2015 Expressions on a Sustainable UMD: The Power to Change May 2015 | Page 6

Carbon Neutral Power 2025
Before we get to the essay, art and poetry submissions, it is important to first consider
what our University could do in order to more aggressively address the threat of climate change.
In the past ten years, UMD has made impressive progress reducing its greenhouse gas
emissions. We have gone from lacking data on our campus emissions to achieving an annual
reduction of approximately 6,395 metric tons of greenhouse gases over the past six years.
Currently, we are 18% below our 2005 emissions and our success has given us national
recognition. For two consecutive years, the Sierra Club has ranked us as the nation’s 13th
“greenest” school, and for five consecutive years, the Princeton Review has listed us on their
Green Colleges Guide. Furthermore, with the energy initiatives announced by President Loh on
Earth Day 2014, the future looks bright for sustainability at UMD.
Despite UMD’s overall success, we have not even begun to address the largest source of
campus emissions — our natural gas cogeneration heat and power plant (CHP). In 2005, the
CHP emitted 123,511 metric tons greenhouse gases, representing 38% of our campus emissions,
and this past y