Student’s Perspective on Climate Commitment

My name is Betsy Lopez and I am a junior majoring in Environmental Studies here at Tulane. I am the student representative for Environmental Studies on President Cowen’s Climate Commitment Advisory Committee. Through my studies at Tulane I have learned the increasing importance of changing the way we consume energy. Energy efficient technology not only helps the environment but it should also lower the price of our energy bill. I am interested in seeing this concept in action by the remodeling of Dinwidie as a LEED certified building.
Since my freshmen year at Tulane, I have seen many changes around campus. I was here for the opening of the LBC and even took a tour where the environmentally friendly aspects of the building were explained. I have also seen the implementation of fluorescent lights in many dorm rooms and classrooms. Being a curious person, I have wondered how “green” are these changes and how “green” is our campus? Through this committee, I believe there will be positive answers as to how to better our campus in this world of climate change. The committee is composed of faculty, students, and staff from different departments. This allows for diverse information that can be combined to better our campus.
I have enjoyed being a part of this committee. I am very optimistic about the changes that are going to take place on campus. My hope is to see Tulane as one of the premiere environmentally responsible campuses in the nation that other universities will aspire to emulate.

Climate Commitment Advisory Committee Meetings

The Climate Commitment Advisory Committee has met twice since President Cowen signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment in March. For anyone interested in tracking the commitee's progress, meeting minutes and other documents will be uploaded on this site as they become available.

Welcome

Climate change may be one of the most significant issues that the current generation of students will face in their lifetimes and universities are in a unique position to provide leadership for long-term energy security and climate change mitigation. We train future leaders, conduct research, and have the capacity to lead by example in our communities.

Tulane has risen to this challenge and will make the topic of Global Change a university priority. The first step has already been taken: President Cowen has committed the university to move towards climate neutrality and to make climate change a priority by signing the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment. A Climate Commitment Advisory Committee comprised of faculty, staff, and students from across the University has been tasked with calculating our greenhouse gas emissions and creating a plan to become climate neutral.

The Committee will use this blog to share their progress with the University community. Guest authors will also be invited to share their research and ideas here to foster discussion. We encourage Tulanians to participate in the climate action planning. If you have an idea that could help Tulane reach climate neutrality, please email the committee or share them in the comments here.

By involving every student in this commitment through our campus life and practices, Tulane's vision is to help our city and region become sustainable, and send students out into the world with a better understanding of how to make their communities prosperous, forward thinking, and resilient.