2008 Woodie Awards
'The turf may be blue, but our campus is green,' Gardner says
JENNY MCBRIDE
News/BizTech Coordinator
Issue date: 6/18/08 Section: News
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One way Gardner contributes to making Boise State an environmentally friendly university is commuting three miles to campus on his bicycle. He does this in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that collectively make up Boise State's carbon footprint.
"Most of the things that emit green house gases are things we pay money for," Gardner said. "This includes our electricity usage, burning the natural gas that heats our buildings and water, and daily commuting by students, faculty and staff."
The Office of Energy Research, Policy and Campus Sustainability calculated that Boise State's carbon footprint is 50,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. This averages to about 2.5 MT per person annually.
"If you compare BSU's footprint to other colleges on a per capita basis, we are about one-tenth of schools like Yale and Princeton," Gardner added.
Gardner says that no other college campus has a lower per capita carbon footprint, noting that the closest college footprint to Boise State is the University of Idaho with 3.1 MT per capita.
Last summer, President Kustra asked Gardner to help position Boise State as a leader in energy research and sustainable growth and campus operations. This led to the creation of the OERPCS in the fall of 2007.
Their goal is to create a campus with an "environmentally neutral footprint" while accelerating research in sustainability.
The establishment of the OERPCS is also part of Kustra's dedication to the Presidents' Climate Commitment that he signed in 2007. In short, the agreement commits Boise State to designing and implementing a plan to become a climate neutral university within three years.
Gardner is not directly involved in campus operations, but he coordinates and sets their priorities.
Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 6
Johon Gardner
posted 6/18/08 @ 3:13 PM MST
I would like to add a clarification to the article: Boise State does not, as yet, have a specific policy to address the energy efficiency of new buildings (as implied by the article. (Continued…)
b
posted 6/20/08 @ 7:18 AM MST
Hypocrisy abounds here at BSU
Not all of BSU is green. In fact, BSU just took a huge step backwards in the green department.
I reference the newly resurfaced LA parking lot. (Continued…)
Gregg Richards
posted 6/20/08 @ 12:40 PM MST
b -
I will agree, hypocrisy happens on the Boise State campus in terms of being green (the SUB isn't a LEED building I believe plus they choose to go out vs up). (Continued…)
susan
posted 9/08/08 @ 11:41 PM MST
The major aspire of BSU is to produce the environmentally neutral foot print.
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susan
http://www.legalx.net
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