Enviromentor | Reducing “greenhouse” emissions for the long term

Nate Kimball

At the moment, humans face a very difficult problem: we have a terrible carbon glut. Every year, millions of tons of carbon-based energy is burned, sending gases into the atmosphere. The gases that are sent out, such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrogen oxides, are very effective at absorbing long wave radiation from the sun, which is translated into infrared heat. Having these gases in the atmosphere leads to more energy from the sun being absorbed rather than re radiated back to space, and heats up the earth’s atmosphere. This global insulation is widely known as the “greenhouse effect.”

Some people on campus are starting to wake up to the fact that we contribute significantly to global warming: according to research compiled earlier this year by Khadijah Barnett ’07, we contribute 11,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per student per year, to be exact. This does not take into account student and faculty travel.

The average Bengali emits 200 pounds of carbon dioxide a year and the average American 20 tons. The disparity of these numbers is staggering and saddles the developed world with what economist Andrew Simms calls our “ecological debt” to the developing world.

Greenhouse gases at Vassar are being produced indirectly by the types of electricity supplied to the campus as well as by our heating plant, on-campus vehicles and maintenance equipment.

How does a college campus reduce its greenhouse gas emissions? The easy answer is to conserve energy, since our energy sources are what contribute to global warming. Easy measures such as installing energy-efficient light bulbs, lowering heating temperatures in buildings, and buying energy efficient appliances are being carried out on campus now, saving money as well as reducing the local greenhouse gas emission.

In the future, Vassar should consider incorporating green design in buildings such as passive solar lighting and heating, and better insulation. Other capital-intensive measures include planting trees in advantageous positions to shade buildings, and investing in renewable energy sources. These measures will save the campus money in terms of energy use and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. In the future, it is crucial for faculty, administrators, and students to take into account not just energy expenditure on campus but what kind of energy they are using and how this affects the atmosphere and future climate change. Do we want it to be 70 degrees on Dec. 1st forever?

Nate Kimball ’09 is a member of the Sustainability Committee