Stewardship
Climate change has the potential to affect each and every citizen of the planet. It is thus each of our responsibilities to learn more about what's happening and what we can do to reduce the anthropogenic causes of climate change. The following section provides an overview of what NAU is doing to reduce its carbon footprint and ways that university students, staff, faculty, and administrators can work towards a more sustainable future.
New Tribal Climate Change Website
Climate change challenges all of Earth’s residents, but Native Americans who live close to and draw spiritual sustenance from the land are impacted more than most. Problems fostered by planetary warming include intensified drought, changes in native plant and animal populations, stresses to traditional agriculture and subsistence practices, and a host of other impacts.
The new website includes:
* Audio files of tribal elders offering their views of climate change.
* General information on climate change and its impacts on various ecosystems and regions of the country.
* Stories describing how the tribes are affected by climate change and what they’re doing to cope.
* Practical actions you can take to minimize your global-warming "footprint" at home, at work, and in your community.
* ....and much more!
Most of us would love to save money on utility bills while helping the environment. We just don't know where to begin. Now Visible Energy shows how you and other households -- next door and around the country -- use energy, and just how much you can save with a few simple steps. It only takes seconds to get started with Visible Energy's free web-based tools. Take control of your energy use for the sake of your wallet and the planet!
Visible Energy, Inc. is a company dedicated to making the world’s energy use visible in a way that empowers homeowners, schools, and businesses to change their energy use to save money, reduce their carbon footprint, and increase energy security.
VE was founded by a group of scientists and engineers who believe that managing energy use can be easy, fun, and empowering.
The Carbon Footprint Project is measuring the university's contribution to global warming, and figuring out ways to reduce the contribution. In other words, the project is measuring the greenhouse gas "footprint" of the campus, and then looking for ways to find a smaller shoe. The project is organized as an independent study course during the spring semester comprised of NAU students, staff, and faculty from six departments and three colleges around campus. Its work is designed to hep NAU meet the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment.
To help calculate NAU's contribution to global warming and see how your travel footprint compares with other people at NAU, take the NAU Commuter Greenhouse Gas Survey.
Navigating the Green Road: A Guide to NAU's Environmental Resources
Navigating the Green Road: A Guide to Northern Arizona University's Environmental Resources provides a comprehensive compilation of the university's environmental services, organizations, and programs in one complete format. The guide currently undergoing revisions, so check back in mid-fall for the updated edition. The publication was compiled by the Ecological Monitoring & Assessment Program & Foundation at NAU.
American College & University President Climate Commitment
NAU is committed to being a national leader in modeling ways to reduce greenhouse gas emission, and educating students, faculty, staff, and the community about the potential threats of global warming.
In 2007, University President John Haegar became a charter signatory of the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment, an effort to "neutralize greenhouse gas emissions, and to accelerate the reserach and educational effots of higher education to equip sociey to re-stabilize the earth's climate" (Presidents Climate Commitment," About"). This commitment pledges that NAU will become carbon neutral by 2020. Other milestone include:
- completing an emissions inventory;
- taking immediate steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions;
- integrating sustainability into the curriculum.
Visit the President's Climate Commitment to learn more.
Recycling at NAU
Recycling has been ongoing since early 1991, when campus warehouse space (building 84) was dedicated to the program. Recycling began modestly, with just over 100 tons in the first year. By 1996, this had increased to almost 1200 tons per year, with an average annual tonnage of 1124 between 1994 and 2004. In the summer of 2005, NAU closed the on-campus facility and entered into a contract with the City of Flagstaff for recycling and trash collection. The new program, and new policy, was announced in June, 2005.
Global Climate Change Research Overview
Many research groups around the world are currently involved with
researching global climate change. Global climate change is commonly
associated with a build up of "greenhouse gases" - including
carbon dioxide, methane, and chlorinated compounds. These gases have
the potential to accumulate in the atmosphere and reflect more of
the sun's radiation back to the earth's surface. These gases are
responsible for producing life-sustaining temperatures on the surface;
however, a buildup of these protective gases may prove to be too much
of a good thing.
Additional factors also contribute to global climate change. Altered land use can often produce significant changes in climate. Many large metropolitan areas become virtual heat islands due to dense areas of concrete and asphalt. These materials absorb heat during the day, but they release this heat much slower than natural soil. This extended heating disrupts normal convection processes and produces pollution inversion layers and can alter weather patterns.
Many research groups are investigating climate change at local and global scales. The Merriam-Powell Center for Environmental Research is highlighting these research groups and their important research by offering this central links page to bring a global audience to their work. Please explore the following links to learn more about their research and climate change studies around the world.
