Green | 1/31/08

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Spring does not officially begin until March 20, but due to efforts by some University administrators and activist student groups, the campus may be going green sooner rather than later.

As part of an on-going effort to reduce Towson's "carbon footprint," the University has adopted several environmentally friendly, or green, initiatives. Also, Towson President Robert Caret joined hundreds of signatories across the country last summer for the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment.

"A carbon footprint is anything we use in our daily lives that emits carbon," Towson Energy Activists member Amanda Duzak said. "So let's say you drive from your house to school. You're going to emit carbon."

According to special assistant to the vice president of student affairs and coordinator of civic engagement initiatives Darcy Accardi, the University has begun to pursue green efforts due to a strong response by the student body.

"The Towson Energy Activists deserve a lot of credit for getting the discussion started, but other groups like the Student Government [Association] and others have voiced their concerns," she said. "It's part of a national trend that students across the country on college campuses are getting more involved in the green movement."

The ultimate goal of the ACUPCC is to reach climate neutrality by stopping damaging carbon emissions from reaching the atmosphere. As part of the agreement signed by Caret in August, the University must complete a full inventory of all greenhouse gases put off by campus entities in one year. This includes electricity, heating, and car emissions from student commuters.

After signing the ACUPCC, Caret appointed vice president for administration and finance, James Sheehan, to lead the search to create a task force for accomplishing the mandates set by the commitment. Sheehan appointed associate vice president for facilities management Stephen Showers to chair the committee. Also on the committee are special assistant to the vice president for administration and finance Amie Voith, chairman of the faculty senate Tim Sullivan, director of planning in facilities management Jack Nye, University Residence Government president Jason Stefaniak, TU staff council chair Liina Ladon, and TU staff council member Gloria Gajewski.

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