Committee assesses UC's level of carbon emissions

After University of Cincinnati President Nancy Zimpher joined the American Colleges & University Presidents' Climate Commitment in April 2007, the Climate Commitment Steering Committee has been working to turn the university into a more sustainable environment.

"Right now we are working on assessing the carbon footprint, which is the big project," said Beth McGrew, associate vice president of campus planning and design.

To measure the university's carbon footprint, the committee must record an inventory of carbon emissions and assess different facets of the university such as recycling, airfare mileage and utility information.

The climate committee is also charged with the development of an action plan to reduce carbon emissions and the carbon footprint at UC.

McGrew said she does not expect the changes will happen overnight, but is looking to create a series of steps for the university that will prove most effective. The implementation plan is slated to begin in late spring.

In order to quantify the collected data, the committee is using Clean Air Cool Planet, an organization dedicated to finding and promoting solutions to global warming.

"We are using a standardized tool because there are really a lot of ways to look at what we do," McGrew said. "A standardized tool would be best for consistent measurement as we have a lot of information coming from a lot of places."

The committee is working to inform students, faculty and staff about the climate commitment during the assessment period.

"We have launched a lecture series called Climate Commitment 101," McGrew said. "The first lecture was given by UC scientists, the second will be from the point of view of a sociologist."

The second lecture of the series is scheduled to be held on Friday, Feb. 15.

The lecture series was created to analyze the word 'sustainability' from a number of different angles - politically, scientifically and through art, according to McGrew.

"We are not using the assessment as an excuse not to do anything," McGrew said. "We are still working while doing regimented assessments."

Shaun Finley, a fourth-year environmental geography student and member of the steering committee, is spearheading a number of assessment programs such as Go Green for Recycling, a plan to help improve campus recycling, according to McGrew. Finley is also working to bring Focus the Nation to the university.

Focus the Nation, an educational organization aimed at creating solutions for global warming, is scheduled to hold discussions with national delegates from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday,

Jan. 31 in Tangeman University Center. Speakers for the event are set to include members from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Sierra Club and Green Energy Ohio.

The climate committee has not yet run into any roadblocks in obtaining information, according to McGrew.

"It's not hard to get the information once we have it," she said. "It's such a big institution and you just have to understand how it works."

McGrew also encourages students to get involved in any way they can to lend a different perspective from faculty and staff.

The climate commitment committee is slated to hold two meetings during the month of February. The dates have yet to be announced.

For more information on the committee, visit www.uc.edu/af/sustainability.