Table of Contents

1. Greenfield Community College Launches New Curriculum on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency
2. Scientists' Warning Reminds Us of the Importance of Our Work, Topics for March Climate Action Planning Blogs Announced
3. The Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium Works to Support the ACUPCC
4. Saint Xavier University Achieves Significant Cost Reductions by Building to LEED Gold

Greenfield Community College Launches New Curriculum on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency

Adjunct Peter Talmage explaining the workings of a solar hot water heater

Let there be no mistake: as colleges and universities our largest "footprint" is the education that our students receive. While continuing to focus on carbon reduction through infrastructure measures, ACUPCC signatories cannot forget to also "preach what we practice". Incorporating global warming and energy issues into existing curriculum and offering creative and challenging new courses in renewable energy and energy efficiency is essential. To do otherwise will shortchange a vital component of our students' education and potential career pathways, and drastically reduce our institutions' ability to ultimately impact climate change. Greenfield Community College in Greenfield, Massachusetts has leapt into the energy education field by initiating a 28 credit Certificate in Renewable Energy/Energy Efficiency (RE/EE) and, beginning this fall, a 60 credit Associates of Liberal Arts in RE/EE... Read more.

Scientists' Warning Reminds Us of the Importance of Our Work
Topics for March Climate Action Planning Blogs Announced

Like you, I receive a lot of information on climate change. It's hard to read everything which comes my way. But every now and then an article's headline makes it impossible to ignore. That's how I reacted to a February 15th article in the Washington Post by Kari Lydersen entitled "Scientists: Pace of Climate Change Exceeds Estimates." The article discusses remarks made by climate scientists at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Christopher Field, director of the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology at Stanford University is quoted as saying, "We are basically looking now at a future climate that's beyond anything we've considered seriously in climate model simulations..." Read more.

The Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium Works to Support the ACUPCC

Continuing with the accumulation of great resources and information to support your ACUPCC implementation efforts I am pleased to share with you the work of the Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium (HEASC). As an official endorser of the ACUPCC, HEASC collectively promotes and shares ACUPCC resources and events with their members. Below you will find a list of ACUPCC resources developed by HEASC members as well as examples of individual associations' actions to build their institutional capacity to support the higher education sustainability movement... Read more.

Saint Xavier University Achieves Significant Cost Reductions by Building to LEED Gold

Saint Xavier is excited for its future because "going green" means "saving green." The University's new green residence halls, Rubloff Hall ($9.5 million) and O'Brien Hall ($10.8 million), will produce economic savings for years to come. The halls' state-of-the-art mechanical systems and energy efficient designs will more than compensate for front-end costs by significantly outperforming traditionally constructed buildings. In November 2008, Saint Xavier used Rubloff Hall (right) to participate in a U.S. Green Building Council/Environmental Protection Agency–sponsored study on the economics of going "green." Although Rubloff Hall's energy efficient features cost $269,100, a 3.77% construction premium, these expenses will be defrayed in less than five years... Read more.