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ACUPCC Signatories, American University and George Washington University Join Together for Largest Solar Power Purchase

July 17, 2014

by Janna Cohen-Rosenthal

Shifting power supply to renewable energy is a crucial strategy towards achieving climate neutrality. Generating significant quantities of renewable energy on a campus may not be feasible, especially in urban settings. Supporting offsite projects is an effective, but less common, solution. It is exciting to see the Washington DC-based schools and ACUPCC signatories, American University (AU) and George Washington University (GW) take leadership and support a large offsite solar energy project. The institutions joined together with George Washington University Hospital to form The Capital Partners Solar Project, which was announced early this summer.

The project will be the largest non-utility solar photovoltaic power purchase agreement in the United States in total megawatt hours contracted. It is being constructed by Duke Energy Renewables on land in North Carolina. Once completed in 2015, the solar panels will generate 123 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity per year, estimated to be the equivalent of powering 8,200 homes.

 

Farewell and Thanks to Sarah and Ashka

January 31, 2014
Last week at Second Nature, it was with mixed emotions that we said goodbye to two of our most valued colleagues. We are sad at their departure and at the same time we are thrilled for them as they move onto exciting new opportunities. We wanted to take a moment to highlight their critical contributions to Second Nature over the years, and publicly wish them well!  
 

Polar Vortex, Warming Paradox

January 7, 2014

By Dr. Anne Waple, Director of Communication and Science at Second Nature

If you're among the 200 million Americans who have been experiencing our recent, let's just say, chilly conditions, then you might be wondering if global warming has suddenly come to a screeching halt. Well, it turns out that far from being an indicator of a slow-down in global climate change, it's one more piece of evidence for increasing climate instability as a result of human-induced warming.

Linked to a decrease in sea ice extent and increased warming in the Arctic, the recent intrusion of very cold air into the continental U.S. is a result of the polar vortex weakening and allowing Arctic air to flow south. The polar vortex is the circulation pattern that typically fences cold air into the Arctic.  Below are several excellent descriptions of this phenomenon and its link to a warming planet.

While this recent event is not record-breaking for most of us and will be thankfully short-lived, it has caused significant impacts across much of the country, closing schools and businesses, shutting down transportation, interrupting power for some residents, and prompting emergency declarations in several cities and communities. 

A Few Explanations from Weather and Climate Experts:

Andrew Freedman at Climate Central

Union of Concerned Scientists

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UC Irvine Earns California's Highest Environmental Honor

December 17, 2013

ACUPCC Signatory, University of California Irvine, has earned California’s highest environmental honor, the Governor’s Environmental & Economic Leadership Award for its Smart Labs program. UC Irvine is committed to Governor Brown's plan to reduce California's carbon footprint and to the University of California's commitment to reach carbon neutrality by 2025, as recently announced by UC's new President, Janet Napolitano. Through UC Irvine’s “deep energy efficiency” program (their term for energy efficiency retrofit projects with associated significant energy savings) they are determined to demonstrate that efficiency can provide a major fraction of needed carbon abatement -- feasibly, quickly, and cost-effectively. The Irvine campus is now 

approaching a 50 percent overall reduction in energy intensity achieved through a comprehensive program of deep energy efficiency, as a result of their “Smart Labs” program. Only a few years ago, no one believed that efficiency improvements and retrofits would yield a major percentage of needed carbon abatement, because the efficiency gains of new technologies - particularly sensors, digital controls, and software – were underestimated. All of those are key elements in UCI's comprehensive “Smart Labs” retrofit program. 

Learn more about the award

President Napolitano announcement

November 18, 2013

On Wednesday November 13th, the President Napolitano of the University of California, seal of the University of Californiaannounced her intent to bring the University to net energy neutrality by 2025. This bold plan builds on the reduction in carbon emissions that all campuses of the UC system have made as signatories to the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) and demonstrates the true transformation that can result from higher education leadership. At Second Nature, we are looking forward to continuing to work with the campuses of the University and President Napolitano’s chancellors and staff as they implement this inspiring initiative. The full text of President Napolitano’s remarks can be found here: http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/30336

Colby College, ACUPCC Signatory, is Carbon Neutral

April 5, 2013
Completion of a biomass plant in 2012 allowed Colby to switch to low-grade wood as its primary fuel, saving close to 1 million gallons of oil per year.

"Colby is the fourth signatory of the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment to achieve carbon neutrality and the largest institution to reach that goal to date," said David Hales, president of Second Nature, the support organization of the ACUPCC. "Colby's achievement is particularly significant; they have followed both the spirit and letter of the commitment to insure that their net contribution to atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases is zero, while setting a practical example of sustainability in every aspect of their institutional life."

