Climate Initiative

The Williams College Climate Initiative

Climate change is a preeminent challenge of our time. Its effects will be felt throughout the world for generations to come. Williamstown, the state of Massachusetts, and peer institutions have already set targets for greenhouse gas emission reductions. As one of the nationâ€™s foremost institutions of higher learning, Williams College has an obligation to lead by example. In signing this petition, we call upon President Schapiro and the Board of Trustees to adopt a Climate Action Plan that would ensure a 10% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2010, and a 20% reduction by 2015. The Plan would entail compiling an updated, comprehensive carbon emission inventory, laying out a framework and timeline to achieve our reduction targets, and hiring a Campus Sustainability Coordinator to facilitate the Climate Action Plan and all future sustainability projects.

Sincerely,

The undersigned. (in 2005 or 2006)

Background information:

Williams College is responsible for emitting 34,700 tons of carbon dioxide per year, a quarter of Williamstownâ€™s total emissions. This is approximately 11.5 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per person at Williams College.

More than 37 colleges and universities have set an example by meeting or beating the Kyoto Protocol agreement for emissions reductions. For example, see the recent article The Greening of America's Campuses (New York Times, Jan 8 2006).

Williamstown has already adopted a climate action plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 10% percent by 2010. Williams College is a member of this community and an integral part of the townâ€™s plan.

Natural variability alone cannot account for the recent changes in global climate. Scientific models can explain climate changes in the last 50 years only by taking into account greenhouse gas emissions attributable to humans.

Historical Temperature Variations

Frequently Asked Questions about the Climate Initiative

Signatures

We have finished collecting signatures -- well over a thousand people including those who signed on paper, by email, and on this page. Thank you for this impressive and significant show of support.

Signatures:

Emily Russell-Roy
Robin Stewart
Justin Bates
Keith McWhorter
Marcus Duyzend
Ashlee Martinez
Carolyn Reuman
Donald Mitchell
Megan O'Malley
Matt Britton
Betsy Chang
Alan Cordova
Chris Ellis-Ferrara
Alison Davies
Aston Gonzalez
Alex Tanton
Nika Engberg
Elise Leduc
Alexis Saba
Margaret Pigman
Katherine Montgomery
Katherine Majzoub
Jason Ren
Anne E. Smith
Abby McBride
Jonathan Dowse
Jennifer Messier
Benjamin Wood
Ward Schaefer
Sunmi Yang
David Weimer
Morgan Goodwin
David Letzler
Lisetta Shah
Sam Sterling
Anne Louise Ennis
Kendell Newman
Julia Sendor
Reed Harrison
Noah Smith-Drelich
Carol Rosenberg
Erin Chong
Matt Simonson
Becky Davies
Emily Olsen
Liz Gleason
Caroline Plitt
Elizabeth Atkinson
Michael Gallagher
Lucy Cox-Chapman
Jay Cox-Chapman
Elissa Brown
Hannah Gray
Alex Ambros
Cary Bearn
Brenna Baccaro
Rachel Schneebaum
David C Schwab
Emily L Wasserman
John Kling
Chris Carrier
Daniel Perez
Carynne McIver
Allison Seyferth
Sara Beach
Clara Hard
Spike Friedman
Merritt Edlind
Natee Pitiwan
YaWen Lu
Hanjie Jessie Yu
Anna Scholtz
Will Wetzel
Alejandro Acosta
Rahul Bahl
Rebecca Gordon
Elizabeth Campbell
Auyon Mukharji
Nick Yates
Sarah Martin
Brendan Dougherty
Randy Dorf
Parker Shorey
Zoe Fonseca
Jacob King
Nadia Moore
Betsy Ribble
Vickie Fernandez
Jonathan Stone
Emilie Voight
Sean Barker
David Rogawski
Emily Brown
An-Lo Yu
Dave Kleinschmidt
Josh Goldberg-Sussman
Meghan Ryan
John Chatlos
Erin Blanchard
Ben T. Brown
Michael Biblowit
Anna Weber
Angela Doyle
Sara Jablonski
Alex Roth
Shelby Kimmel
Benjamin Howard
Matt Wilka
Amber LaFountain
Ana Pacheco-Navarro
Julia Brown
Stephen Abbott
Owen Westbrook
Jamie Sweeney
Christine Hunt
Jason Kohn
Stuart Jones
Jessie Kerr
Henry Burton
Nicholas Colella
Shannon Chiu
Amanda Strogoff
Anne C. Smith
Tyler Auer
Aaron Bloom
Thomas Miller
Allyson Holmes
Emily Bonem
Joey Lye
Nick Anderson
Jefferson Lin
Robert Cooper
Mack Brickley
Neal Holtschulte
Elise Henson
Charles Soucy
Avery Briggs
Oliver Burton
Eliot Crafton
Jeremy Doernberger
Alison Koppe
Melanie Hobart
Nora Morse
Michelle Kurkul
Elspeth Mitchell
Susan Raich
Kat Conaway
Carrie Miller
Emma Bene
Ansel Bubel
Whitney A. Leonard
Kimberley Taylor
Sarah Hill
Erin Weekley
Jared Oubre
Kaitlin Dirrig
Emily Peinert
Rebecca Corwin
Tseli Mohammed
Patricia O'Reilly
Elissa Hardy
Maddie Jones
Rick Redmond
Jane Allen
Elana Boehm
Bevin Blaber
Tomio Ueda
Julia Behrman
Adam McKay
Joan Danver
Crissy Haley
Leah Joy Weintraub
Robert Buesing
Sara Kazanjian
Martin Williams
Katharine Josephson
Baafour Otu-Boateng
Emily Button
Elissa Klein
Elise Piazza
Will McClain
Alexandra Letvin
Annie Denison
Thomas Zimmerman
Stephanie Hsiung
Hannah Cho
Caroline Toy
Paaven Thaker
Kathryn Fromson
Ben Bodurian
Tova Meyer
Emily Bruce
Daniel Fischler
Alda Chan
Hilary Gee
Becca Gifford
Rafael Frias
Liz Kantack
Ryan Dunfee