Leaving a More Sustainable Environmental Footprint
Examples of Green Campuses Nationwide

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promotes energy-efficiency because electricity generation contributes to air pollution, including 35 percent of all US emissions of carbon dioxide, 75 percent of all US emissions of sulfur dioxide, and 38 percent of all US emissions of nitrogen oxides. By using more energy-efficient equipment in dorms, offices, and laboratories, universities can reduce emissions impacts and lower operating costs. The major electrical loads at a college or university are in the lighting and mechanical systems. Plug loads which include task lighting, computers, and office equipment, contribute to approximately 25% of total electrical consumption on college campuses.

Other colleges and universities are taking positive steps toward energy conservation and education surrounding the issue. Brown University and Harvard Universtity have extensive environmental education campaigns and offer a great deal of information to be shared with other colleges. More specifically, the sustainable design of MacMillian Hall, a science building at Brown University, offers Mount Holyoke a model of energy efficieny. The biodiesel project at Middlebury College, the offsets campaign at Lewis and Clarke College, the incorporation of wind power at UC-Boulder, and the elaborate Sustainable Energy Policy at the University at Buffalo are all projects that demonstate the progressive steps toward energy conservation occuring on campuses across the country. These colleges and many other schools can be valuable resources for Mount Holyoke College as we continue working toward energy efficiency.

While the programs at these schools may or may not be projects an institution the size of Mount Holyoke can currently undertake or wants to undertake, they do offer valuable information that this college can explore further. Perhaps most important to take away from the initiatives at these other campuses is the relative success achieved when students, faculty, staff, and the university administration alike can all be actively involved in the decision making processes and campaigns for energy efficiency and conservation. Each of these institutions has student organized educational campaigns coupled with significant interaction with university officials. Mount Holyoke should consider a more extensive education program, which hopefully will encourage students toward action. Proactive students must be the driving force that demand more sound energy practices and future decisions. Additionally, as campus environmental stewardship programs and energy conservation groups develop around the nation, it is imperative that there is cooperation between campuses to build on the successes and failures experienced. Mount Holyoke College must seek to learn from the experiences of other institutions.

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