Read the full news release, and learn more about how Colby achieved this milestone.

Tompkins County Climate Protection Initiative – October-November 2012

November 22, 2012

By Peter Bardaglio, Senior Fellow, Second Nature

Welcome to the October-November 2012 issue of the TCCPI Newsletter, an electronic update from the Tompkins County Climate Protection Initiative (TCCPI).

Photo Credit: Wrexie Bardaglio

Student Divestment Movement at Cornell and IC Heats Up

By K.C. Alvey, TCCPI Assistant Coordinator and 350.0rg Field Organizer

As part of a national 20-city tour called “Do the Math,” Bill McKibben, Naomi Klein, and other well-known speakers have hit the road this fall to call attention to what McKibben calls ”Global Warming’s Terrifying New Math.” As McKibben wrote in his now famous Rolling Stone article this past July, the fossil fuel industry currently has 2,795 gigatons of carbon in proven coal, oil, and gas reserves, five times more than the maximum 565 gigatons the world can emit and keep warming below 2°C, a target scientists widely agree is necessary to prevent runaway climate change.

Cornell students call on the university to divest from fossil fuels.
Photo Credit: K.C. Alvey

In the lead-up to “Do the Math,” students across the country launched fossil fuel divestment campaigns at over 30 college campuses, taking campus sustainability to the next level. Here

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From the Archives: Second Nature's 1998 Website

July 31, 2012

by Rima Mulla, Communications Manager, Second Nature

Found, in the Second Nature archives, evidence that our organizational website once reflected the critical and pivotal nature of our work:

Vice President Gore on the 1998 Second Nature Website

Vice President Al Gore loved it…in 1998.

Vote daily for Second Nature in the Carrots for a Cause contest.
Multiply your vote by recruiting colleagues and friends to support us.

We really need to bring our website up to 2012 standards. Thank you!

A Small Deed with Big Impact: Vote for Second Nature

July 19, 2012

by Rima Mulla, Communications Manager, Second Nature

If I had a wishlist of things I’d like to accomplish in my role at Second Nature, an update of the organization’s website would be # 1 on that list. The ACUPCC’s website is in pretty good shape — always room for improvement, of course, but the mission of the initiative is clear and resources for signatories are well-organized and accessible. We even do a pretty good job of keeping information up-to-date onCampus Green Builder, a web portal aimed at under-resourced schools for which the initial funding ended over a year ago.

But when it comes to Second Nature’s website, it’s a classic case of the cobbler’s children having no shoes.

Vote for Second Nature - Carrots for a CauseThat’s why we entered this year’s Carrots for a Cause website redesign contest by local Boston design firm, Jackrabbit(Voting has begun and continues through August 12. Votesmay be cast once a day, every day!)

2012 Climate Leadership Award Winners

May 11, 2012

2012 CLA winner badge2012 Second Nature Climate Leadership Awards

Recognizing Innovation and Excellence in Climate Leadership at Signatory Institutions of the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment

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Recipients of the Third Annual Second Nature Climate Leadership Awards were recognized for their efforts during an awards ceremony at  the ACUPCC Climate Leadership Summit in Washington, DC on June 21st. This year’s Climate Leadership Awards were created, designed, and fabricated by students from Pratt Institute’sCenter for Sustainable Design Studies (CSDS). The awards were created using reclaimed redwood from New York City water towers. The surface of the wood was beautifully and uniformly weathered, and each award included a distinctive waterline running through the grain of each piece, providing a unique and one of a kind finish. The students felt that the material and finished product honored the intent of the awards by illustrating the unique and innovative strategies the recipients are taking to work toward climate neutrality.

Top Votes for William Paterson University of New Jersey's Innovative Video

April 20, 2012

After more than 14,000 votes were cast during the Planet Forward video competition this month (on videos created by the 2012 Second Nature Climate Leadership Award Finalists), Planet Forward announced the top vote-getter this week: William Paterson University of New Jersey!

William Paterson University Video Link

Watch the video at planetforward.org

William Paterson University was honored at the George Washington University Moving the Planet Forward Innovation Summit on Tuesday, April 17th, and will be featured in continued publicity with Planet Forward.

All 20 finalists are under consideration for a 2012 Climate Leadership Award. The winners will be chosen by the Second Nature Board, and honored at the Climate Leadership Summit at American University, June 21-22nd. Look for the announcement of this year’s Award Winners soon!

