Sustainability 101

by WiredBerries Editors — January 22, 2008

As Congress considers legislation that seeks to reduce the nation's greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by mid-century, 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 how these institutions are reaping multiple rewards.

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.
• At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, eight energy efficiency projects resulted in annual savings of $365,000, with an average project payback of less than three years.
• The new Bren Hall laboratory at the University of California, Santa Barbara has a LEED-Platinum certified, energy efficient design that saves the campus $50,000 in utility costs and prevents 275 tons of CO2 emissions per year.