{"id":26840,"date":"2018-09-27T10:23:05","date_gmt":"2018-09-27T14:23:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/?p=26840"},"modified":"2022-03-16T10:17:41","modified_gmt":"2022-03-16T14:17:41","slug":"universities-show-the-world-how-to-erase-carbon-footprints","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/universities-show-the-world-how-to-erase-carbon-footprints\/","title":{"rendered":"Universities Show the World How to Erase Carbon Footprints"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In April 2018, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.american.edu\/media\/news\/20180425-Carbon-Neutrality.cfm\">American University<\/a> celebrated becoming the nation\u2019s first carbon-neutral university, meaning the school emits no greenhouse gas to the atmosphere &#8212; either by not generating them in the first place or by offsetting any emissions.<\/p>\n<p>And American University has managed to accomplish its goal two years early.<\/p>\n<p>And it\u2019s doing just fine &#8212; no one needs to live in a cave.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"American University: The First Carbon Neutral University in the US\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LyryxAyyKDM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>While the Trump administration pulled the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, the global commitment to limit greenhouse gas emissions, universities across the country are coming together to say they\u2019re still in.<\/p>\n<h2><b>Growing up with global warming <\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Millennials have grown up constantly hearing about global warming, the rising of earth\u2019s temperature due to a rapid increase in carbon dioxide emissions, and one more thing &#8212; our part in it.<\/p>\n<p>According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esrl.noaa.gov\/gmd\/ccgg\/trends\/\">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration<\/a>, concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have grown significantly since the mid 20th century &#8212; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/cards\/global-warming\/how-do-we-know-humans-are-responsible-for-global-warming\">40 and 150 percent increase<\/a> in carbon dioxide and methane, respectively.<\/p>\n<p>Scientists have warned us that human marks in the environment will have irrevocable consequences, like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/causes-solutions-worldwide-megafires\/\">record-high wildfires<\/a> and more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/climate-change-has-the-world-underwater\/\">floods<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/climate-change-impact-hurricanes\/\">hurricanes<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>If everyone made marks, known as ecological footprints, on the flip side, everyone can also contribute to erasing any future marks.<\/p>\n<p>An <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ecological_footprint\">ecological footprint<\/a> is the sum of all emissions of greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide or methane, used to support human activities in a given time frame.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_20396\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20396\" style=\"width: 794px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-20396\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Footprint-highres.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"794\" height=\"636\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-20396\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Global Footprint Network<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Now, universities, mostly comprised of age groups who have to live through real signs of global warming, are taking ownership and monitoring their ecological footprints.<\/p>\n<h2><b>Zero waste campuses<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>A few months before Starbucks announced its no plastic straw policy, the University of Portland was already the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/the-global-push-to-eliminate-single-use-plastics\/\">nation\u2019s first college to ban plastic straws<\/a> in all its dining halls.<\/p>\n<p>Multiple schools followed suit and others even took on other single-use items, such as cups, utensils, take-out boxes and more.<\/p>\n<p>Known as America\u2019s Environmental College, Unity College prides itself in its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/unity-college-dining-services-sustainability-award\/\">zero waste dining and catering facilities<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>After examining its carbon footprints from food and other disposable items, the school collaborated with a local renewable energy company to convert its waste into heat and electricity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe view our campus as a living laboratory, and rely on data from student campus projects to determine the next opportunities for waste minimization,\u201d said <a href=\"http:\/\/president.unity.edu\/leadership-team\/chief-sustainability-officer\">Jennifer deHart<\/a>, chief sustainability officer at Unity College.<\/p>\n<p>At Santa Clara University, commitment to zero waste is practiced all across food, furniture and books.<\/p>\n<p>The school\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scu.edu\/sustainability\/programs\/theforge\/\">organic garden<\/a> harvests more than 4,000 pounds of produce, some of which are either donated to locals or sold to its dining services. Moreover, students can rent out personal compost pails to keep all year long free of charge.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout the year, students can go to the school\u2019s donation-based, pop-up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scu.edu\/sustainability\/takeaction\/students\/living-sustainably\/living-on-campus\/\">shops<\/a> to both donate and pick up any reusable goods, ranging from wall decor to entire furniture.<\/p>\n<p>At University Park, Penn State University\u2019s largest campus, students use <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/ecological-footprint-penn-state-pawprint\/\">Pawprint<\/a>, a student-centered metric tool, to measure their ecological footprints.<\/p>\n<p>The PawPrint project estimates that an individual\u2019s ecological footprint could be reduced by up to two-thirds by simply making conscious choices.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe PawPrint takes the concept of sustainability and shows students how they are doing and what\u2019s possible,\u201d said <a href=\"http:\/\/www.personal.psu.edu\/asl1\/\">Andrew Lau<\/a>, an associate professor of engineering design at Penn State, who created the PawPrint.<\/p>\n<p>University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) is encouraging a little bit of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/friendly-competition-eliminate-campus-waste\/\">friendly competition among campus residents<\/a> to commit to zero waste living.<\/p>\n<p>Touch screen monitors on dorms will not only show how much solid waste they are producing, but also rank them from best to worst on the amount of waste each produces.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_26544\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-26544\" style=\"width: 4032px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-26544\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/zero-waste-leaderboard.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"4032\" height=\"3024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/zero-waste-leaderboard.jpg 4032w, https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/zero-waste-leaderboard-1376x1032.jpg 1376w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 4032px) 100vw, 4032px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-26544\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: Katie Patrick, Hello World Labs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cOur hope is that with this information presented in their immediate living space, they will become more conscious of the opportunity to source separate divertable (recycling, compost) streams from the landfill stream and take action to improve performance,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/recycling.ucsc.edu\/about\/meet-our-staff.html\">Roger Edberg<\/a>, senior superintendent of Grounds Services at UCSC.