News Times Live Walking the walk on climate change
If climate change is going to be one of the defining issues of the 21st century, schools must teach it.
Maybe just as importantly, they have to live it.
Western Connecticut State University in Danbury has taken that step this week, signing the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment.
"It's an important place for us to be,'' said WestConn president James Schmotter.
It's also an increasingly crowded place. Since December, nearly 300 colleges and universities have signed the commitment.
In Connecticut, four other schools -- Eastern Connecticut State University, Manchester Community College, the University of Connecticut and Yale University -- are on board.
"The schools range from small private colleges to big public universities,'' said Julian Dautremont-Smith, associate director of the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education in Lexington, Ky. "And we're in 45 states, so it's across the country.''
By signing the commitment, WestConn pledges to develop a plan to reduce campus greenhouse emissions within two years. Some of the steps the university could take include:
_ Requiring all new campus buildings to meet standards set by the U.S. Green Building Council.
_ Buying energy-efficient appliances for university buildings.
_ Encouraging students and faculty to use public transportation whenever possible.
_ Purchasing 15 percent of the energy WestConn uses from renewable sources.
Schmotter said the university has already begun to take some of these steps...."
