From March 5 to March 12, dorms will compete with one another to see who can reduce their energy use the most. Small dorms and large dorms will compete separately, and the winner in each category will receive free snack bar points.

On each day of the competition, all dorms will be rated by how much they have reduced their energy use from a baseline calculated during the previous week. All dorms have electricity metered, and many dorms have heat and hot water metered, so think beyond turning off lights. Total points in the competition are determined by the daily rankings, and the dorm with the most points at the end of the competition wins.

What’s really cool is all the data that is being gathered, for example: http://www.williams.edu/resources/sustainability/indiv_building/metered_building_list.php?category=dorm&data_type=sq_ft

where we can see our current energy usage. After the break are the daily and overall rankings. A current WSO post is currently discussing just how the heck Milham house cut its energy usage by 60.7%!

From: http://www.williams.edu/resources/sustainability/energy_competition/energy_competition.php

CLARKSBURG — Just two weeks after county’s newest community supported agriculture (CSA) farm made its debut at the “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” farm expo, all 30 of its available vegetable shares have been snapped up.

“We’ve sold all 30, which is great to know,” Michael Gallagher ['06], owner of Square Roots Farm said on Friday, as he gazed at the 3 1/2 acres he’s leasing from Paul and Caroline Marshall. [...]

With a CSA farm, community members purchase a share of a farm’s harvest, providing money to the farmer before the beginning of the planting season — providing the farmer with capital to purchase supplies and materials. The share holders then share in the farm’s harvest — benefiting from 20 weeks of fresh, local produce deliveries. Each week, participants will receive enough vegetables for a family of four or two vegetarians.

A 2006 Williams College graduate and Cheshire [MA] native, Gallagher was looking to start his own CSA farm when he learned about Hoosac Harvest.

“I was interested in a piece of land that Hoosac Harvest was also looking at,” he said. “I joined their e-mail list and paid attention. When they changed the type of model they were interested in starting, I applied to be their partner. I was going to do this type of farm anyway.”

Although he majored in Russian and biology at Williams and later taught high school math in the Mississippi delta, Gallagher returned home several years ago with a burgeoning interest in sustainable agriculture.

This is great stuff! And especially relevant since it is so near Williamstown.

I am impressed with the amount of helping others that Michael has done. I first met him when we both went on a Williams spring break trip to clean up from Hurricane Katrina in Biloxi, MS in 2006. After graduation, as mentioned above, Michael taught in the Mississippi Teachers Corps, a program similar to Teach for America in high-need regions of the Mississippi Delta. And now he is doing sustainable community agriculture. What an Eph.

By Meghan Foley, North Adams Transcript
WILLIAMSTOWN — Before coming to Williams College in August, Claudia Corona, of Los Angeles, took it upon herself to educate students at her high school about the importance of co-existing with the environment.

Her efforts didn’t go unnoticed, and during the spring of her senior year at the California Academy for Liberal Studies Early College High School in Los Angeles, she was nominated for an award given by the Sierra Club’s Building Bridges to the Outdoors program and the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE).

On Oct. 10, Corona received the second annual Green Youth Leader award at the 2009 NAAEE’s annual Conference in Portland, Ore….

Read the whole article.

• As previously reported on Ephblog, Mark Udall ‘73 will deliver what is certain to be a sustainability-themed Convocation address on Saturday.
• Amy Marrella ‘81 nominated as head of the Connecticut DEP.
• William Walter ‘07 hired by EarthWater Global, which locates, develops and manages large-scale, sustainable groundwater resources internationally.
• New academic buildings obtain LEED Gold certification.
• Brainerd Mears ‘43 makes major donation to fund earth sciences program at University of Wyoming.
• Blog post mentioning the Williams Campus Greens group.
• Article claiming that Newsweek’s citation of Williams as a green campus is the product of “snooty East Coast prejudices.”
• This Nature article is available only to subscribers, but according to Google News, it quotes Amy Johns, an environmental analyst at Williams.
• More info on Williams environmental initiatives can be found at the Zilkha Center website.
• Profile of Mark Tercek ‘79, CEO of the Nature Conservancy.

And tying right in with the subjects of sustainability and cost cutting, is JG’s link about the efforts of the college to accomplish both of these goals; “The Great Shutdown of ‘09″. Just goes to show, saving energy, equals energy $avings.

