DURHAM N.H.
The schools of New Hampshire’s university system have joined nearly 300 other colleges and universities around the country to fight global warming by reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.
The effort, called the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, involves a range of goals from building all new structures to green standards to buying electricity from renewable resources.
The commitment calls for all institutions to create a plan for becoming climate neutral a state in which institutions have no net increase in greenhouse gas emissions.
Within two months of signing the commitment, institutions must establish a way to develop a plan, and within a year they must complete an inventory of all greenhouse gas emissions. Within two years, institutions must have a plan, including a target date for achieving climate neutrality and goals for including the issue in curriculum or educational experiences for students.
University system schools already have been working to be more energy conscious and efficient.
Plymouth State University is one of the first colleges or universities to earn national recognition for building a new, energy conscious dorm. It also runs numerous environmental research programs and has created an interdisciplinary environmental studies major.
