The Sierra Club has been working with student coalitions to green-up their schools with a Campuses Beyond Coal Campaign. Since 2009, students have been influential in getting their educational institutions to retire a third of the on-campus coal plants. The work goes further through the Fossil Free Movement as student activists have successfully urged administrations to divest university stock holdings in fossil fuel companies.
But how do you replace all that fossil fuel? The Sierra Student Coalition has launched a Campuses for Clean Energy Campaign where members will try to persuade universities to reinvest in 100 percent clean energy and demand that from their utilities. Universities are big energy consumers with a lot more power in the marketplace than an average customer and very likely able to help set a moral precedent. It’s not far fetched. The Minneapolis City Council Health, Environment and Community Engagement Committee voted to authorize a first in the nation clean energy partnership agreement with its utilities. Negotiations for change with big utilities can take time, so some students are also taking direct action by applying for grants to get solar, wind and other renewables on campus.
Fossil Free Movement: www.gofossilfree.org
Campuses for Clean Energy: www.sc.org/CFCEnergy
Campuses Beyond Coal: www.sc.org/CampusesBeyondCoal
Minneapolis Energy - October 10 (InClimate 648):
http://www.minneapolismn.gov/news/WCMS1P-131857
http://www.minneapolismn.gov/energyfranchise/index.htm