“Climate change is the problem of our generation,” said sophomore Sarah Judkins. “It’s a social problem. It’s a scientific issue that affects everyone who lives on this planet.”
Judkins and senior Katie King are this year’s co-chairs of the Whitman Campus Climate Challenge, a group that has been campaigning to achieve carbon neutrality on campus.
According to King, “Campus Climate Challenge is part of a national campaign to address global warming and educate local communities about the issue and its solutions. One of the primary goals of the Campus Climate Challenge in particular is to encourage our school to get a clean energy policy especially focusing on climate neutrality.”
It is widely believed that global warming is in large part caused when human activity increases the atmospheric concentrations of certain greenhouse gases. The major greenhouse gases are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane and ozone. The combustion of fossil fuel for cars, factories and farm equipment has led to the highest carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere in 20 million years, according to Nature, a weekly science journal.
Renewable energy sources, such as wind power and solar energy, do not release carbon dioxide into the air. When an organization pledges to use renewable energy sources to avoid, reduce or offset all greenhouse-gas emissions, that organization is said to have become “carbon neutral.”
“Universities have an obligation as institutes of higher learning to be leaders in the climate change movement,” said King. “If the Campus Climate Challenge is successful at setting up the climate neutrality plan here at Whitman, we could have a huge effect not only on the greenhouse gas level but also on an educational level. A lot of students pass through this institution. They would become more conscious about global warming and will go on to share that consciousness with the rest of the world.”
The Whitman branch of the Campus Climate Challenge was founded fall semester of last year and boasts over 50 Whitman students, faculty and staff. It aims to “persuade the College administration to adopt a plan to achieve climate neutrality within 10 years,” according to the group’s Web site.
More than 380 other colleges and universities have already made similar pledges as part of the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment. A few schools, such as the Evergreen State College, have already achieved complete carbon neutrality.
As is typical in many environmental debates, “The chief hesitation [preventing the Whitman administration from signing a carbon neutrality pledge] is monetary,” said Judkins.
“That’s a legitimate concern and we’re really supportive of addressing those issues,” said King. “That’s why energy efficiency is a huge part of our campaign. If we can get Whitman to consume a lot less energy, then it would cost a lot less to go climate neutral.”
Right now, Whitman gets more than 20 percent of its energy from renewable sources. Our most important renewable energy source is wind power from the numerous wind turbines near the Whitman campus. In addition, the Hall of Science is heated and cooled by geothermal energy, a type of renewable energy that is obtained by harnessing heat from miles under the earth’s surface. The Outhouse uses solar energy from the panels on its roof.
Campus Climate Challenge would like to ensure that the college continues to invest in energy-efficient initiatives.
“Whitman is already doing great things for green initiatives, but we want to see more. And we want to see it in the sustainable energy direction,” said King.
“Now is the time we need to act,” said Judkins.
The Campus Climate Challenge meets Tuesdays at noon and welcomes new members. Their Web site can be accessed at whitman.edu/climatechallenge.