Chancellor Blumenthal Highlights UCSC's 'Green" Achievements
UCSC aims to be a leader in "green" energy and sustainable practices, according to Chancellor George Blumenthal. On the environmental front, Blumenthal said, "We're greener than ever--but not with envy."
The chancellor listed several ways the campus is working to accomplish that goal at last week's Spring Open Forum, in addition to answering questions from staff about contracts, salaries, the state budget, long-term plans, and more.
The campus has:
- Released a sustainability report that showed, among other achievements, that water consumption per capita on campus has fallen 40 percent since the 1980s;
- Been identified for the second year in a row by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as the sixth-largest campus purchaser of "green power" in the country;
- Made progress in reducing car trips to campus, using programs such as vanpools, bike shuttles, and the Zipcar car-sharing service. Zipcar recently ranked the UCSC program as the most well-utilized and fastest-growing car-share of any of its university programs in the nation;
- Added a new bike shuttle that leaves from University Inn & Conference Center.