Chico State effort wins national award
Enterprise-Record 4/17/07
The university has been awarded a national prize for the collective efforts.
The National Wildlife Federation's Campus Ecology Chill Out contest recognizes colleges and universities around the country which are implementing innovative programs to reduce global warming pollution.
Chico State was selected as the grand prize winner from more than 100 entries nationwide.
"If every campus, business and organization in the country followed Chico's example, we would quickly lick the global warming problem," Julian Keniry, director of campus and community leadership for the National Wildlife Federation, said in a press release.
Chico State President Paul Zingg said "Reducing climate impact is a day-to-day, person-to-person priority at Chico State. On many fronts, students, faculty, staff and community members are collaborating on projects that effectively move us towards a healthier, more sustainable environment."
In December 2006, Zingg signed the American College and University President Climate Commitment, which calls on campuses to work towards climate neutrality.
Chico State is also committed to making sustainability integral to student education.
Students have taken the lead to promote sustainability on campus by creating a student fee to fund sustainability projects, retrofitting a residence hall, creating sustainability service-learning programs, and installing energy-saving software on computers.
Two buildings on campus are registered with the U.S. Green Building Council, and all new buildings constructed will meet the Council's standards for environmentally sustainable construction. A 300-kilowatt solar array was installed on two campus rooftops.
Chico will be featured in an Earth Day Chill Out webcast by the National Wildlife Federation at noon Wednesday.
The webcast includes videos of each winning school's project and a taped address from Al Gore. The webcast will be part of global warming events scheduled on over 100 college campuses throughout the nation.
Chico will receive a $1,000 grant from the National Wildlife Federation to continue innovating global warming solutions. The campus also will get a special screening of "An Inconvenient Truth," the Oscar-winning documentary wakeup-call film about the threats of global warming, in their campus theater.