Collegiate Times

With the passing of the Climate Action Commitment resolution by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors on Monday, Tech has incorporated 14 points into university policy regarding environmental concerns such as greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency, and recycling.

Click here for a PDF copy of the Climate Action Commitment resolution.

"It's not just a university-driven effort," said Angie De Soto, a sixth-year environmental policy and planning major. "Every single student and person on this campus is going to need to participate for this to be successful."

The resolution has its roots in the broader national environmental initiative, the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment. The student-led environmental coalition brought the PCC to President Charles Steger, who declined to sign on, suggesting the creation of a more achievable option.

The PCC "would require institutions to purchase huge, huge carbon offsets," said Larry Hincker, university spokesman. "That would be millions and millions of dollars a year that would not be going to education at all ... Instead, the president wanted something that was achievable, doable, and had a real impact that we could track."

Steger gave the Environmental Coalition a deadline to come up with a practical plan specific to Tech by the end of the fall 2008 semester. Over the summer, a subcommittee of the sustainability committee devoted itself to the development of a sustainability plan. Dr. John Randolph, professor in urban affairs and public policy, chaired the summer subcommittee, composed of students, faculty, and staff.

"Every corner of the university had a chance to comment and participate in it," Randolph said. According to him, changing student and staff culture will be the next step in achieving the climate control goals.

De Soto says that students can help make this a reality by adopting small habits, like turning off lights, actively recycling, and using less hot water. "If you break it down, the carbon footprint of America is my footprint, plus your footprint, plus his footprint. It's all of our individual impacts and our actions."

Another contribution students may make to the environmental cause in the near future is a Green Fee, suggested in the CAC resolution and lobbied by the Environmental Coalition.

"We're asking for $2 - $5 a semester per student that would go into a fund. Next year, the Environmental Coalition will run another campaign, involving electronic surveys and a referendum during SGA elections to display student support for a Green Fee," DeSoto said.

From start to finish, the Climate Action Commitment was a year's worth of work on behalf of the faculty, staff, and students who were involved. Implementation, according to DeSoto is a "whole new game."

"The reason this happened is because of students," DeSoto said. "And if people think that students don't have power to do anything on campus, they're wrong. Because we made this happen and now we're going to help implement it."