Students in Support of Sustainable Sources of Ener...

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Author: chris clarke

Started: April 13, 2007, 3:40:01 pm

Target: Emory University Administration and Board of Trustees

Category: Environment

Supporters:

424

Goal:

100,000

Goal Progress:

Status

Active

Emory is Average

Emory might be ranked one of the top 20 universities in the nation academically, but when it comes to campus sustainability and energy conservation, we are just plain average. While Emory has taken several steps to enhance the sustainability of the campus, we still received an overall grade of â€˜Câ€™ in the College Sustainability Report Card released by the Sustainability Endowments Institute, which rates the policies and programs of 100 leading universities in seven different categories.

Emory currently has five buildings on campus certified by the United States Green Building Councilâ€™s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), giving Emory the most â€œgreenâ€ buildings of any university in the country. Emory trustees have also committed to making all future buildings abide by the LEED guidelines and have set the goal of receiving Gold certification from the USGBC throughout the campus. But Emory must continue to develop its sustainability initiatives in order to stay in step with other major universities, like Harvard, Dartmouth and Stanford, each of which received sustainability grades of â€œA-â€œ.

An area of great concern to many is that Emory must improve the source from which we receive our energy. Emory received a climate change and energy grade of â€œC,â€ while more than half of the schools surveyed received a grade of B or higher (21 Aâ€™s, 31 Bâ€™s). Emory currently receives energy from Georgia Power, which utilizes coal-burning plants that contribute greatly to air pollution without offering any type of renewable energy credits program. Emory justifies the purchase of environmentally harmful energy from Georgia Power because we receive it at a great discount.

One solution to this energy dilemma could be the installation of solar photovoltaic panels on building rooftops. Emoryâ€™s Oxford campus is already considering putting in PV panels on their new buildings, yet so far the administration and Board of Trustees at Emory proper have been hesitant to employ this environmentally safe form of energy because it is so expensive.
But there are ways to lower the cost of installing PV arrays. The sustainability office is currently working with GE Power to explore the possibilities of installing PV panels for free and having Emory pay them based on the amount of power we use from these solar panels. Even though Emoryâ€™s current arrangement with Georgia Power is able to obtain energy cheaply, we must start to look into other environmentally friendly forms of energy, such as solar power. This will not only help preserve the environment but also show that Emory can be a leader in sustainability among academic institutions.
The Emory Sustainability Initiative office has put a lot of effort into transforming Emory into a more environmentally-conscious campus, but they do not have the ultimate say in where Emoryâ€™s energy comes from. Therefore, we the students must put pressure on the administration and Board of Trustees to start committing funds to such programs, even if they may be more expensive. To stay competitive in the sustainability arena, Emory must look past its bottom line and focus on becoming more environmentally conscious. Emory is known for its large endowment, yet several schools with smaller pools of funding have managed to top our score in the report card.
If Emory wants to become a leader in higher education, it must earn it by not settling for this mediocrity in the arena of campus sustainability.

If you agree with our cause, please lend your support by adding your signature to this petition.