Smith College Sustainability Committee Update
By Mai Kobyashi (‘06)

The College Sustainability Committee consists of members appointed by the President, and is currently led by Don Baumer of the Government Department. Its members include four student representatives; Cristina Clementi (’06), Lindsey French (’07), Ilona Johnson (’06), and Katherine Thompson (’06) and ten faculty and staff members; Ann Finley (Dining Services), Gary Hartwell (Physical Plant), Todd Holland (Five-College Energy Management), Leslie King (Sociology and ES&P), Ann Leone (Landscape Studies), Thomas Litwin (Clark Science Center Director), Michael Marcotrigiano (Botanic Garden Director), Joanne Benkley (ES&P Program Coordinator), and Herb Nickles (ITS Director).

Notable accomplishments by the Committee last year include the completion of the Greenhouse Gas Inventory Project by student intern Elizabeth Thomas (’05). The project completes a portion of the agreement the College signed with Clean-Air, Cool-Planet, a non-profit organization dedicated to finding and promoting solutions to global warming. Further efforts were made through the Clean Energy for Smith Campaign, a student organization led by Changxin Fang (’05), who collected an award-winning number of signatures from the Smith College community in favor of Clean Energy at Smith. A proposal written by Clean Energy for Smith was presented to the Sustainability Committee, from which recommendations have been implemented into activities for this academic year. Several conservation/energy efficiency projects, as part of the new Green Team program, have been launched already. Such projects include the installation of energy-efficient light bulbs in residential houses and other campus buildings, the “Million Monitor Drive” campaign, the installation of Vending Machine Misers that program the machines to run only at certain times of day, moving forward with plans for the co-generation plant, and encouraging general conservation/efficiency within student houses and across campus.

In March ’05, the first segment of the Good Company Project took place, a process through which the college hopes to develop a comprehensive sustainability assessment and plan for the future. The Chapin Lawn preservation project, with the support of the Campus Planning Committee, led to the alteration in traffic patterns on Chapin Lawn. With the new fence and signage, the green space and the trees will be better preserved, minimizing unnecessary maintenance measures.

“I have long thought that a lot can be accomplished through conservation and good sense. I am very excited about the Green Team efforts to conserve resources and avoid waste,” states Baumer. The Sustainability Committee’s goals for the 2005-06 academic year are to continue in the same vein, especially with regards to the Green Team activities, and to make formal recommendations to Administrators about future sustainability efforts the College might undertake.