KERA’s (Dallas)  Krys Boyd recently interviewed tropical field biologist Meg Lowman ’76 on Boyd’s always fascinating “Think” program.

http://podcastdownload.npr.org/anon.npr-podcasts/podcast/77/510036/91173599/KERA_91173599.mp3

The interview ranges over a variety of topics, from Lowman’s creation of the first tree canopy walks (she was the force behind the one in Hopkins Memorial Forest), being an international field biologist, teaching (she is a professor at New College of Florida, where she teaches undergraduates), life as the single mother of two boys while working in the field, and women in science. More than anything, I was struck by how much her identity as a parent shapes her worldview and values. She and her sons (who are now in their early twenties, and destined for scientific careers of their own) have collaborated in writing about life growing up in a field scientist’s family.

Those of you who are at Williams for reunions can try out a canopy walk for yourselves tomorrow (assuming the rain stops):

Sat., 1:30 – 5 p.m.  Hopkins Forest: Visit the Treetops on the Canopy Walkway

The walkway is a pair of tree platforms set 70 ft. above the ground and originally used for research. Platforms are linked by a cable bridge and accessed via a wooden ladder. Participants are harnessed to safety cables, and aided by guides. Space limited; long waits possible; first come, first served; no children under 12.

(It’s safe, but a challenge if you have height anxieties. Even if you don’t ascend, it’s worth walking over to HMF just to look at the structure. There will be an open house in the forest at the same time, so you could stop in at HMF headquarters and see the museum of farm implements, buy some homemade maple syrup, and view some of the other exhibits. And if you are outdoorsy, don’t miss the bird walk and the hike, both of which are also on the main reunion schedule.)

Listening to the interview or seeing the canopy walk might interest you in reading Meg’s books for the layperson:

Life in the Treetops: Adventures of a Woman in Field Biology by Margaret D. Lowman (2000)

and

It’s a Jungle Up There: More Tales from the Treetops by Margaret D. Lowman, James Burgess, Edward Burgess, and Ghillean T. Prance (2006) (written with her sons)

Lowman has a website, canopymeg.com. Officialy, her title is Margaret D. Lowman, Ph.D., Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies and Director of Environmental Initiatives, New College of Florida, but, if one just adds “Mom,” the subtitle of her website encapsulates it rather nicely: “Author, Adventurer, Tropical Rain Forest Canopy Biologist.”  She is very much a proud product of  the  Williams Center for Environmental Studies, and the College has celebrated her accomplishments by honoring her with a Bicentennial Medal.

A little background on Focus the Nation: conceived of and promoted by Eban Goodstein ’80, this day-long symposium for global warming solutions will take place at over 1500 schools, churches and businesses across the country. Held on Jan. 31^st nationally, the eve of super Tuesday, the goal is to engage 5 million citizens in active and intelligent conversations about global warming solutions.

The classic problem in any sort of activism is that when you throw an event, only the people who are interested come. In order to address this age old problem, we’re going to the students. Starting in September, we embarked on a campaign to speak to every single faculty member individually and ask for some or all of class time on February 5^th to discuss climate change from the stance of their department. To speak to over 300 faculty is a big project, and I applaud Meredith Annex ’11 and Martin Sawyer ’08 who have coordinated those efforts.

Its paying off. Currently over 60 faculty will use between 5 minutes and all of their class time to talk about where their passion for a better world intersects with their discipline and subject matter. And more new commitments are coming in every day. We’ve actually been surprised at how many faculty are genuinely eager to participate in an event that addresses a big issue and uses their particular strengths. Maybe it’s not that surprising after all.

With so much faculty involvement, the next step is to hold big, flashy events to bring the campus together. The first will be a town-hall style forum to discuss the college’s commitments and challenges in becoming truly sustainable. President Schapiro and members of senior staff will have a conversation with students about light bulbs, solar panels, the new library and Paresky hours. Later in the evening, for our key note address, Christopher Flavin ’77 will discuss the climate of hope and the path to a low carbon economy.

In addition, throughout the day, several panel discussions will hit on issues such as environmental justice, the growing grassroots youth movement, marketing, insurance, Williamstown and college architecture.

