New group looks to cut University's carbon emissions

At a time when everything about Princeton seems to be growing — the undergraduate student body, the number of residential colleges, its endowment — one group of students wants to make sure that at least part of the University shrinks.

Graduate students in the Wilson School have started a new campus organization dedicated to reducing the University's carbon footprint. The group, Princeton SURGE (Students United for a Responsible Global Environment), is part of a national network that began in 1998 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. SURGE organizations distinguishes itself from other environmental clubs by focusing solely on global warming.

Dennis Markatos GS, one of the group's founders as an undergraduate at UNC, is now working towards an MPA at the Wilson School.

"We set up this group here at Princeton so that we could have an institution that would focus totally on global warming and to really focus a lot on what we can do right here on Princeton's campus to reduce emissions and to be a model campus for the whole country," said Markatos, who along with Tetse Ukueberuwa GS co-chairs Princeton SURGE.

Princeton SURGE hopes to push the University towards climate neutrality — no net greenhouse gas emissions — by encouraging energy efficiency and the increased use of renewable, or green, energy sources. In fiscal year 2006, the University emitted 139,952 tons of carbon dioxide, Ukueberuwa said.

The club, which boasts a 160-member roster of both undergraduates and graduate students, also aims to make Princeton a leader in fighting global warming by educating its members and the campus community about the issue.

"Though we are a leader in education," Ukueberuwa said, "we haven't become a leader in global warming policy yet."

Currently, three of the University's peer institutions use green energy as part of their energy consumption, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency website. The University of Pennsylvania obtains 29 percent of its electricity from green energy sources while Harvard depends on renewable sources for seven percent of its consumption. Yale's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies gets all of its electricity from green energy.

"Princeton is a world leader in research on climate science and technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but sadly the University itself has a long way to go in terms of reducing its energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions," said Scott Moore '08, vice president of Princeton SURGE.

The group's other projects include working toward the implementation of more energy-efficient research building vent hoods and light bulbs and lowering the thermostat settings in University buildings. SURGE president Natasha Lavdovsky '09 added in an email that the organization was considering an eating club competition aimed at reducing energy use and educational programs in local schools about global warming.

As part of its efforts to promote awareness of global warming, the club holds Teach-Ins, public crash-courses on the global environment. Their first Teach-In last Friday featured several outside speakers who discussed the negative consequences of rising global temperatures.

"One of the biggest hurdles will be to open the eyes of the skeptics on campus and elsewhere that global warming is a scientifically irrefutable imminent threat to the environment, not to mention to humanity," Lavdovsky said.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

Princeton SURGE officials were confident in their ability to convince administrators to implement their proposals.

Markatos and Ukueberuwa said the organization has already been in touch with University administrators, particularly the Facilities department's new sustainability manager. The club has talked to energy plant manager Ted Borer about possible changes to the University's energy consumption and switching to more sustainable energy, Lavdovsky added.

"Due to the positive feedback we have already had from University officials on this issue, I think that our goals are very realistic and that is just a matter of time before the switch to cleaner energy and a more environmentally sustainable campus is made," Lavdovsky said. "Those we have already spoken with have been very eager to bring Princeton into the 21st century through reduction of our school's carbon footprint."

But Ukueberuwa said that student interest was essential for SURGE's success.

"The administration is not going to listen [to SURGE's proposals] unless they know that their students want this. So right now we're mobilizing and building a student movement on campus and getting the word out there," Ukueberuwa said.