Going Green @ Haverford

Going green is pretty hot these days. Buzz words ranging from carbon footprint to recycling are floating around in everyday conversation. Pretty much everyone knows about recycling, but what is your carbon footprint?

Simply put, calculating your carbon footprint is figuring out how much you pollute your environment. There are many calculators on the web to help you do this, some are pretty simple, some very involved. Below are two links that will help you get started.

For Adults: www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/carboncalculator/
For Kids:  meetthegreens.pbskids.org/features/carbon-calculator.html

You, too, can go green!

• Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents.
• Bike to work.
• Turn water off when brushing your teeth.
• When available “Please use the revolving door”. Eight times as much air is lost when a door swings open as when it spins.
• Plug computers, cell phone chargers, home appliances etc. into power strips. Even when not turned on they use electricity.
• Plant a tree.
• The three R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!
• Buy local products.
• Faculty and Staff can get Founder’s Bell online. Contact Lucy Stewart to receive your copy digitally.

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.

President Emerson signed this commitment in the summer of 2007.

The presidents signing the Commitment are pledging to eliminate their campuses’ greenhouse gas emissions over time. This involves:

• Completing an emissions inventory
• Within two years, setting a target date and interim milestones for becoming climate neutral.
• Taking immediate steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by choosing from a list of short-term actions.
• Integrating sustainability into the curriculum and making it part of the educational experience.
• Making the action plan, inventory and progress reports publicly available.

Learn more about this initiative including the full text of the commitent.

Claudia Kent, sustainability coordinator, will periodically post the CER’s “Campus Sustainability Status Report” in response to the president’s commitment. The report for the period of May15 – June 30, 2008 is available as a PDF.