Campus goslings

Photo by the talented John Kniering of our Uhart goslings on an adventure.

The Island President: THIS Wednesday followed by Conversation on Climate

The Island President at the University of Hartford

Mark your calendars-- we'll be screening the documentary about climate change in the Maldives The Island President 

April 17th at 7PM in the Shaw Center Regents Common (this is within Hillyer Hall).

For building location see this map (Hillyer Hall is building 20)

After the film, we'll host a conversation about Climate.

At 9pm EST, we will begin our live, interactive national conversation.

The highlight of our National Conversation is the opportunity for you and your audience to ask our panelists questions live – and you can do it from your seat in auditoriums across the nation!  This is your chance – contribute your voice in real-time and help make this a truly interactive event! During the broadcast, Tweet, Facebook, Email, or comment live on our YouTube page – you can even text us! Share the question methods below with your audience prior to the broadcast – we’ll pick the best questions coming in from across the country to ask. Q&A will begin at approximately 9:40pm EST and last for 20 minutes. Make sure to include your name and location when you submit your question-- specify the panelist if applicable! 

• Tweet us: use #C2CIslandPresident (visible on our twitter page)
• Post your question on Facebook (or use http://tinyurl.com/C2CIsland)
• Email us: Climate@bard.edu
• Comment on Youtube during the broadcast: www.youtube.com/C2CFellows
• Or… Text your questions to 845-943-7402
• Example Question Format: David Nacmanie, Bard College NY:  What happens when the world stays at more than 350ppm CO₂? (May Boeve)

This event is generously sponsored by Hillyer College.

Colby College achieves carbon neutrality!

"Colby Achieves Environmental Milestone: Carbon Neutrality

April 4, 2013

After a decade of work to measure, prevent, and reduce carbon emissions, Colby College announced April 4 that it has achieved carbon neutrality. The accomplishment makes Colby one of the first colleges in the country to do so, and it comes two years before the target date that the College had set for itself.

Colby achieved neutrality as a result of major initiatives including a switch to 100-percent renewable electricity starting in 2003 and using sustainably harvested wood biomass instead of oil as its primary fuel for heat and hot water beginning in 2012.

Beyond those major initiatives, carbon emissions were reduced in a number of other areas, including
• Increased energy efficiency and lower temperatures in buildings,
• LEED certification of all new construction and major renovations,
• Use of geothermal heating and cooling in two new buildings,
• Waste management, composting, and recycling.

“This milestone is part of a much larger, and very significant, commitment by the College to sustainability and environmental education—areas in which Colby has been a leader for decades,” said Colby President William D. Adams. “I am particularly proud of the ways our students have engaged with this work. As in other environmental initiatives, they helped provide both the impetus and the research that led to this outcome.” An honors project by an environmental studies major produced the first inventory of Colby’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2007.

In 2008 Adams signed the American College and University President’s Climate Commitment (ACUPCC). To achieve carbon neutrality, Colby followed the best practices of the ACUPCC and used methodology and industry standards established by the organization Clean Air-Cool Planet to measure and reduce emissions.

“Colby is the fourth signatory of the American College and 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.”

“It’s a win-win-win,” said Vice President for Administration Douglas C. Terp ’84. “We’re saving a lot of money burning biomass instead of oil. We’re helping the Maine economy by buying locally produced fuel. And we’re putting a lot less carbon into the air.”

A small portion of Colby’s savings on energy costs goes toward the purchase of carbon offsets to cover difficult-to-avoid emissions such as College-related travel and commuting. The money from those offsets will help to build and sustain a market for projects in New England that directly affect the impact of human activity on climate change.

“Carbon neutrality is a long-term commitment, but it is far from the end goal for Colby,” said Terp. The school will continue to reduce emissions through additional energy-efficiency projects, through education encouraging changes in individuals’ behavior, and through leadership in creating paths for other institutions to follow. While the purchase of offsets now and in future years will pay for carbon reduction projects elsewhere, future reductions in emissions on campus should decrease the school’s reliance on offsets over time.

Sustainability is one of seven core values that Colby lists in its catalogue. Colby’s Environmental Studies Program is one of the oldest and best in the country, and it has seen recent growth in the faculty and student enrollments. Colby’s Environmental Advisory Group, comprising students, faculty, and staff, advises the president and the College community on issues related to environmental stewardship, including sustainability, conservation, and alternative energy. It played an important role moving Colby toward carbon neutrality.

Increased focus on energy conservation led the College to seek a minimum of silver LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) on new construction and major renovations on campus beginning in 2005. Since then Colby has earned LEED certification (including two silver and five gold) on eight projects and has five more projects registered. Colby has more LEED buildings than any of its peer institutions.

Additional information, including frequently asked questions, is online at colby.edu/carbonneutral.

Founded in 1813, Colby College is the 12th-oldest independent liberal arts college in the nation. Colby provides a rigorous academic program that fosters transformational relationships between students and faculty. Graduates emerge as leaders ready to make an impact on their world. Colby is committed to making the full experience accessible to all qualified students, regardless of their ability to pay. The college enrolls 1,825 students."

This press release has been copied directly. 

Farm and Agritourism internship in St Croix

If you have an interest in Farm tourism or Agritourism, this may be the internship for you.

Find more information here.

The Island President

The Island President at the University of Hartford

Mark your calendars-- we'll be screening the documentary about climate change in the Maldives The Island President on April 17th at 7PM in the Shaw Center Regents Common.

This event is generously sponsored by Hillyer College.