincing the university to make more socially responsible investments. "Building a solid activist community will guarantee tangible results in our campaigns," said Columbia student Anjana Sharma. "We need to make the change now to renewable energy sources, instead of doing it when we have no other choice." Source: E/The Environmental Magazine, 13 August 2004 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/FGYolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuels list archives: http://infoarchive.net/sgroup/biofuel/ Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/biofuel/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