In short, we’re throwing a huge event. We’re taking a big risk, and trying out methods of organizing ourselves and teambuilding that are more ambitious than most groups ever attempt. After all, we’re students; we can take big risks because we don’t have that much to lose, but everything to gain. An event of this size requires coordination of a lot of administrators’ time, faculty time, and the resources of two departments (environmental studies and the Zilkha center) as well as lots of support from the president’s office.

Is it worth all this effort? Putting so much time into bringing people to talk together? Yes. Global warming is not a single problem and it will not be solved with a single solution. It will take collaboration and the sharing of resources among people with different strengths and interests, and it will provide opportunities for those who have visions of a better world to find each other, grow that vision and start building it.

For more information, see our current schedule here: (note: the williams.edu schedule is out of date, it should be fixed soon.)

But more to the point, did you know the stadium was built with an on-site wastewater treatment facility? And even more to the point, were you aware that the Patriots recently agreed to purchase 2,400 megawatt hours of offsets to match their gameday electricity consumption? Well, that’s kind of the point. And, obviously, there are Eph footprints all over this bad boy, starting with Jonathan Kraft ‘86.

But today, the Kraft Group will announce that Midwestern wind will fuel the Gillette Stadium lighthouse, the 612 blazing light bulbs shining down on the field, the scoreboards, and more than 40 concession stands that are juiced with enough power during each game to run 2,269 households for a day. …

“Obviously, energy is vital to our game-day operations and we have made substantial efforts to enhance our energy efficiency,” the Patriots’ president, Jonathan Kraft, said in a statement.

“This not only reduces our carbon footprint, but could help build awareness that other organizations have an opportunity to make a similar choice for the environment.”

The renewable energy credits will be purchased from Constellation NewEnergy, a subsidiary of the Mayo Shattuck ‘76-helmed Constellation Energy, as part of an extant power agreement between the Pats and their energy supplier.

There are, naturally, a few doubters.

The idea of buying certificates to offset pollution has its critics, who say some companies may “greenwash” without making substantive changes.

“People have made the comparison to Catholic indulgences – we’ll continue to sin, but look, we’ll send this to the Church,” said David Chernushenko, author of the book “Greening our Games.”

Previous EphBlog discussion on this topic here.

The Krafts have obviously been into the green-conscious thing for a while, so as much as I’d like to claim they’re simply looking for a much-needed PR boost here, that doesn’t really hold water. But the good press doesn’t hurt, huh? And, indeed, it’s part of the stated rationale for the transaction.

“We have been incredibly proud to serve the New England Patriots since 2003, and now we are pleased to support their sustainable environmental practices by securing clean, renewable energy sources to match the electricity usage for home games throughout the season,” said Michael Kagan, president, Constellation NewEnergy. “Given the national prominence of the Patriots, this significant action sets a terrific example for other companies and businesses preparing to introduce renewable energy into their portfolio as part of an overall strategy to address climate change.”

Now, I tend to think Kagan has a point here. The Pats’ appeal (and, perhaps, their influence) cuts across all sorts of social and economic lines, and as a a result, their green example might just carry more weight with the average consumer than would such a move from the average business. Depending on how much overlap one believes there is between the pro-wind power crowd and the pro-Randy Moss contingent, the Krafts are quite possibly helping to expand the roster of environmentally conscious citizens.

13 Williams students traveled to DC this weekend for the first ever national youth climate conference, Power Shift 2007, put on by the Energy Action Coalition. Organized by TNG, this trip was planned simultaneously with the Step it Up events right here in Williamstown. Driving two college Prius (priui?), we learned valuable organizing skills, heard diverse perspectives on how to build a clean and just future, and gained a sense of the movement.

The conference attracted 6000 youth from all 50 states, as well as tv cameras, newspapers, influential leaders and the speaker of the house, Nancy Pelosi. In her speech to the assembled students she linked global warming to the war in Iraq, saying we need to fix both simultaneously. Some of her comments were met with boos from the a crowd clearly disappointed with how she has failed to get our troops out. Her prescriptions for climate change solutions were met with fiery chants and calls for ‘more, more, more’. She seemed very surprised at the intensity, and it was clear she did not fully capture the audience the way more passionate speakers like Ed Markey, chair of The Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming.

