ACUPCC, UWEC, the CNT, and Me

Today, Chancellor Brian Levin-Stankevich presented on a variety of topics. Most important of these was the reasons that he signed the American College and University President's Climate Commitment (ACUPCC). The Chancellor saw that the ACUPCC's goals for sustainability coincided with university visions for the future and current initiatives already in place. Opportunities, such as the construction of a new Davies Center, the desire to decrease energy consumption, increased faculty-student collaborative research projects, and increasing awareness of the Clean Commute Initiative (CCI) were among some of the reasons that were cited this morning. Chancellor Levin-Stankevich briefly mentioned the financial aspects as well as a means to help change student, faculty, and staff behavior on the UW-Eau Claire campus.

This multi-disciplinary collaborative effort to quantify the carbon emissions from campus is a great experience. It is an opportunity for you to bring your experiences from your respective disciplines in order to tackle this relevant societal issue. Achieving carbon neutrality, as our Chancellor has pledged, is a delicate process. This was illustrated by the wide range of visitors we had today in class. Dr. Jim Boulter, Dr. Kim Pierson, Dr. Jim Phillips, and Lynn Peterson are among the dozens of people on our campus collaborating to make this happen.

With that being said, I wanted to share a bit about my experience with the Carbon Neutral Team (CNT) and our document you were handed today in class. As a member of the first team to calculate the carbon emissions inventory for our campus, I experienced first hand some of the problems and rewards that are in your future over the next fifteen weeks.

A Great Start!

Thanks to Chancellor Levin-Stankevich for spending such a generous amount of time with us at this morning's class, and for helping us see where our work fits in the bigger picture of campus life--not to mention life beyond campus.  

And thanks also to Professors Boulter, Pierson, Phillips, and to Lynn Peterson for taking the time to meet with us today!  As I'm sure you could tell, each of these persons brings enthusiasm and commitment to their work here at UW-Eau Claire.  We are very fortunate to receive the gift of their support for this semester's important work. 

Speaking of support . . . . I think a little later today you'll be seeing a post here from Robyn Fennig, CNT 2008 member and now CNT 2010's advisor/mentor.