Climate Change: The Challenge and the Opportunity
March 2021
Watch the video of Jonathan Overpeck's lecture on Climate Change - The Challenge and the Opportunity”
Did you miss the the 2021 Drs. Gene & Carol Willeke Frontiers in Environmental Science Distinguished Lecture?
View the lecture on “Climate Change - The Challenge and the Opportunity” by Climate Scientist Dr. Jonathan Overpeck, Dean of the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability, on your own time.
Overpeck was a Working Group Lead Author for both the Nobel Prize-winning International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 4th Assessment in 2007 and the IPCC 5th Assessment in 2014.
He has led climate research programs on five continents investigating climate and paleoclimate dynamics, ice sheets and sea level, climate-vegetation interaction, drought and megadrought dynamics.
- Overpeck is a member of University of Michigan’s President’s Commission on Carbon Neutrality, charged with recommending scalable and transferrable strategies for U-M to achieve net-zero emissions.
February 2021
Residence Hall Students: Fill out our survey on campus mail delivery by March 12
Reducing fuel consumption and making the campus fleet more efficient is a step towards achieving carbon neutrality.
To reduce fuel consumption, Miami’s PFD has begun reducing the number of mail deliveries per week to academic and administrative buildings on campus. This was arranged with input from those affected by the change.
Now, PFD would like input from students living in Residence Halls on a proposed change to reduce mail delivery to Residential Halls from 5 days a week to 2 days a week.
Please fill out our Mail Delivery Survey here.
Nov. 2020
Check out our new Sustainability Snapshot
Miami University ranked 71st among the Sierra Club’s “Coolest Schools” 2020 for the greenest colleges. Miami is the top Ohio public university on the list of 312 schools ranked based on food, energy, waste, research, transportation and curriculum.
Miami is also again listed in The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges: 2021 Edition, one of 416 schools selected for being environmentally responsible.
The Sierra Club and the Princeton Review both use data from institutions’ Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) reports in collaboration with the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.
Miami has spent 10 years on the path to carbon neutrality by transforming energy systems on the Oxford campus. In September, Miami became a signatory of Second Nature’s Presidents’ Climate Leadership Commitments (PCLC) climate commitment, pledging Miami to carbon neutrality and climate resilience.
The PCLC Climate Commitment moves us forward, expanding our reach to long-term climate action and community partnerships that are the path to a sustainable future.
Take a look our new 2020 Sustainability Snapshot:An at-a-glance guide to Miami’s sustainability initiatives and path to carbon neutrality.
Oct. 2020
Climate Action Task Force seeking student representative: Apply by Oct. 18
Miami’s new Climate Action Task Force (CATF) executive steering committee is seeking students interested in sustainability and climate change to apply for the position of CATF Student Representative.
Sept. 2020
Thank you!
Thank you to Miami President Greg Crawford, Second Nature's President Tim Carter, Oxford mayor Mike Smith and assistant city manager Jessica Greene; members of Miami’s new Climate Action Task Force; and nearly 100 attendees: The Autumnal Equinox (Sept. 22) signing of the Presidents’ Climate Leadership Commitments (PCLC) was a memorable event! (link to Zoom recording posted soon).
Climate Commitment = Carbon + Resilience
Miami has joined more than 400 other colleges and universities that have signed Second Nature’s PCLC commitment to carbon neutrality and will join the 111 schools that have also committed to resilience through the climate commitment.
Next steps: Complete resilience assessment in 2022; Climate Action Plan in 2023.
The PCLC timeline starts upon signing the commitments. Miami has already met the first step of creating a Climate Action Task Force. Major steps are:
- Within 2 years: Complete a Campus-Community Resilience Assessment (by September 2022).
- Within 3 years: Develop comprehensive Climate Action Plan and set a target for achieving carbon neutrality (by September 2023).
Sustainability Partnerships
MU-Lean
MU-Lean is a method of organizing human activities to deliver more benefits and value to customers while systematically eliminating waste within processes.
Physical Facilities (PFD)
Physical Facilities (PFD) creates a more sustainable and green campus through proper waste management, energy conservation, and responsible construction practices.
Recognition and Honors
The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS®) is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. Miami earned Gold in its most recent STARS assessment.
Miami received the Bicycle Friendly University-Bronze Award in November 2018 from the League of American Bicyclists for promoting and enabling safe, accessible bicycling on campus.
Noted for a walkable campus, new bike paths, expanded transit, a major shift to geothermal heating and cooling, a comprehensive storm water master plan and a commitment to the purchase of local/organic food, Miami was included in the Princeton Review Guide to 399 Green Colleges for 2018.