Mount Wachusett Community College Wins National Global Warming Award
In 2007, Mount Wachusett Community College was named a winner in the National Wildlife Federation’s Campus Ecology Chill Out contest. The competition recognizes colleges and universities around the country which are implementing innovative programs to reduce the impacts of global warming, the #1 environmental threat facing the nation. Mount Wachusett was one of eight winning schools chosen from over 100 competition entries received from colleges nationwide.
“Colleges and universities are key places for demonstrating how to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, the major culprit of global warming,” says Julian Keniry, Director of Campus and Community Leadership for the National Wildlife Federation. “Mount Wachusett has demonstrated its leadership in promoting renewable energy options both on campus and throughout the surrounding community.”
This prestigious award was given because Mount Wachusett’s staff has aggressively pursued numerous initiatives and projects to decrease the College’s dependence on fossil fuels and to educate its students and community on the benefits associated with utilizing renewable energy options.
The College’s conversion of its all-electrical campus to a heating system run on locally-available bio-fuels has drastically reduced greenhouse gas emissions while having a positive impact on the College’s operating budget. By eliminating electricity as a heat source, the college has reduced electricity use by 45.9 percent and saved two million dollars.
This project, along with related energy conservation measures has resulted in a 24 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions over the past four years, the equivalent of 7638 tons of carbon dioxide.
The National Wildlife Federation’s Campus Ecology Program has been an integral part of the campus greening movement since 1989. The nation’s 4,100 colleges and universities educate more than 15 million students in any given year making these schools important laboratories for creativity and innovation – keys to tackling a monumental crisis like global warming.
The National Wildlife Federation is America’s conservation organization protecting wildlife for our children’s future.