Center for Global Change
(http://www.cgc.uaf.edu/) - The Center for Global Change and Arctic System Research was established in March 1990 to serve as the focal point at the University of Alaska Fairbanks for developing, coordinating and implementing interdisciplinary research and education related to the role of the Arctic and sub-Arctic in the Earth system, and to stimulate and facilitate global change research in this region. The scientific focus of the Center is on understanding the physical, biological, chemical and social processes of the Arctic that interact with the total Earth system, and the relationship of those interactions to global change. In addressing this interdisciplinary challenge, the Center draws on the well established strengths of the University's institutes and colleges in arctic biology, atmospheric chemistry, climatology, engineering, geophysics, hydrology, natural resources management, social sciences, and marine sciences.
Global Change and Terrestrial Ecosystems Home Page
(http://www.gcte.org/) - Global Change and Terrestrial Ecosystem (GCTE) is a Core Project of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), an international scientific research programme established in 1986 by the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU). The GCTE's scientific objectives are to predict the effects of changes in climate, atmospheric composition, and land use on terrestrial ecosystems, including (i) agriculture, forestry, soils; and (ii) biodiversity and to determine how these effects lead to feedbacks to the atmosphere and the physical climate system.
Global Change Magazine Electronic Version
(http://www.globalchange.org/) - Global Change seeks to familiarize the public with the issues associated with climate change and ozone depletion. Since July 1996, the magazine has been published by the Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security (Oakland, California). The publication originally was launched in July 1995 by the University of Maryland's Center for Global Change. We try to post new material at least once each month. For a list of the most recent postings in all categories, access the Latest Postings heading on the home page. The articles are brief and written for a very broad audience. A large glossary is provided for those who are not familiar with some of the words we use. For those who wish to learn more about specific topics or articles, Global Change provides extensive references, including direct linkages to information sources elsewhere on the Interne
Government of Canada Climate Change Website
(http://www.ecoaction.gc.ca/index-eng.cfm) - This is the main climate change centre for the Government of Canada. It highlights what federal, provincial, and other agencies in Canada are doing to address global climate change. This site includes information on current issues and investigations, as well as information about what the government is doing to address these issues. This site is offered in English and French language versions.
Greenhouse Gases & the Kyoto Protocol
(http://maps.grida.no/kyoto/default.htm) - This interactive map presents data collected by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for the international summit in the Hague, November 2000. Users can select different layers showing on a global map how much and where greenhouse gases are produced. Data is from 1998 emissions and 2010 emission projections.
NASA Global Hydrology and Climate Center
(http://www.ghcc.msfc.nasa.gov/ghcc_home.html) - The GHCC's many areas of study are closely related to each other. Like the climate and environment we study, no one aspect stands alone; all connect in a complex, interactive Earth-Atmosphere system. This is what makes our work both challenging and intriguing. Below are some of our areas of research: understanding the Global Water Cycle, what microwaves teach us about the atmosphere, observing lightning from space, how satellites observe changes in atmospheric aerosols and their effects on the climate, measuring atmospheric winds with lasers, the urban environment, and learning from the past.
Pew Center on Global Climate Change
(http://www.pewclimate.org/) - The Pew Center on Global Climate Change is a non-profit, non-partisan and independent organization dedicated to providing credible information, straight answers and innovative solutions in the effort to address global climate change. Established in 1998 by the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Center is led by Eileen Claussen, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, and staffed by a dedicated team of professionals who are committed to advancing the debate in a credible and stimulating manner. Click here for our distinguished Board of Directors. The objective of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change is to educate the public and key policy makers about the causes and potential consequences of climate change, and to encourage the domestic and international community to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. To accomplish this objective, the Pew Center will: (1) release highly publicized reports on environmental impacts, economics and policy issues; (2) educate the public through advertising, public-speaking events and conferences; and (3) advance international negotiations on climate change by coordinating cross-country policy, industry and government discussions. But moving forward will require a sustained effort from all of us.
US National Assessment- The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change
(http://www.usgcrp.gov/usgcrp/nacc/default.htm) - The US National Assessment of the Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change for the Nation will provide a detailed understanding of the consequences of climate change for the nation and will examine the possible coping mechanisms that exist to adapt to climate change. This assessment will include regional activities, sectoral activities, and a broad synthesis. It will be conducted as a public-private partnership and will emphasize a process driven by the needs of the stakeholders throughout the country who are best positioned to identify the priority information needs, and the most rewarding ways of responding.
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(http://www.unfccc.int/) - The secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has been on the World Wide Web since 1995. This new "third generation" website, http://www.unfccc.int, updates and consolidates information from the previous site and adds several new features and resources. Information on the site is now more streamlined, making it easier and quicker to locate information. The site provides Parties, representatives of observer organizations and others interested in the UNFCCC process, with a one-stop source of news, data, information and documents. Information is organized under seven main headings: What's New, The Secretariat, Programmes, Resources, Sessions, Media Room and Site Information
US Global Change Research Information Office
(http://www.gcrio.org/) - The US Global Change Research Information Office (GCRIO) provides access to data and information on global environmental change research, adaptation/mitigation strategies and technologies, and global change related educational resources on behalf of the US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) and its participating Federal Agencies and Organizations. GCRIO is implemented by The Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) at Columbia University.  |