How much do you contribute to global climate change? Environmental Studies 300 students devoted a semester to investigating the distribution and size of various sources of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) that the Wellesley College community has added to the atmosphere annually since 1990. Students worked in focus groups to identify, obtain data for, and quantify contributions from the school's three main emissions-producing sectors: transportation, energy, and waste.
Carbon dioxide and many other GHG emissions are not regulated by law and hence do not tend to be documented by institutions like colleges. In order to find and estimate emissions data at Wellesley, each sector group emailed and met with individuals from almost every department at Wellesley. Students obtained historical records for the fuel types and total annual fuel usage by the motor pool and power plant, the number of registered vehicles on campus, and the types and total amount of waste removed from the campus, among other emissions-related activities. This information was then systematized using the Clean Air-Cool Planet Organization's (CACP) framework, which has been used by many other colleges in their GHG audits. Overall, the study presents a comprehensive view of Wellesley's activities, notwithstanding that the scope is limited to direct emissions only, and that certain assumptions about individual behavior and climate change models were required. Additionally, GHG quantities are referred to throughout the study in terms of their equivalent amount as carbon dioxide, the most prevalent anthropogenic GHG.
|
SECTOR |
|
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transportation | Waste | Energy | Wellesley College Overall | |
| Sector Sources Audited |
- Motor pool - G&W buses - Waste transit - Admissions-funded travel - College-registered vehicle use (faculty, staff, and students) |
- Recycled material - Solid waste (from all campus buildings) disposed of and incinerated by outside contractors |
- Electricity
production by
co-generation plant - Electricity bought from town - Gas/Oil Boilers |
|
| Significant Changes (1990-2002) |
- More motor pool vehicles - More student vehicles - Mall shuttle - Electric truck pilot program discontinued |
- Waste transported to more distant facilities |
- More computers & other appliances - New air conditioning systems in several academic buildings - Switch from purchased electricity to co-generation plant |
|
| Annual Emissions | ||||
| Metric tonnes of GHG emissions/year (2002) | 5,681 | 1,748 | 36,273 | 43,702 |
| % of college total (2002) | 13% | 4% | 83% | 100% |
| % change in emissions (since 1990) |
20% increase | 9.5% increase | 16% increase | 16% increase |
| Largest sector source | G&W buses | Incineration | Co-generation plant | Co-generation plant |
| Since 1990, annual emissions have increased ...from 16 to 19 metric tonnes of CO2 per student ...which is a total increase of 17% in GHGs per student, ...which is an overall increase of 16%, and, ...25,860 trees would have to be planted to offset the change |
Wellesley College should commit to a GHG emissions reduction target such as one in accordance with the Kyoto Protocol. In order to achieve the 7% reduction of emissions from 1990 levels, Wellesley would have to diminish its annual emissions by the equivalent of 8,765 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide. The College can reach this goal by means of a broad variety of possible policy changes, some of which are listed below. Many of the recommendations are associated with significant cost savings, and bear other benefits as well, like improved local air quality and positive publicity from the demonstration of foresight and institutional citizenship. Overall, it is hoped that Wellesley College will increasingly recognize its role as a significant local and global environmental actor and actively assume responsibility for abating its emissions.