The highlight for me was lobbying Congress. We took the capitol by storm, meeting in groups of 90 or more to speak with one informed and unified voice to legislative aides and congresspeople about what we, their constituents, need to see for global warming solutions. There were a lot of us, and several aides commented that nothing like this had happened before. They’re right, it hasn’t happened for a long time.

Lastly, we came away with a clearer sense of a movement. We are a force for change, and we can see how this movement can grow larger and larger until we get what we need. In fact, we see this as the very essence of our power, that we are in this for the long haul, that we will not stop until we win.

We are not waiting for our leaders, but putting our own sweat and blood into our work. College students spending 40 hours a week on organizing and only 20 on class. High school students taking time off before college. Graduates opting for the exciting, difficult and low-paying work of grassroots organizations. All because we know that it works, we know that despite how many people try and tell us otherwise, people have a voice in how their government runs and how their society is structured.

There are two kinds of power in this world: people and money. Our world is very good at organizing large amounts of money for a particular purpose, but we’re just figuring out (at least for this generation) how to organize large numbers of people. But we’re going to learn fast.

It looks like the Thursday Night Group just got a corresponding official within the college.

Read the whole letter at the link below.

To the Williams Community,

I am very pleased to announce the next important step in our effort to
make College operations environmentally sustainable-the launching of a
center to lead those initiatives, funded by a wonderfully generous gift of
$5 million from Selim Zilkha, Class of 1946.

The Zilkha Center for Environmental Initiatives will work with students,
faculty, and staff to incorporate principles of sustainability into the
fabric of campus life-in learning, in our purchasing and operations, in
capital projects, and in the daily routines of us all. It will lead the
development and management of a strategic plan for sustainability to
include energy management and greenhouse gas emissions reductions, waste
management, environment-friendly development and purchasing, and student
involvement and education. This work will complement the already strong
academic programs of our longstanding Center for Environmental Studies.

The Zilkha Center will be housed on the first floor of Hopkins Hall, as
part of the Office of the Vice President for Operations. It will be led
by a full-time staff person, reporting to Vice President Steve Klass. A
national search for the position will begin as soon as we can form a
broadly representative search committee.

Achieving our Board-approved goal of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions
by 2020 to ten percent below their 1990-91 levels will require creative
and bold initiatives that call on investments of College time, money, and
intellectual efforts. I’m encouraged by the commitment to these efforts
shown already by so many in the Williams community and by this magnificent
gift.

Selim Zilkha has already proven himself to be an international leader in
the environmental movement. He and his son Michael have pioneered the
application of new technology to the energy industry, first with oil, then
wind, and now biomass.

Asked about his motivation for the gift, he replied: “I went back to
Williams for my 60th reunion, the first one I attended. I was really
impressed and decided to do something for the College. Because of my
experience in energy, most recently renewable energy, making Williams a
more energy efficient and environmentally sensitive campus was a natural
fit. It’s my hope that Williams will become a leader in this field, and
that future graduates will benefit.”

Our great thanks go to him and to all in the Williams community who have
brought us to this point-a new chapter in the history of our College
operations. We shall do all that we can to honor those efforts and the
lofty intent of this thoughtful and timely gift.

Best regards,

M. Schapiro

Why is our group so energized this year, and where is all of this going to lead?

1. The college has made a commitment which is starting to filter down through all levels of our community. My econ professor uses climate change regularly as an example of a market externality. The Bell Book was revised, telling all frosh to bring CFLs and not fridges. Security purchased a hybrid patrol vehicle, which uses 1/2 the gas of the other cars, even though its a Highlander. Thanks in part to the dedicated efforts of Karen Merrill, Stephanie Boyd and Steve Klass, change is happening.

2. A national movement is building. Led by amazing organizations like the Energy Action Coalition (link) and dedicated student leaders across the country, the tide is riding high for innovative grassroots activists. The science is getting clearer, the media are coming around and even white house science advisers admit the future looks hotter (link).

