Hopkins reveals plan for carbon neutrality
President William Brody announced plans to significantly reform its environmental policies, but did not commit the University to reaching total net elimination of all carbon emissions.
In a letter released to students, faculty and staff on July 23, Brody vowed to "reduce, with the vision of carbon neutrality, the emissions of greenhouse gases derived from university operations." Brody also outlined broader goals of lessening carbon emissions in the Baltimore-Washington region, as well as using the University's strengths in science, technology, public health and public policy to contribute to combatting global warming on an international scale.
While the policy did not call for carbon neutrality, such a goal is still under consideration. "We will get to it, but it's a marathon, not a sprint," Davis Bookhart, manager of Energy Management and Environmental Stewardship, whose job entails the examination and reduction of the University's environmental impact, said. "You could take the philosophy that carbon neutrality is a steady sustainable state requiring a gradual timeline, and do it right, or that it's just a point in time. We are much more interested in the former."
Brody affirmed the importance of colleges in the fight against climate change, stating that such institutions must play a central role in meeting this challenge. We must forge new knowledge, use that knowledge to develop and implement solutions and pass along that knowledge so that our students will have the necessary tools to help solve our problems."
To execute the goals he outlined, Brody has called for the creation of a President's Task Force on Climate Change, whose first priority would be the development of a comprehensive plan of action, known as the Comprehensive Climate Strategic Plan, within one year.
Teryn Norris-Hale, president of the Hopkins Energy Action Team (HEAT) and currently the only undergraduate on the task force, said that while the task force has not yet been officially formed, an announcement by Brody detailing the members of the task force will be released within the next few weeks.
In a letter released to students, faculty and staff on July 23, Brody vowed to "reduce, with the vision of carbon neutrality, the emissions of greenhouse gases derived from university operations." Brody also outlined broader goals of lessening carbon emissions in the Baltimore-Washington region, as well as using the University's strengths in science, technology, public health and public policy to contribute to combatting global warming on an international scale.
While the policy did not call for carbon neutrality, such a goal is still under consideration. "We will get to it, but it's a marathon, not a sprint," Davis Bookhart, manager of Energy Management and Environmental Stewardship, whose job entails the examination and reduction of the University's environmental impact, said. "You could take the philosophy that carbon neutrality is a steady sustainable state requiring a gradual timeline, and do it right, or that it's just a point in time. We are much more interested in the former."
Brody affirmed the importance of colleges in the fight against climate change, stating that such institutions must play a central role in meeting this challenge. We must forge new knowledge, use that knowledge to develop and implement solutions and pass along that knowledge so that our students will have the necessary tools to help solve our problems."
To execute the goals he outlined, Brody has called for the creation of a President's Task Force on Climate Change, whose first priority would be the development of a comprehensive plan of action, known as the Comprehensive Climate Strategic Plan, within one year.
Teryn Norris-Hale, president of the Hopkins Energy Action Team (HEAT) and currently the only undergraduate on the task force, said that while the task force has not yet been officially formed, an announcement by Brody detailing the members of the task force will be released within the next few weeks.
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