BMP Sustainability campaign
Goals:
support sustainable energy initiatives and increase awareness of our
environmental impact.
Benefits of sustainable energy
Sustainable energy sources provide energy without releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and without depleting natural resources. Scientists agree that the Earth’s climate is getting warmer due to the release of carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels (IPCC 2007). Furthermore, these changes in global climate are likely to decrease living standards for all people. Reducing the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere is an immediate priority.
Sustainable energy potential in
6% of the energy produced in
Environmental awareness
We can make a positive influence on our environment by raising awareness of our impact. Towards this goal, the BMP seminar announcements advertise this campaign’s efforts to reduce our enivonmental impact.
Including environmental awareness in our decision making processes is an important step. Some examples: consider energy efficiency in purchasing decisions; when appropriate use revolving doors to reduce the energy used in climate control; when possible utilize re-usable instead of disposable items, recycle to conserve resources; consider energy-efficient travel options such as mass-transport, ride-sharing, and for flights choose as direct a path as possible.
Carbon offset for seminar series
Members of the Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology department strive to offset the carbon emissions produced in connection with our seminar series through donations to sustainable energy initiatives. The seminar series is essential to our scientific mission. However, it requires a significant amount of fossil fuels to transport speakers to our university. In recognition of this environmental impact donations are made by our faculty to invest in sustainable energy initiatives that over the course of their life will generate an equivalent amount of energy, thus reducing future fossil fuel usage.
Non-profit organizations supporting sustainable
energy initiatives
Additional suggestions welcome
Percentage of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology
seminar series carbon offset by donations from faculty*
2007-2008: 100%
2008-2009: 100%
*Calculated based on 35 seminars per year with an average travel of 3,000 miles round-trip. 100% offset represents the amount of investment in clean energy needed to produce an equivalent amount of energy used in the seminar series. The offset is an investment in future clean-energy.
If you are interested in contributing
to supporting carbon offsets for the seminar series, please either: (1) arrange
your donation individually and send an email
with the amount and destination of your support; or (2) drop off a contribution
to me and I will contribute it for
you. The most common donation amount is $20.
Additional environmental web resources:
University of Massachusetts Sustainability Committee
Massachusetts Technology Collaborative
Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
University of Utah Sustainable Energy Initiative