3. An amazing team of student leaders are starting to figure out what makes a good group work. Previous environmental efforts have focused on raising awareness, increasing recycling, inviting speakers to campus and talking about solutions. We acknowledge the importance of such activities, but point out that this approach lacks some key elements. It doesn’t use people’s strengths. Williams students are ambitious and talented people who are capable of very hard work and high quality output. We put people to work. Success leads to more success. TNG achieves results which are meaningful, sometimes tangible, and exciting. The climate action plan predates TNG, but with the recent combination of TNG and Greensense into one, we count that. Lightbulbs might not be as important as trustees private jets, but they are extremely tangible, give us facetime with lots of people and involve students directly in solutions. These things build the group. We take projects seriously and hold people accountable for their responsibilities. In my mind there shouldn’t be too many differences between a well run corporation and well run activist group.

Our group philosophy is to constantly increase the size, depth and capacity of our group, by running successful and meaningful campaigns. I think its working.

Where are we now? Perhaps I should start with a few thoughts on what kinds of global warming solutions we’re talking about. I highly recommend this short movie on the NH climate campaign I helped organize this summer. In it, if you’re too lazy to watch it, Bill McKibbon says the top three things an ordinary citizen can do to fight climate change are organize politically, organize politically and organize politically. Then you can get around to changing some lightbulbs. Climate solutions are not going to work if they are isolated to the richest 20% of our country. An economy/society/country that is 20% sustainable is always going to be unsustainable. National, mandatory emissions reductions are required, and I can tell you exactly when we’ll get those: right after 1/20/2009. But only if we can show (and we will) that the people of this country demand a government that looks out for the wellbeing of its citizens and a market that can internalize its externalities (link)

How do we get there? We build a citizen movement. The college is playing its part (with much room for improvement) by setting an example or at least matching its peer institutions commitments. Consumers are helping a little by buying ‘green’. The big action is being done by students and active citizens. A North Adams hearing on Senator Pacheco’s global warming legislation (co-organized by TNG), the March to ReEnergize NH and Iowa, Step it UP 2007, Powershift and Focus the Nation (headed by an alumn) are where the real pressure is being placed.

Thursday Night Group is building capacity to make political change. Does Do it in the Dark bring in new leaders, increase our prestige, attract recruits and reward our group for succeeding? Yes. Does visiting area high schools give Williams students a chance to connect with passionate high schoolers, increasing their confidence and investment in our movement? Yes, and it has inspired dozens of high school activists to boot. Is fighting a campaign to reduce trustee flying, which would take elusive targets, be invisible to most of the student body and likely have marginal to partial success be a strategic allocation of our group’s resources? Right now, I say no. It is an excellent task for a pundit, and an excellent point to remind us of, but the outrages of David Kane would be a poor meter for writing our campaign goals. That being said, keep hounding the administration. (I’m willing to bet he has more alumni connections than me – I challenge him to reduce trustee flying.) All I’m trying to explain here is why we don’t jump on every egregious carbon violation in sight.

We will strive to choose campaigns that have the highest combination of organization building, carbon reduction and political impact. I intend to keep ephblog, and certainly Greener Eph readers updated on what those are and how they’re going. Suggestions are welcome, help is even more welcome, constructive criticism is highly encouraged, and good publicity is kinda nice too.

My complaint is not so much that the science of global warming is oversold or that the College has as much (or as little) responsibility toward climate change as it does to other issues (say, malaria). The issue is the rampant hypocrisy which pervades the Williams community. If the College were really concerned about carbon emissions, the faculty offices in the new Stetson would not be huge (300 square feet). Previous discussion here.

Also, stuff like this is absurd.

Amy Johns, environmental analyst at the Center for Environmental Studies, has been crunching the numbers to determine the environmental impact of travel by families and friends to attend Commencement ceremonies.

“A rough estimate of CO2 associated with running the campus for Commencement is 118 tons,” Johns said. “The estimated impact of family and guests’ air travel is about 650 tons and car travel about 50 tons.”

“One way for the college to promote sustainability is through the purchase of carbon offsets for the energy expended in running the campus during, and for family and guests’ travel to, Commencement,” said Boyd.

The college will purchase approximately $8,600 worth of offsets from Owl Feather War Bonnet Wind Farm, a 30 megawatt wind farm being developed by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota and from the Wanner Family Dairy Farm Methane Project in Narvon, PA. The anaerobic methane digester on the dairy farm is estimated to produce approximately 2,000 kWh of electricity a day.

Alas, time constraints prevent me from investigating these offsets (see the original article for links) but 95% of this stuff is bunk. At least, that is what my smart left-wing sources tell me.

