President's Climate Commitment

           Westfield State University, unknowingly to most, is a part of The American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), an effort for universities and other colleges to addressed global climate issues.  Those who are a part of the ACUPCC must have an emissions inventory, set milestones in orer to become climate neutral,  reduce greenhouse gas emissions using short-term actions, have sustainability in the curriculum, and create an action plan, inventory and progress reports, all publicly available.

           I think that the campus is making an effort toward reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.  We need to get our reports into the committee and possibly get more people actively involved in these steps.  I also believe that we have also begun to work towards more of the tangible actions that haven’t been listed on their website.  We have implemented the use of solar panels on the roofs of some of the academic buildings on campus, as well as putting in a new cooling system on Wilson Hall.  The solar panels are hooked up to monitors within Wilson Hall that gives you a reading of the amount of energy being generated as well, for all to see. 


           In the ACUPCC 2009 annual report Westfield State University was not in good standing as of December 31, 2009.  In the 2011 annual report Westfield State was in good standing with the President’s Climate Commitment, but they had no paid their membership dues for the 2010-2011 academic year.  On their website for reporting institutions Westfield State was supposed to have a greenhouse gas report in by January 15, 2013 and that is marked off in red, for not being in.  On the actual implementation profile for our campus there are two tangible actions that we have elected to move forward with, out of six options.  There is the establishment of a policy that new campus constructions will be built, at least to, U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Silver standards, or equivalent.  We have written in that all new construction is required to build under the LEED Plus standards of Massachusetts Executive Order 484, and will be working on a similar policy for all local and campus construction projects.  The other tangible action is the encouragement of, and providing of, public transportation for all faculty, staff, students, and visitors of the institution.  The campus has a contract with the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA) for full transportation to and from the college on established routes and schedules during the academic school year (Figure 1).  They are looking to extend this to faculty and staff.  WSU is also a member of MassRide and works with them for rideshare incentives to reduce drive-alone trips.

ACUPCC. "Mission and History | Presidents' Climate Commitment." Home | Presidents' Climate Commitment.
                N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2013. <http://presidentsclimatecommitment.org/about/mission-history>.

ACUPCC. "ACUPCC 2009 Annual Report."Home | Presidents' Climate Commitment. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 May 2013. <http://www2.presidentsclimatecommitment.org>.

ACUPCC. "ACUPCC 2011 Annual Report."Home | Presidents' Climate Commitment. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 May 2013. <http://www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org>.

ACUPCC. "ACUPCC Reports · Implementation Profile for Westfield State University." ACUPCC Reports · Reporting Institutions. N.p., 22 Oct. 2012. Web. 5 May 2013. <http://rs.acupcc.org/ip/8/>.

ACUPCC Reporting System. "ACUPCC Reports · Reporting Institutions." ACUPCC Reports · Reporting Institutions. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 May 2013. <http://rs.acupcc.org/search/?abs=&q=Westfield%20State%20University>.

Paralleling Worlds

Marc Davidson wrote a paper in 2005 that compared arguments within the U.S. congress on the previous abolition of slavery and the more recent Kyoto Protocol.  He looked at similarities between the rationals that people have had for slavery and for the emission of greenhouse gases.

"In the case of both slavery and fossil fuel use, there is and was widespread resistance to social

change, unsurprisingly in the light of the cited vested interests at stake. It existed when slavery

was abolished – in the United States sufficient to start a civil war – and it exists today with

respect to cutting consumption of fossil fuels." 

~Marc Davidson, 2008 (pg 70)

Davidson MD. Parallels in reactionary argumentation in the US congressional debates on the abolition of slavery and the Kyoto Protocol. Climatic Change 2008, 86:6782. <http://www.peakoil.nl/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/climagechangeuva.pdf>.

Montreal Protocol vs Kyoto Protocol

            The Montreal Protocol, which was originally established in 1987, was created as a result of the finding of the ozone hole over Antarctica by Rowland and Molina.  They discovered that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were the culprit of the ozone depletion.  The Montreal Protocol was to end the production of substances that deplete ozone, which included the phasing out of CFCs.  In 1990 almost all developed and developing countries came together to join the global treaty of the Montreal Protocol, known formally as the London Amendment to the Montreal Protocol.

This treaty has been very effective especially due to the fact that it has instated a ten year phase out of CFCs by developing countries, made possible through the Multilateral Fund by the developed countries with insufficient funds for transitions.  The Montreal Protocol is also trying to phase out and curb more chemicals that are depleting the ozone layer of our atmosphere.  Due to all of these enforcements of the Montreal Protocol, and the fact that it was agreed to by so many countries around the world, by 2009 CFC emissions were almost zero.  CFCs and HFCs, though they deplete the ozone, are also heat trapping pollutants.  The phasing out of these chemicals has led to a greater slowing of climate change.

On the other hand we have the Kyoto Protocol.  While the Montreal Protocol was established to phase out substances that deplete ozone, the Kyoto Protocol was set in place to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases, with the exception to ozone depleting substances.  The Kyoto Protocol, established later than the Montreal Protocol, calls for the global reduction of carbon dioxide (CO­₂) emissions, which has been heightened greatly by car exhaust throughout the years.  The reduction of CO₂ has been significantly smaller per year in comparison to how quickly CFCs were phased out.  There have been more controversies between countries, developed and developing, that has slowed the reduction of greenhouse gases.

Solomon, Susan and Chanin, Marie-Lise. 2011. The Antarctic Ozone Hole: A Unique Example of the Science and Policy Interface. Science Diplomacy. 189-195.

Doniger, David. "The world's governments saved the ozone layer. They can save the climate too. | David Doniger - China Dialogue ." China Dialogue - China and the world discuss the Environment . N.p., 11 June 2012. Web. 10 Feb. 2013. <http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/5295-The-world-s-governments-saved-the-ozone-layer-They-can-save-the-climate-too->.

Where does the money go?

http://www.kulfoto.com/funny-pictures/24839/debt-crisis-third-world-and-climate-change

The cartoon illustrates how climate change has been on the back burner in comparison to other global issues that not only affect the United States, but the Earth.  As of lately, the debt crisis has been the center of peoples’ attention, causing other issues to be ignored.

Climate Science Watch

     After looking more into Terry Root and Steve Schneider I came across this website, Climate Science Watch.  They are a nonprofit public education group and project that is said to hold officials accountable for effectively using climate research and dealing with the global climate disruption.  Their work primarily focuses on the U.S. and its national policy developments.
     Their website has categories for a multitude of links from archives of information and posts from previous months and years dating back as far as 2005, to different videos involving talks with different climate scientists such as Dr. Benjamin Santer.  There are also videos recording their participation with 350.org's Global Work Party for action on climate and another of James Hansen and Rick Piltz on CBS 60 Minutes.  On a sidebar from the main page of the site you can be directed to a list of different categories from activism, to mitigation or adaptation, to the Obama Administration and even climate science censorship.

GAP. "Climate Science Watch | Promoting integrity in the use of climate science in government." Climate Science Watch | Promoting integrity in the use of climate science in government. G.A.P. - Government Accountability Program, n.d. Web. 12 May 2013. <http://www.climatesciencewatch.org/>.