Transparency of the Drexel University endowment, a revolving loan fund and a written commitment to university-wide carbon reduction; these are just a few of the policies that the Drexel Sierra Club is asking for in its petition.
The Drexel Sierra Club is a student organization for the environmentally conscious who are interested in creating a more sustainable environment at Drexel University and around the community. While Drexel University is making environmental progress, the Sierra Club would like the administration to put their commitment to environmental sustainability in writing.
“Presidents around the country are signing the Presidents Climate Commitment. We’ve asked them to sign it several times, but they have declined. We want a written commitment, even if they draft their own,” said Catherine Burtness-Adams, president of the Sierra Club.
The Presidents Climate Commitment brings together presidents and chancellors of American universities to initiate the development of a plan to achieve climate neutrality, initiate tangible actions to reduce greenhouse gases while the initial plan is being developed and make the plan and progress reports publically available.
Despite the administration’s resistance to signing the commitment, they have been supportive to the Sierra Club in other ways.
“We’ve been in communication a lot with the administration. They actually sent us to the Power-shift conference in D.C. We got to meet other students, we also got 90 signatures for our petition,” Adams said.
The petition also asks for an Office of Sustainability that would oversee the specifics of the written commitment.
“We want to have at least one position on campus that is committed to sustainability. It would be one full time position so that they don’t have to split their attention with other obligations,” Adams said.
The most controversial part of the petition is the request for endowment transparency and a one percent investment of the 2009 endowment into a revolving loan fund for environmental efficiency projects on campus.
“[The revolving loan fund is] when money is put into a big pot all at once, and is lent out in grant funds over time. There are high upfront costs, but also long term cost benefits,” she said.
Adams wants to make it clear that the money would be paid back into the fund and would allow for a renewable financial resource to further environmental projects. One example would be replacing all of the shower heads on campus with low-flow shower heads that conserve water. There would be a high up front cost for the purchase of these items, but a long term cost benefit of lower water bills campus-wide.
In celebration of Earth Week 2009 and to promote the Sierra Club petition, Adams and other active members hosted a few events around the Drexel Campus. There was a clothing swap in front of North Hall, tree planting at Malcolm X Park in University City and a day dedicated to informing students and faculty about waste, bottled water and the global water crisis.
Adams stressed that individuals can do a lot to help the environment by committing themselves to small actions like turning down the thermostat, turning off your car engine while stuck in traffic, turning off unnecessary lights and not buying bottled water.
“To produce meat, uses a lot more energy than vegetables. Choosing to eat meat one time less per week, can significantly reduce your carbon footprint,” she said.
Overall Adams is optimistic about Drexel’s progress. There is more recycling on campus as well as new solar trash compactors.
“Just the fact that [the administration] is talking about the issues is a big step.”
The Drexel Sierra Club is a student organization for the environmentally conscious who are interested in creating a more sustainable environment at Drexel University and around the community. While Drexel University is making environmental progress, the Sierra Club would like the administration to put their commitment to environmental sustainability in writing.
“Presidents around the country are signing the Presidents Climate Commitment. We’ve asked them to sign it several times, but they have declined. We want a written commitment, even if they draft their own,” said Catherine Burtness-Adams, president of the Sierra Club.
The Presidents Climate Commitment brings together presidents and chancellors of American universities to initiate the development of a plan to achieve climate neutrality, initiate tangible actions to reduce greenhouse gases while the initial plan is being developed and make the plan and progress reports publically available.
Despite the administration’s resistance to signing the commitment, they have been supportive to the Sierra Club in other ways.
“We’ve been in communication a lot with the administration. They actually sent us to the Power-shift conference in D.C. We got to meet other students, we also got 90 signatures for our petition,” Adams said.
The petition also asks for an Office of Sustainability that would oversee the specifics of the written commitment.
“We want to have at least one position on campus that is committed to sustainability. It would be one full time position so that they don’t have to split their attention with other obligations,” Adams said.
The most controversial part of the petition is the request for endowment transparency and a one percent investment of the 2009 endowment into a revolving loan fund for environmental efficiency projects on campus.
“[The revolving loan fund is] when money is put into a big pot all at once, and is lent out in grant funds over time. There are high upfront costs, but also long term cost benefits,” she said.
Adams wants to make it clear that the money would be paid back into the fund and would allow for a renewable financial resource to further environmental projects. One example would be replacing all of the shower heads on campus with low-flow shower heads that conserve water. There would be a high up front cost for the purchase of these items, but a long term cost benefit of lower water bills campus-wide.
In celebration of Earth Week 2009 and to promote the Sierra Club petition, Adams and other active members hosted a few events around the Drexel Campus. There was a clothing swap in front of North Hall, tree planting at Malcolm X Park in University City and a day dedicated to informing students and faculty about waste, bottled water and the global water crisis.
Adams stressed that individuals can do a lot to help the environment by committing themselves to small actions like turning down the thermostat, turning off your car engine while stuck in traffic, turning off unnecessary lights and not buying bottled water.
“To produce meat, uses a lot more energy than vegetables. Choosing to eat meat one time less per week, can significantly reduce your carbon footprint,” she said.
Overall Adams is optimistic about Drexel’s progress. There is more recycling on campus as well as new solar trash compactors.
“Just the fact that [the administration] is talking about the issues is a big step.”