Carbon offsets are the modern day indulgences, sold to an increasingly carbon conscious public to absolve their climate sins. Scratch the surface, however, and a disturbing picture emerges, where creative accountancy and elaborate shell games cover up the impossibility of verifying genuine climate change benefits, and where communities in the South often have little choice as offset projects are inflicted on them.

This report argues that offsets place disproportionate emphasis on individual lifestyles and carbon footprints, distracting attention from the wider, systemic changes and collective political action that needs to be taken to tackle climate change. Promoting more effective and empowering approaches involves moving away from the marketing gimmicks, celebrity endorsements, technological quick fixes, and the North/South exploitation that the carbon offsets industry embodies.

Think that sending money Owl Feather War Bonnet Wind Farm — I swear, I am not making that name up! — helps the environment? Educate yourself. Read the report. Anyone know anything about the two projects that the College just sent your alumni donations to? Interested readers would like to know.

If the College were serious about this topic, it wouldn’t have 1/3 of the meetings of the Executive Committee of the Society of Alumni in locations like Portland. Think of the carbon that this sort of air-travel generates! Two years ago, everyone went on a fun junket to London. Cry for Mother Gaiea!

Now, my position is that global warming is neither certain nor necessarily harmful, but I have been having that fight with fellow Ephs for two decades. Maybe my opponents will be right someday! Stopped calendars and whatnot. In the meantime, the College should not involve itself in partisan disputes outside of its core mission.

Mark is currently touring the country with Guster. The Campus Consciousnes tour will be stopping in the purple valley this Thursday. Members of the band will be at a town hall forum at 2:30 in Brooks-Rogers before the concert to talk about environmental consciousness and giving out backstage passes for the show.

Why do I keep harping on this? Partly it is my natural curmudgeonliness. But accurately measuring the carbon impact of everything that Williams does will highlight, I predict, the hollowness of the moral smirking that seems to drive so much of the discussion. (Consider this discussion of hybrid cars.) Good-hearted students like Morgan Goodwin ‘08 deserve all the facts, not just a collection of smiling faces and Earth Day letters from the college bureaucracy.

UPDATE: Morgan’s year of graduation corrected. I had a great phone conversation with Stephanie Boyd about the College’s goals, the difficulties of accurately measuring something like the carbon impact of Stetson/Sawyer and the importance of involving students in the gritty details of policy. Boyd would make a great guest for Nathan Friend ‘07 on The Hour.

No word on whether Morty will be driving his hummer to the meeting.

This week is Williams Week of Climate Action. Students have been working hard to raise awareness about sustainability at Williams through lots of events, art and information. This eight foot tall cut out of Morty holding up the globe is now prominently displayed in Goodrich hall. Tomorrow students will unveil a giant CFL lightbulb made entirely from the incandescent bulbs that have been exchanged so far. This sculpture will be placed on Baxter lawn, weather permitting.

Yesterday the “Amherst Blows Greenhouse Gases” T-shirts debuted, for sale at $10 each. They are available in the dining halls.

Thursday Night Group members are tabling there and in the dining halls all week asking students to sign The POWER Pledge. The Pledge states that the student will turn off their devices when not in use, and each signatory then gets a flourescent sticker on their door that lets their neighbors and friends know that saving energy is something everyone cares about. We’ve collected about 600 signatures so far, and hoping for 1000.

Other events this week include a ‘taste test’ where you can compare CFL to incandescent bulbs in Goodrich, Schow and Sawyer. Last night there was a very well attended unplugged music concert in Dodd living room. On Monday, two students ran into each of the dining halls, dressed as a coal plant and a wind turbine respectively. They shouted at each other, got in a fight, and the coal plant lost while the diners watched with surprised looks on their faces.

When Morty emailed the campus about the new sustainability initiative, the overwhelming response was, “what does that mean?” Our goal with this week of action is to let people know what that means for Williams and what their part in all this is.

Calculations by the Climate Action Committee outline the stratagies for reducing carbon emissions by about 50% over the next 13 years. About 1/4 of that saving is projected to be in individual conservation. See here: link

The front page of the same paper also includes a hilarious little refer to an op-ed column about the Middle East by a Columbia freshman. How do they tease the piece? “Staff writer Jordan Hirsch explains why Israel is not the bloodthirsty mess some think it to be.” Outstanding!

