Campus Climate Challenge

Global warming is all over the news right now, but almost no one is talking about solutions — even though we have everything we need right now to solve the problem. We already have cars that can get over 100 miles per gallon. We already have the technology to get most of our energy from wind and solar power. All we need now is the leadership to make it happen.

That’s where students come in. This is our problem, and it’s up to us to solve it, starting right here on campus, right now.

That’s why we’ve joined the Campus Climate Challenge, along with over 300 other universities and high schools across the U.S. and Canada. We’re working to get all of our electricity from clean sources like wind and solar power, transforming the way our dorms and classrooms use energy, and educating ourselves and our fellow students about real solutions to global warming. It’s going to take hard work, but we are committed to making it happen. By 2008, over 1,000 universities will have taken the Challenge.

Recent Climate Challenge Victories

100% Clean Energy Campuses
Most of our electricity comes from coal, natural gas and oil — all of which cause global warming and other pollution. Nearly a dozen universities have switched so that almost all of their electricity comes from clean energy, like wind and solar power! Students led the way, making it happen at schools like the University of California-Santa Cruz, Central Oregon Community College, Bowdoin College, Duke Business School, Evergreen State College, Western Washington University and more.

Green Classrooms and Dorms
Ever propped your dorm window open in the middle of the winter because it was so hot inside and you couldn’t turn down the thermostat? Students are helping their schools stop global warming and cutting their energy bills by making both existing and new buildings greener. Green dorms, student centers and other buildings have been built or are on the drawing board at places like Portland State University, University of South Carolina, Carnegie Mellon, Ohio State University, and University of California-Santa Barbara.

Energy Saving Competitions
The University of Massachusetts showed us last year that stopping global warming should be fun. They organized a huge competition between all the dorms to see who could use the least amount of electricity. All the dorms participated and the winners got points added to their meal plan. Elsewhere, over 19 Oregon State University fraternities and sororities competed in the “Greek Green Challenge” to see which house could reduce their energy use the most, with the winning house designating several thousand dollars to the charity of their choice. Similar competitions were organized at other schools like Williams College and the University of Oregon.

Clean Car Shows
Never mind hybrid cars that get 40 miles per gallon. We can build cars today that get 100 to 1000 miles per gallon. Last year students organized “Clean Car Shows on the Quad” at schools like the University of California-Davis, University of California-San Diego and the University of Southern California to showcase these and other clean car technologies.

Politicians Are Following Our Lead
Students are stepping off campus to make politicians fight global warming, too. Students in Massachusetts are fighting to get their governor to live up to the commitment he made to young people three years ago to address global warming. Oregon students got their governor to make Oregon cars cleaner, California students helped secure a massive statewide solar investment program, Wisconsin students lobbied for cleaner energy programs, and Maine students helped pass a huge energy efficiency law.