New England leads in green campuses

10/12/07 It seems that more and more campuses in New England are turning green--more than 300 colleges have signed the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) but a select few in the New England lead they way.

The commitment stated that colleges and universities should do their part to help the environment exercise leadership and responsibility.

Tufts University in Medford was the first campus in the country to make sustainability a top priority, according to the school's website. Tufts has committed to "conduct university research, education, and operations in a manner that safeguards the environment."

Seventy percent of Tufts' energy comes from wind power, according to Current, a Newseek-sponsored student-run magazine. The school has two LEED-certified buildings, according to The Kiwi 2007 Green College Report.

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. LEED certification is "a nationally accepted standard for measuring building sustainability, developed and administered by the U.S. Green Building Council" according to the Kiwi report. To be LEED certified, a building must meet five standards of human and environmental health, which include; "water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality."

The "Tufts Climate Initiative" or TCI, is a plan that includes different strategies to for CO2 reduction projects. TCI won the 2005 EPA Climate Protection Award, which recognizes "exceptional leadership, personal dedication, and technical achievements in protecting the Earth's climate," according to the Tufts website.

Tufts has also committed to The Talloires Declaration, The Kyoto Protocol and the New England Governors/Eastern Canadian Premiers Climate Change Plan, all of which commit it to improving the environment in large ways, such as stating environmental policies, reducing waste and so forth.

"Five acres of our playing fields are managed organically," said Tina Woolston, the project coordinator in the office of sustainability at Tufts. The university uses electric vehicles such as lawnmowers and utility vehicles, which are used for mail delivery, traffic management and facilities upkeep. Tufts also composts post and pre-plate waste, which cuts down its trash volume, Woolston said.

Brown University in Providence,Rhode Island, is another area school that is taking the initiative to help the environment. Through donations and an allocation from its president, the university has acquired enough money to set up a new list of goals. The goals include "innovative projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, raise awareness, change behavior, and educate the community" according Brown University's website.

Brown recycles 35 percent of its campus waste, and 30 percent of the University's dining hall food comes from local and regional distributors according to Current. Brown has also "avoided 37,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions and 90 million kilowatt hours, which, at today's electric rates, is equivalent to $10.8 million," according to the school's website.

Bowdoin College in Maine has pledged to meet LEED certification standards for all of its new campus construction and renovation projects, according to the Kiwi report. Bowdoin has already recycled 90 percent of all waste from demolition projects, according to Bowdoin's website. Four hundred people showed up at a student organized rally at Bowdoin and signed a petition to ask congress to "help America cut carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2005" according to Current.

Colby College also in Maine is another key player among environmentally friendly campuses. Colby places a great importance on environmental education, and offers a number of majors and classes on the topic. All of Colby's energy comes from green sources, and the College gets all of its food from local places in Maine, unless it's absolutely impossible, according to the Kiwi report and Colby College's website. Like Tufts, Colby composts food waste, and recycles an average of 42 pounds of food waste per student, according to Current. Colby also uses a number of water saving and recycling techniques.

Emerson may not be on the same level as these schools, but is trying to become more environmentally responsible. Emerson is a signatory of the ACUPCC and its new Piano Row dorm and campus center building is LEED certified.

Earth Emerson, a student-run environmental action organization at Emerson is a group that performs many activities to help keep the Emerson Community as well as the Boston community environmentally safe and aware. Earth Emerson is partially responsible for Emerson's LEED certified building.

According to Jon Satriale, advisor to Earth Emerson, "to actually build a green building in Boston is a big deal." Emerson buys 20 percent of its energy from a green provider, and Piano Row uses 50 percent of that number, Satriale said.

Piano Row also uses a number of energy saving practices such as low flow shower heads and half flush toilets to save water, and a white roof to reflect heat, according to a video called "Emerson College's Green Building" on Earth Emerson's website.

Piano Row was green from the start, said the video. Almost all of the construction debris was recycled, and the steel that makes up Piano Row comes from recycled products.

The basketball court in the basement of Piano Row is made from certified wood, which means that the trees are selectively cut down as to not take out an entire part of the forest, according to the video. The carpet and paint in the building also give off less off-gas, or particles that get into the air from materials that use chemicals, Satriale said.