Go Greener Tips

div class=image style=float: right; padding-left: 8pximg alt=Richland College height=228 src=http://a323.yahoofs.com/ymg/amorylovins/amorylovins-235645480-1245109066.jpg?ymK9GbBDWzs7E0XN width=300 /br /emShovel Ready: RMI’s Sally DeLeon and br /Elaine Adams visit green science buidling br /at Richland College. (Photo: RMI br /campus climate project 2008-2009)/embr /br //divpRobert Morris,
student body president of Richland College, is facing a challenge at his
school.  A commuter school in Dallas Texas, with 24,500
students, Richland
College has nobly committed to achieve carbon neutrality under the American
College and University a href=http://www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org/Presidents Climate Commitment/a.  /ppThe problem? Students have no access to public
transportation./ppRichland does
have energy efficient buildings on campus, but the transport contributes the
most to the school’s carbon footprint, making up 66 % of campus greenhouse gas
emissions. /ppRichland students face the same issue many commuters find. When
there is limited access to public transport and when it may not be practical to
ride a bike 20 miles each way to school or work, how can individuals reduce
their carbon footprint?/ppMorris, one of
36 participants in a href=http://www.rmi.org/Rocky Mountain Institute/a’s
recent Accelerating Campus Climate Initiatives Workshop, now has a few ideas
about how to tackle the transport issue. The workshop, which convened in Denver from June 2-4, brought
together representatives from 12 campuses to share information and war stories
and inspiration to help create effective programs and projects that will reduce
carbon emissions. /ppMorris discussed
his school’s climate initiative challenges with sustainability experts at RMI,
who put on the workshop in collaboration with the a href=http://www.aashe.org/Association
for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education/a (AASHE).
As a result, Morris goes back to Texas with some
possible solutions, such as arranging carpooling and making it web-based so
people can find rides easily and instituting web-based learning, telecommuting,
and videotaping of classes. These telecommuting and carpooling options, of
course, could work for business as well as schools that want to reduce carbon
emissions./ppThe first
thing I will do when I get back to my school is set up a meeting with our
college president and present some of the ideas we learned about here,
says Morris. Morris may find his president attentive since Morris will also
return to his campus with a seed grant to study and implement alternative
transportation options. /ppRMI, through an anonymous donor, is offering the grants ($35,000-$50,000 per
institution) to provide each participating campus with an opportunity to
implement a high priority project that advances its climate program. Each
school will use this funding to launch an important greenhouse gas reduction
project or contribute to solving a thorny or significant barrier to climate
neutrality. /ppFor more
information on the Accelerating Campus Climate Initiatives project, visit a href=http:/bet.rmi.org/RMI’s
Built Environment Team website/a. /p

Original post