The second item was the release of the College Sustainability Report Card. The Report Card examines and grades 100 schools across the United States and Canada on criteria including climate change policies, green building, and investment practices. It was produced by the Sustainable Endowments Initiative which is run by Mark Orlowski ‘04. I’m not sure if his connection to Williams swayed his organization’s report, but Williams was one of only 4 schools to recieve an A-, the highest grade awarded. More can be found and the full report can be downlaoded here or here

Justin Bates, ‘07 starts his talk on Global Warming in the Berkshires at Mt. Greylock High School

Thursday marked the second day of the Williams regional outreach program. Five Ephs spoke to six periods of classes and one period of lunch at Mt. Greylock High School, reaching about 250 students and inspiring the creation of an environmental club at the school. The talk was based on the slide show developed over our Winter Study class on student activism with professor Singham. The show is intended to bring up some scary and local possible effects of climate change and then turn the focus to the student climate action movement. The goal is to inspire students to become leader and motivate their schools and communities to reduce energy use, seek alternative energy sources and raise awareness on the issue.

Thursday marked the second day of the Williams regional outreach program. Five Ephs spoke to six periods of classes and one period of lunch at Mt. Greylock High School, reaching about 250 students and inspiring the creation of an environmental club at the school. The talk was based on the slide show developed over our Winter Study class on student activism with professor Singham. The show is intended to bring up some scary and local possible effects of climate change and then turn the focus to the student climate action movement. The goal is to inspire students to become leader and motivate their schools and communities to reduce energy use, seek alternative energy sources and raise awareness on the issue.

When we arrived at the school, we had contact with a few teachers through email and a presentation that none of them had seen. By the time we left, the students had already created an environmental club, had their first important discussions on what they wanted to work on and we had over 30 email addresses to add to our contact lists.

The class periods before lunch were led by Williams students giving the slide show presentation for the first time, offering them a valuable, ‘trial by fire’ learning experience into speaking to groups of students in an engaging manner. The following lunch discussion involved 10 students who were interested learning whether it was possible to motivate students, even Mt. Greylock students, to act on climate change. We assured these potential leaders that a very wide range of people can become invested in climate change, but they must be approached on their own terms. Not everyone will come to a meeting and table to get signatures on a petition. Rather, students interested in engineering should be engaged in installing solar panels or producing bio-diesel and students who have more talent at art or theatre can use their skills to raise awareness and reach people in a different way.

In talking to this group of students I sensed it was very important to emphasize the group aspect of climate action, and really activism in general. Acting as individuals can be extremely frustrating, and pleas to the student body as a whole are rarely effective (if only everyone did this one small thing, then…). Instead, cultivating a group with a strong sense of membership and momentum, while being inclusive and fun is the best way to expand the scope and effectiveness of student actions.

By the time we left after the last bell our table at the front was crowded by dozens of students signing up their email address and asking lots of good questions. Maybe the most rewarding part for me was giving away the last two DO IT IN THE DARK stickers. We had given them out as prizes for answering questions correctly throughout the day and they were a hot item, probably because of their scandalous nature. I thought the best way to give them out was based on a quick question: “Who is going to do the best climate action in the next month?” People’s hands jumped up to say things like “convince my family to switch to CFL bulbs”, “write a letter to the editor of the newspaper”, and “sign my school up for Focus the Nation.” I couldn’t have been more pleased by the energy.

The Solar Panels on the science center roof are touted by the Williams sustainability website as part of our source of energy at the college. If you follow the link and compare these panels to other institutions in the regions, you see they are actually pitiful (keeping mind the relative size of the other institutions). I know homeowners who have installed 5kw displays, which gives them an annual net electricity bill of $0. Should we be ashamed of boasting of such a small array?

Like many possible improvements to the college, the time of payback is long (10-20 years) and variable based on energy rates. You may correctly argue that it makes little sense for the college to increase its solar area. But at the end of this month Williams will announce an institutional commitment to reduce our carbon emissions (including that from electricity generated off-site), and solar panels will be part of the solution. I don’t know how much of the solution for Williams will be solar. But I do know that traditional arguments against solar, such as saying it doesn’t advance the interests of the college, will no longer be valid.