We Conserve: Be the We

This column features the We Conserve program and its work on campus.

With 4 percent of the world’s population, the United States produces 25 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases.

Average carbon dioxide emissions per capita in the United States are five times more than the worldwide average and 13 times more than what can be emitted without raising CO2 levels in the atmosphere. These emissions contribute to global climate change, which is already taking a measurable toll on our planet.

The 20th century’s last two decades were the warmest in 400 years and possibly the warmest for several millennia.

Rapid temperature changes have also affected the seasons. Feeding periods for young birds and the availability of worms or insects for food have been altered. Polar bears in the Hudson Bay area of Canada are losing weight and strength, as the ice now breaks up two weeks earlier in spring and robs them of two weeks’ hunting.

With more warm weather, conditions are becoming ideal for spreading infectious diseases such as Dengue fever, malaria, cholera and encephalitis. Malnutrition could skyrocket due to climate stress on agriculture.

Global warming has also heightened the likelihood of conflict. Longer and more devastating droughts exacerbate the fight over the world’s water and increase border tensions and human suffering. The current violence in Darfur began with the onset of a decade-long drought, which caused land and water conflicts between farmers and the herders.

The educational sector has a responsibility to assume several leadership roles to reverse or slow down these trends. One way is to reduce our schools’ carbon footprint.

There are 250,000 buildings containing more than 4 billion square feet of space on campuses. Most were constructed in times of cheap energy, and contribute to 70 to 90 percent of the schools’ greenhouse gas emissions.

Studies indicate that more than 30 percent of energy in these buildings is used inefficiently or unnecessarily.

UW–Madison campus conservation efforts during the past four years have led to annual reductions of CO2 emissions by more than 70,000 metric tons per year. To remove an equivalent amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, you would need to add 110,000 grown trees, a number equal to the number of street trees in the city of Madison.

Visit We Conserve for more information about UW–Madison’s We Conserve program and the positive impact it is having.