<\/p>\n<h2><b>Getting on green rides<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Schools are making commutes to, and inside, campuses more eco-friendly.<\/p>\n<p>At the American University, every campus shuttle bus runs on biodiesel, 10,000 vehicles are put off the road every year, and more than 8 out of every 10 students commute sustainably.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Climate change is one of the most urgent issues of our time,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.american.edu\/profiles\/staff\/meganzl.cfm\">Megan Litke<\/a>, AU director of sustainability programs, said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.american.edu\/media\/news\/20180425-Carbon-Neutrality.cfm\">in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEach organization and individual has a responsibility to act to reduce their environmental impact. I&#8217;m proud to be a part of a university that takes this responsibility seriously and has acted to achieve carbon neutrality.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Committed to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, Yale University has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/us-universities-bicycle-friendly-campuses\/\">17 miles of bike lanes<\/a> on a total of 20 miles of its campus roads and has one bike rack for every four people on campus.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn addition to being a zero-emissions form of transportation, biking helps promote individual health and wellness and is a popular choice among students, faculty, and staff,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/brianne-mullen-71550353\">Brianne Mullen<\/a>, Yale\u2019s Urban Sustainability Program associate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe wanted to ensure that facilities were available on campus to help promote biking as a healthy and sustainable way to get around.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><b>Energy efficient buildings <\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Committed to carbon neutrality by 2024, <a href=\"https:\/\/sustainability.duke.edu\/metrics\/energy\/biogas\">Duke University<\/a> uses biogas, a type of renewable fuel from pig waste, to reduce the need for fossil fuels on campus.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are committed to support and foster the development of a renewable biogas market in North Carolina that reduces reliance on fossil fuels and provides opportunities for positive community, environmental, economic and policy outcomes in the state,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/evp.duke.edu\/t3.html\">Tallman Trask III<\/a>, the school\u2019s executive vice president, said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/today.duke.edu\/2018\/04\/duke-delays-plans-chp-plant-focus-biogas-options\">statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The University of California, San Diego, \u201cgenerates about <a href=\"https:\/\/ucsdnews.ucsd.edu\/pressrelease\/uc_san_diegos_energy_conservation_efforts_win_top_prize_in_national_freezer\">85 percent of its own electricity<\/a> using an ultra-clean and efficient cogeneration plant, the world\u2019s largest commercial fuel cell and solar panels.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Placing first in last year\u2019s North American Laboratory Freezer Challenge, which awards campus labs for saving energy, labs in UC San Diego are \u201cexpected to save 500,000 kilowatt hours of energy per year \u2014 the equivalent of taking nearly 80 passenger vehicles off the road.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Located in the middle of NYC, The New School has one of the city\u2019s greenest buildings.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22847\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/TheNewSchool.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"830\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/TheNewSchool.jpg 830w, https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/TheNewSchool-300x193.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/TheNewSchool-224x144.jpg 224w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 830px) 100vw, 830px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/new-school-nyc-green-efforts\/\">16-story LEED Gold certified University Center<\/a> has green features, like green roofs, cogeneration plant and smart lighting and climate system, that save water, energy and waste.<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, the school started eliminating all fossil fuel usage in 2015 and served as the only college or university participant in the first ever <a href=\"https:\/\/www1.nyc.gov\/site\/sustainability\/initiatives\/zero-waste-challenge.page\">NYC Zero Waste Challenge<\/a> held in 2016.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEnvironmental sustainability is a core value at The New School,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/tishmancenter.org\/about\/leadership-and-staff\/\">Molly Craft Johnson<\/a>, The New School\u2019s university sustainability associate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSustainability is a significant part of the campus culture. We take a holistic, multi-dimensional view of sustainability that considers a large array of interdependent factors: energy, waste, water, climate, academics and research, environmental justice, food, behavior and culture, health and wellness.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><b>Universities are calling the rest to act<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Often viewed as microcosms of the real world, universities are challenging the rest of the society to take their part in cleaning up the mess we all made.<\/p>\n<p>Because with nature, business just can\u2019t stay as usual.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In April 2018, American University celebrated becoming the nation\u2019s first carbon-neutral university, meaning the school emits no greenhouse gas to the atmosphere &#8212; either by not generating them in the first place or by offsetting any emissions. And American University has managed to accomplish its goal two years early. And it\u2019s doing just fine &#8212; [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":26788,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[637,255,233,639,230,229,643],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alternative-energy","category-american-university-university-newsroom","category-sustainable","category-pollution","category-news","category-lead-stories","category-university-action"],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/carbon-footprint.jpeg",830,533,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/carbon-footprint-224x144.jpeg",224,144,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/carbon-footprint-300x193.jpeg",300,193,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/carbon-footprint.jpeg",830,533,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/carbon-footprint.jpeg",830,533,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/carbon-footprint.jpeg",830,533,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/carbon-footprint.jpeg",830,533,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Hyeyeun Jeon","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/author\/hyeyeun-jeon\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"In April 2018, American University celebrated becoming the nation\u2019s first carbon-neutral university, meaning the school emits no greenhouse gas to the atmosphere &#8212; either by not generating them in the first place or by offsetting any emissions. And American University has managed to accomplish its goal two years early. And it\u2019s doing just fine &#8212;&hellip;","featured_media_src_url":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/carbon-footprint.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/60"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26840"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26840\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}