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Wesleyan President Commits to Climate Neutral Campus
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Knox Joins Growing List of Higher Education Leaders to Fight Global Warming
Wesleyan College President Ruth Knox committed to sharply reducing and eventually eliminating all of the College’s global warming emissions, and accelerating the research and educational efforts to equip society to re-stabilize the earth’s climate. The pledge came with Knox’s signing of the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment, joining the leaders of 400 other institutions across the country.
“Global warming is a defining challenge of our time,” said President Knox. “Human activities are responsible for the problem, and working together humans have the capacity to solve the problem. That means taking serious action today to stop adding global warming pollution to the atmosphere. Wesleyan College is committed to leading the way.”
“The environment is a major focus for Wesleyan College this year,” said Knox. “We will agree to take some steps right away, like purchasing only Energy Star certified products where those ratings exist, and we will attempt to renovate Taylor Hall as a LEED Certified green building. We’ll develop a long-range plan to neutralize greenhouse gas emissions on our campus and to ensure that our curriculum includes related educational and research efforts. Last month, we met with three firms who specialize in energy efficiency, with one to be selected soon to help us map out a strategy for upgrading our lighting, HVAC systems, and other equipment to lower our energy consumption.”
These efforts build on Wesleyan’s ongoing commitment to sustainability, including goals to maintain the beauty of one of the College’s most distinctive features, its landscaping. “We’ve just added another beautiful garden, the Munroe Courtyard, that we need to care for appropriately along with all the other priceless green space that we are blessed to have,” said Knox. “We’re developing a long-term plan for our landscaping, including how to replace trees that we lose, anticipate losses and plan for them in advance (like the aging cherry trees), and maintain what we have.”
The Presidents Climate Commitment is the first such effort by any major sector of society to set climate neutrality – not just a reduction – as its target. This undertaking by America’s colleges and universities is inspired by efforts like the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, the U.S. Climate Action Partnership and other collective efforts by states and businesses.
"Colleges and universities must lead the effort to reverse global warming for the health and well-being of current and future generations," said Michael Crow, President of Arizona State University and a founding member of the ACUPCC Leadership Circle. "On behalf of all the signatories, I welcome Ruth Knox to the commitment, we are honored and pleased to have her join us."
The American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment is a high-visibility effort to address global warming by garnering institutional commitments to neutralize greenhouse gas emissions, and to accelerate the research and educational efforts of higher education to equip society to re-stabilize the earth’s climate. Under the guidance and direction of the Leadership Circle of presidents, the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment is being supported and implemented by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), Second Nature, and ecoAmerica.
Learn more at: www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org.
October, 2007
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