The top vote-getters for videos in each Carnegie Classification produced incredible videos  documenting their climate innovation:

Advancing Higher Education: ACUPCC Institutions Lead Sustainability and Climate Progress

April 17, 2012

The American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) is celebrating five years of higher education’s leadership on the critical issues of our time, with new data from signatories’ public reports showing unprecedented success and innovation in renewable energy, curriculum, energy efficiency, green building, and financial savings. 202 institutions have submitted Progress Reports on their implementation of the commitment in the first five years, showing the following results, which are indicative of progress throughout the network.  While reports are still coming in and numbers are subject to change, preliminary analysis of the latest data shows:

New Features on the ACUPCC Website

January 6, 2012

Happy New Year! We’re thrilled to kick off 2012 with the newly redesignedResources & Support section of the ACUPCC website. Watch the video below for a quick tour, then visit the website to browse the resources in a new, user-friendly way.

ACUPCC resources are always free for signatories of the commitment.

Send your feedback, suggestions, and comments to rmulla@secondnature.org.

NRDC: Higher Education Paves a Way Forward on Climate Change

December 7, 2011

Reposted from Switchboard: The National Resource Defense Council Staff Blog.
By Kelly Henderson, Climate Center Program Assistant, NRDC

These days, it’s tough to be an environmentalist on the national level. The current “Right-heavy” House pays little to no attention to the health impacts related to air pollution and is too focused on tying EPA’s hands when it comes to regulating toxics and other air pollutants from prominent sources such as power plants. Those Representatives mindlessly claim that supporting the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would kill jobs and cause further harm to an already weakened economy – parroting unproven rhetoric. If you do much of any related reading, you’d know they’re wrong. As a youth advocate for living sustainably and helping to curb the effects of climate change, it can be an especially frustrating and challenging situation as you may feel your voice is not being heard on the Hill. Many students and members of the millennial generation are facing this challenge every day.

Heartland Community College hosts 6th Annual Sustainable Universities and Colleges Symposium

November 21, 2011

Governor Quinn’s GGCC Sustainable Universities and Colleges SymposiumBy Adrienne LaBranche Tucker, Ph.D., Associate Director of The Green Institute @ Heartland Community College

On October 28thHeartland Community College in Normal, IL hosted the 6thannual Governor Quinn’s Green Government Coordinating Council Sustainable Universities and Colleges Symposium. Around 350 attendees from all across Illinois joined in a day of higher education sustainability best practice sharing.  The day’s activities started with presentations from Heartland Community College’s President, Dr. Alan Goben, the Town of Normal Mayor, Chris Koos, the Executive Director of the Illinois Green Economy Network, Julie Elzanati, and of course Governor Pat Quinn.

Speakers, workshops, and panel discussions covered topics such as sustainable renovation and construction, energy efficiency, renewable energy, conservation, environmental education and service learning, water and waste reduction, student engagement in greening the campus, applications of benchmarking and reporting tools like the Illinois Campus Sustainability Compact, STARS, ACUPCC and more.

New Report Finds Higher Education Has Critical Role in Adapting to Changing Climate

November 8, 2011

Human society is facing an unprecedented rate of change due to a very rapidly shifting climate.  This is resulting in already-documented vulnerabilities to human communities,” said Dr. David A. Caruso, President of Antioch University New England.  ”As this report makes clear, higher education institutions are well-positioned and ready to leverage the best of our faculty and students to empower people to rapidly respond, in effective, just and transparent ways, to a changing world.

Read the news release about the report, learn about the committee responsible for authoring it, or download the PDF.

Second Nature, the lead supporting organization of the ACUPCC, and Clean Air – Cool Planet administered the committee and supported the development of the report.

University of Maine Recognized for Climate Leadership

June 23, 2011

The University of Maine receivesSecond Nature’s 2nd Annual Climate Leadership Award for Climate Leadership. Award recipients were recognized at the 5th Annual American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) Summit in Washington, DC on June 23rd, hosted by George Washington University.

President Robert Kennedy, Vice President for Administration and Finance Janet Waldron, and Executive Director of Facilities and Planning Elaine Clark – along with faculty, staff, and students – are all active participants in the University of Maine Sustainability Alliance, which has been responsible for the development of the university’s climate action plan. The office of the Vice President for Administration and Finance also coordinated the creation of the award-winning and sustainability-focused campus master plan. UMaine’s senior administration is currently working to harmonize the implementation of these two plans and to create an overarching sustainability plan to guide university decision-making and development.

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