Forum Addresses Global Climate Change

By Broadside Assistant News Editor Dan Abernathy

George Mason University is no stranger to the color green. Anyone looking at the university colors, which happen to be green and gold – or the lush forestry surrounding our campuses – can see the evidence. So it is no surprise that one of Mason’s recent policy events, presented by the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, addressed one of the many issues related to the world-wide effort to “go green” on sustainability.

On Tuesday, Feb. 12, Lenna Storm, Mason’s Sustainability Coordinator, presented a lecture titled, “Climate Sustainability at George Mason University,” which was a 30-minute PowerPoint presentation. The lecture outlined Mason’s proposal to use resources like water and electricity more efficiently and introduced several new measures to educate faculty and students on environmental issues. The event, held at Fairfax’s Research I building and broadcasted via video to Mason’s Arlington campus, was followed by a brief question and answer session.

Sustainability, which is one of climate change’s many disciplines, requires cross-departmental cooperation in order to expand ideas of the newly-formed Mason Forum on Climate Change. The MFCC is a weekly lecture series sponsored by ICAR aimed at stimulating climate-related dialogue within the Mason community.

Michael Shank, who coordinates each event and serves as the Institute’s Government Relations advisor, recently recalled the circumstances that led to the forum’s creation.

“The idea sprung from a conversation with Ed Maibach [professor and director] and Paul Schopf [professor, Department of Climate Dynamics] after a Center for Science and Society roundtable on climate change, for which I was a panelist.” The Fairfax campus meeting, part of a nation-wide “teach-in” held on Jan. 29 titled, “Focus the Nation,” was created to promote dialogue and action on local levels across the country, as well as new endeavors such as the MFCC.

Storm’s proposals for Mason-led action on sustainability require a thorough acknowledgement of global warming, as well as individual and university dedication to leadership through education, and commitments to climate neutrality through specified action and timelines.

Based on a three-phase system, Storm’s recommendations are geared in a quantifiable direction. If Mason adopts the plan, the university will set up a sustainability structure within three months followed by an official greenhouse gas emissions inventory on all campuses by September of 2008. Therefore, the conclusion will produce an official climate action plan based on those figures by September of 2009.

Interim measures would include a newly-appointed Transportation Coordinator position, whose sole purpose would be to encourage alternatives such as biking, busing, ridesharing, to more technical directives like adopting LEED standards for buildings and signing an energy performance contract with Siemens, a climate awareness utility company.

Storm’s final proposal may increase Mason’s ability to implement and maintain its sustainability practices. She calls for a university-wide integration of sustainability material into its curriculum, including, a general education sustainability requirement, education for faculty and staff, and the possibility for a sustainability minor.

The goals of Storm and the MFCC fit in with the higher-profile climate change movement, which is focused more towards an effort to provide solutions at the grassroots level. In addition to the influx of climate-related legislation on the hill, and big business’ push to appear and demonstrate environmental awareness, educational institutions like Mason are involved due to the contribution to the global footprint.

According to Michael Crow, president of Arizona State University, which is home of the Global Institute for Sustainability, “Colleges and universities are only responsible for a small fraction of the carbon footprint of the country, but are responsible for 100 percent of the educational footprint.”

As a climate change researcher, Storm also provided projections of what can be saved by acting now, which includes projections that tend to encourage people to act as a collective unit. For instance, an annual saving of 29 million pounds of CO2 through methods of sustaining or preventing careless use of Mason resources translates to over 2,500 cars removed from the road over a 15-year period. The number of cars might appear insignificant, however, this one aspect of sustainability makes a large difference if students were to imagine what 300 universities could accomplish.

Mason saved over $1.8 million in the 2007 fiscal year using sustainability-minded practices, due to tempered water and kWh usage. That is a 17.8 percent savings in utility costs, up from 9.6 percent in 2006. This is the crux of the argument for sustainable practices.

“I think the session went very well,” said Storm in a recent e-mail regarding the lecture series. “Tough questions were asked that we need answers to as a university and I seek the advice and the involvement of the entire campus community to find those answers.”

Michael Shank discussed Mason’s leadership potential, which can begin now in order to prepare for the future. He said, “Mason has the potential to provide a unique multi-disciplinary approach to climate change, involving [departments such as] Conflict Analysis and Resolution, Public Policy, Science, Humanities, Communications, [and] Public Health.”

Shank said, “We’d like to see Mason be the cutting edge center for climate change research, analysis and prevention. And these weekly meetings will help us get there.”

All meeting times are currently scheduled on Tuesdays. The dates include Feb. 19, Feb. 26, March 4, March 11, March 18, March 25, April 1, April 8 and April 15. Students interested in joining the lectures may e-mail Michael Shank directly at mshank@gmu.edu.