The folks I’ve met with so far at the Ministerio de Energia y Minas have some great ideas.  They’ve got a vision of moving from an energy mix of 47% crude, 28% renewables (mostly hydro), 21% natural gas, and 4% coal to about one-third each of crude, renewables, and natural gas.  Unlike the US, where we have a lot of low-cost (though very expensive from a systems-view) coal, Peru is looking at greater supply constraints (though they do have some proven reserves of oil and natural gas). They’ve got some significant solar and wind projects in the works, they are mapping out other possible sources like geothermal, and are really looking for ways to manage the demand side.  They’ve done a lot of public outreach and awareness building and developed many guidelines and informational resources for facilities people in various sectors. Early last year, a couple of representatives reached out to us at Second Nature with an interest in engaging their higher education sector in this work, recognizing that without these institutions providing tomorrow’s leaders with a comprehensive sustainability perspective, the chances for significant change were very limited.  

They attended the 3rd Annual Climate Leadership Summit of the ACUPCC last August in Chicago and heard from college & university presidents, the USGBC, Janine Benyus, Peter Senge, and Bill Clinton about the importance of demand-side reduction, energy efficiency, and new ways of thinking, educating and innovating.  There was also a lot of talk about how to finally bring the ACUPCC concept international.  We had a panel of representatives from the UK, Taiwan, and Malaysia who had already been working on that in various capacities, and a general feeling that it was vitally important to do so. The Peruvian delegation continued to work on the idea and arranged this meeting for university representatives,  government officials, and others to explore the idea further, and learn about the benefits, opportunities, and strategies for carrying it out.  I’m presenting tomorrow on the current status of the ACUPCC and then again on some of the specific resources available to support the network – like the ACUPCC Reporting System, the Clean Air – Cool Planet Campus Carbon Calculator, the CAP wiki, and ACUPCC guidance documents on leading change, the academic components of climate action planning, carbon offsets, and financing sustainability projects.

Skip to Content Find it FastThis browser does not support Cascading Style Sheets. Atmospheric CO2 concentrations reach 850 ppm in the year 2100 in a world characterized by high population growth, medium GDP growth, high energy use, medium/high land-use changes, low resource availability and slow introduction of new and efficient technologies. From the climate visualization maps for the years 2025 and 2095 created from data provided by the National Center for Atmospheric Research and available through EOS-WEBSTER's Climate Changes in the 21st Century Data Collection. air duct cleaning in dearborn miAnnouncing the new partnership, Adam Markham, CEO of Clean Air-Cool Planet, said “This collaboration allows both Clean Air-Cool Planet and UNH to better serve our respective and common constituencies.” air duct cleaning in milton ontario

“The New Hampshire Carbon Challenge still exists,” explains Blaha, “but it’s now the first state initiative in what we’re calling the Residential Carbon Challenge – the larger umbrella organization in collaboration with Clean Air-Cool Planet.” Under the merger Dundorf became Clean Air - Cool Planet’s manager of community relations. Because nearly half of all greenhouse gas emissions come from residential heating, cooling, electricity, and transportation, the success of the New Hampshire Carbon Challenge, and it’s merger with Clean Air-Cool Planet, is a significant step forward in efforts to combat global warming. ozone air purifier dangersAs Blaha notes, while there have been a number of programs and initiatives aimed at controlling greenhouse gas emissions, “historically, the residential sector has been the hardest nut to crack” because it’s difficult to change personal behaviors.

“Our homes are our castles, and we want to drive any car we choose – it’s that sort of thing,” Blaha says. That the Carbon Challenge has convinced over 2,000 households to pledge carbon reductions totaling 13,500,000 pounds of CO2 for a collective savings of $1.4 million represents some serious cracking of a tough nut. “We’ve been able to make the connection between energy consumption, emissions, and energy costs, and demonstrate to households that by making some fairly modest changes they can significantly reduce their energy expenses and emissions. I say to people, ‘Give me 15 minutes and I can probably save you several hundred dollars in energy costs.’” Another program catchphrase has been, “Ask me how I lost 10,000 pounds!” Changes homeowners can pledge to make range from driving less, changing to compact fluorescent light bulbs, recycling, and washing clothes in cold water to purchasing a fuel-efficient car, an Energy Star refrigerator, or using biodiesel fuel instead of home heating oil.

To date, households that have taken the Carbon Challenge have reduced their energy use by an average of 16% and are saving approximately $750 a year in fuel and electricity costs.According to Blaha, one of the most powerful aspects of the program is that when a household takes the challenge it is always “linked” to other households in town that have done the same (a household can also select to be part of other groups, like businesses, schools, churches or municipalities, who have taken the challenge).This linkage is visible on the website via a couple of means, including a regional map that identifies every town or business to have taken the challenge along with the associated tally of CO2 reductions and cost savings. It's pretty clear from social science research that people make environmentally beneficial changes when their friends, families, and neighbors make similar changes,” Blaha says. “Linking households together is a good way for a community to publicize their collective effort and encourage more households to do the same.”