Majoring in saving the earth

WILKES-BARRE – It’s no secret that the academic community has been concerned about global warming for years, but now they’re making it official.

Presidents from almost 300 higher-education institutions across the nation, including two from northeastern Pennsylvania, have signed on to an agreement to neutralize their institutions’ greenhouse gas emissions. Dubbed the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment, the pact requires its signatories to create a plan, set target dates and take other measures toward neutrality, but doesn’t demand a firm deadline. The organization officially launched in Washington, D.C., on Monday.

Both Wilkes University and Keystone College in La Plume have signed on, along with 17 other schools from the state.

The commitment was easy to sign because it fit right in line with plans already in place at both Wilkes and Keystone, representatives for the schools said.

“We at Wilkes have been thinking about this issue for some time,” President Tim Gilmour said. “We already know broadly what we’re doing” regarding the university’s steps toward neutrality.

Keystone spokesman Fran Calpin said school President Edward Boehm Jr. was interested in maintaining the campus’ “rustic, natural setting.”

The institutions must create a plan framework within two months of signing, take an inventory of their emissions within a year and finalize a plan within two years. They must also periodically publicly publish their progress.

Beyond that, each must commit to implementing two initiatives from a list of six. Gilmour said Wilkes had already committed to several of the initiatives, such as only buying Energy Star-rated appliances and incorporating the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED standards for building designs.

Notable exclusions to the pact are the main campuses of Pennsylvania’s three large, public universities: Penn State, Temple and the University of Pittsburgh.

Temple’s President Ann Weaver Hart hasn’t reviewed the specifics of climate agreement, “but it seems in line with a major initiative underway,” said Ray Betzner, the university’s director of news communications.

“We feel Penn State University is doing more than any other school in the country to aid the environment,” said Bill Mahon, vice president for university relations. “We’re hesitant to sign a document that we’re not sure a lot of (the committed) schools can fill.”

He said Penn State is already incorporating LEED standards, buying green power and promoting extensive recycling programs, but that the commitment gets into some “nitty-gritty” situations, such as controlling how people travel to and within the campus.