The University of Colorado Environmental Center has been awarded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency聮s 2000 Climate Protection Award for its student-led effort to make CU-Boulder a model for university efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
CU-Boulder was the only university among 19 international companies, organizations and individuals presented with the award at an Oct. 31 ceremony in Washington, D.C.
The award honors CU-Boulder for continued commitment to the environment, highlighted by its award-winning recycling program and the student-sponsored purchase of wind-generated electricity.
"It is a real honor for CU to receive this award," said Will Toor, director of the CU-Boulder Environmental Center and mayor of Boulder. "It is critical for the nation聮s universities to show leadership in addressing the major environmental issues facing the world. The vote by CU-Boulder students last spring to begin the nation聮s largest university green power purchase sets the bar for other universities to match."
In April 2000, CU-Boulder students voted by a 5-to-1 margin to increase student fees by a dollar per semester for four years to purchase wind power. The fee increase will raise $50,000 per year, enough to purchase the output of an entire wind turbine 聳 about 2 million kilowatt-hours of electricity.
The purchase of the clean, renewable electricity generated by the turbine will reduce campus emissions by 1,400 tons of carbon dioxide, 14,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide and 10,000 pounds of nitrogen oxides each year, according to Ghita Levenstein, energy coordinator of the CU-Boulder Environmental Center.
"CU students have a history of environmental leadership and this is a prime example," Levenstein said.
CU-Boulder also has long been one of the national leaders in campus recycling. Established in 1976, CU Recycling has the goal of keeping recyclables out of landfills in a cost-effective way while promoting the benefits of recycling and resource preservation to the university聮s 26,000 students. The program diverts 37 percent of campus waste through a comprehensive collection program that takes 26 grades of reusable, recyclable and compostable materials.
"Promoting recycling as a practical means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions is fueling student interest in environmental coursework, internships and career opportunities," said Jack DeBell, director of CU Recycling. "Students are more attuned to practices like recycling than ever before. It聮s an exciting time to be involved with campus environmental reform."
The EPA established the Climate Protection Award in 1998 to recognize exceptional leadership, personal dedication and technical achievements in protecting the Earth聮s climate.