Hey guys,
I wanted to update you all on what I’ve been doing, plus ask for your advice! I mentioned before that I am working on a powerpoint that will be presented to student activists talking about the importance of our new Planning Tool in the Campus Carbon Calculator. Today I realized that the entire presentation assumes that carbon neutrality is the audience’s goal, but I realized not everyone may be on board with that. In particular, people might be concerned about the use of offsets. So I need to put in a slide explaining “Why Carbon Neutrality?” Aside from the obvious impacts of climate change, what do you all think would be the most compelling arguments to put on it?
Other than the slide show, I have been developing a spreadsheet of all the organizations and events that we should be outreaching to for the Planning Tool and developing the content for a video that we will be shooting for the campus website about the Planning Tool.
Most importantly, Anne (from the campus program) and I are learning to surf!!
Thanks in advance for your updates and advice.
Hi Casey,
I think one the greatest challenges that student activists face is convincing a conservative university administration (or even student body) that carbon neutrality makes sense on a number of fronts.
One point to make is that numerous schools have signed onto the University President’s Climate Commitment as as the Campus Climate Challenge. By not taking action now, those schools may be falling behind the rest of the academic community–and losing credibility.
Secondly, many measures not only make sense in terms of the environmental impact, but also in the realm of economics. Many energy efficiency measures not only can provide steps toward carbon neutrality, but can also save a university, business, or city thousands of dollars off of their energy bill.
Until recently, it has been hard for me to advocate for the economic angle, but through past work I have come to realize that this is a reality…and sometimes can be the impetus for implementing climate change policies.
I hope you’re enjoying the waves…
Comment by ryanmack — July 16, 2008 @ 2:58 pm
Ryan,
Thanks so much for your comments, they are dead on and I will certainly include both of those points in my presentation!
Comment by Casey — July 16, 2008 @ 3:04 pm
But does anyone see an economic upside to the offset part of neutrality? Many mitigation efforts, particularly efficiency, present great economic advantages. But it seems to me that the most persuasive arguments about taking it to full neutrality all stem around reputation, PR, recruitment, example to the rest of society… Is there an angle I’m missing?
Comment by Claire — July 16, 2008 @ 8:07 pm
If the offsets are purchased from a company like Native Energy, through which they actually fund the creation of wind and methane projects, then there could be an eventual economic payback. By funding increased investment in the clean technologies market, eventually technologies will advance and mass production will drive costs down–which is good for campuses and municipalities purchasing clean energy in the future. Its a bit of a stretch I know…
Comment by Casey — July 16, 2008 @ 8:18 pm