Luther makes pledge to go climate neutral

By Joanna Simpson, Luther NewsBeat reporter

“We realize that the apathy surrounding Global Warming is often a product of fear: the fear that we are too late, the problem is too great, and that we as individuals cannot do anything about it. This couldn’t be farther from the truth.”

- Tag Team Earth

Jon Jensen, assistant professor of philosophy and environmental studies, with one of the college's Honda Civic Hybrid vehicles. (Photo by Katie Bachelder)

Luther College President Richard Torgerson is not apathetic about the threat of global warming. He believes action can address the problem, and he wants Luther to be a leader in developing and actualizing solutions.

President Torgerson addressed Luther’s role in global warming this January by becoming a charter signatory to the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, a pledge to take a leadership role in the community and throughout society by “modeling ways to eliminate global warming emissions, and by providing the knowledge and the educated graduates to achieve climate neutrality.”

The ACUPCC was developed and is supported by Second Nature, ecoAmerica and the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). It is modeled after the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in cities through outreach, education and technical assistance.

“It’s important for higher education to take leadership in the issue of climate neutrality,” said President Torgerson. “We all have a responsibility."

“By modeling ways we can minimize global warming emissions and integrating sustainability into our curriculum at Luther College, we can influence graduates – future leaders and world citizens—in the choices they will make,” he said.

President Torgerson also joined the Leadership Circle, a smaller group of presidents who will become the representatives and lead supporters of the program.

The climate commitment requires institutions to commit to specific actions in pursuit of climate neutrality, including developing a comprehensive plan to achieve climate neutrality as soon as possible, maintaining a regular comprehensive inventory of all greenhouse gas emissions and initiating two or more tangible actions to reduce greenhouse gases while the more comprehensive plan is being developed.

Those actions could include establishing a policy that all new campus construction will be built to at least the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Silver standard; adopting an energy-efficient appliance purchasing policy requiring purchase of Energy Star certified products as available, and purchasing or producing at least 15% of our institution’s electricity consumption from renewable sources.

All plans, inventories and progress reports will be made publicly available through the AASHE.

The ACUPCC has a member goal of 200 college and university presidents by June 2007 and 1,000 by December 2009.

Luther’s invitation to join the AUCPCC was a result of the number of measures it has already taken to limit its environmental footprint. They include the installation of geo-thermal technology in the 60,000 square-foot Center for the Arts and Baker Village, and a collaborative project with Alliant Energy to implement new heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems, lighting system replacements, and a new computer-monitored temperature control system.

The cost to heat, light, and cool the campus is estimated to have been reduced by more than 15 percent, or 4.4 million kilowatt hours annually. This results in a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of 8,737,000 pounds per year, which is the equivalent of 1,191 acres of trees, 10,921,000 vehicle miles saved, or 873 cars off the road.

The renovation of Luther’s Dahl Centennial Union played another role in Luther’s energy-saving initiatives. After hearing a student presentation in an environmental studies class, Diane Tacke, Luther vice president of finance and administration, decided to hire a student to assist the facilities staff in coordinating a recycling/reusing project for the renovation’s solid waste.

“As a result,” said Tacke, “only a fraction of the construction materials removed from the construction site have ended up in a landfill.”

Furthermore, according to Tacke, Luther has made an effort to purchase more natural gas, which produces fewer greenhouse gases than fuel oil. It has also purchased four Honda Civic Hybrids as part of the college's fleet.

Along the same lines, Luther Facilities Management is phasing in a shift to smaller, more energy efficient vehicles throughout its campus fleet.

Luther has also successfully created biodiesel using waste vegetable oil from the cafeteria, Oneota Market, and Marty's Cyber Café. The fuel has powered a college-owned Volkswagen Rabbit and is planned to eventually expand its use to include vehicles used by Facilities Management and the grounds crew.

Luther’s environmental awareness also extends to its dining services: The cafeteria has long been composting much of its waste, which members of the Environmental Concerns Organization transport across the highway to be composted each day.

Luther students, faculty, and staff have also been working together to increase purchases of local food for the campus. Luther already purchases significant amounts of food from local farmers, processors, and distributors, which cuts down on transportation costs and consequently the production of carbon dioxide.

The Luther College Student Garden also supplies the cafeteria, in part, with organic fruits, vegetables and herbs grown in a sustainable, low-impact way. The organization works to provide education about its practices to the faculty, students, and staff of Luther College in addition to the surrounding community.

By signing the ACUPCC, Luther is committing to making the goal of climate neutrality a top priority, with imminent action and results. President Torgerson is also looking to directly involve students in the work ahead, with the possibility of appointing a campus sustainability intern.

“The intern could be a student,” he said. “He or she would work to promote sustainability initiatives and look critically at college operations from a sustainability objective.”

President Torgerson also expects sustainability to be a major theme of the next strategic planning campaign.

Other possibilities on the horizon involve building the future science center under LEED requirements, the installation of a wind turbine as an alternative energy resource, and increased education aimed at the biggest energy consumers on campus: students.

Contact: Jerry Johnson, Director of Public Information, 563/387-1865

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