Read David Hales' addition to Principal Voices, in which CNN, Fortune and Time asked three global experts in each of the fields of Urbanization, Environment, Economic Development and Collaborative Corporation to reflect upon the state of the world:  http://www.principalvoices.com/2006/environment/

In honor of the inauguration of its fifth president, David F. Hales, College of the Atlantic's Board of Trustees has designated the college a "net zero" campus for greenhouse gas emissions beginning Friday, Oct. 6.

This first-in-the-nation commitment comes at the request of President Hales, on the eve of his inauguration on Sunday, Oct. 8. Believing that specific environmental initiatives are necessary to protect the atmosphere, the college has pledged to avoid, reduce or offset all contributions to global warming that are associated with any of the college's activities, including travel by students to and from campus.

"Just as all greenhouse gas emissions adversely affect the atmosphere, all emission reductions benefit it," says President Hales. "What we put into the atmosphere in Maine can be offset by reducing emissions here and elsewhere, so that we are able to reduce our college's negative global warming impact to zero."

All of COA's annual emissions, including electricity, heating, commuting-even travel to the college for this weekend's inauguration, will be offset by funds to be invested in projects that reduce the college's greenhouse gas emissions to "net zero."

"Every institution large or small has a responsibility to protect the only atmosphere we have," added President Hales, who recently served as Counsel for Sustainability Policy to Worldwatch Institute, an independent research organization focused on energy, resource and environmental issues. Hales earlier directed programs in environmental policy and sustainability at the United States Agency for International Development.

Global warming is caused by the build-up in the atmosphere of greenhouse gases resulting from human activity, primarily the burning of fossil fuels, causing major climate shifts that have been linked to extreme weather events, desertification and a loss of biodiversity. By reducing actual emissions on campus, and by investing in renewable energy and energy-efficient projects elsewhere for those greenhouse gas emissions it cannot reduce, the college will ensure that its greenhouse gas emissions have a "net-zero" annual impact on global warming. Carbon offsets enable institutions to reduce the CO2 emissions for which they are responsible by offsetting, reducing or displacing the CO2 where greater reductions can be achieved more efficiently. Offsets might include harvesting the wind to generate electricity, investing in businesses turning agricultural wastes into fuel, or other means of encouraging renewable energy and energy efficiency, thereby reducing our reliance on fossil fuels.  
 
"I am proud to go to a school that understands its impact on the world that I am inheriting," said senior John Deans, who has spent much of his time at the college studying climate change, alternative energy and green business. "I am working hard to combat climate change that threatens my generation and I am glad that my college is working just as hard."

Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the United Nations agency investigating the risks of human-induced climate change, praised College of the Atlantic's initiative: "Perhaps the most important aspect of this commitment is that it can be matched by every person and institution in the world," Pachauri said. "College of the Atlantic's net-zero carbon emissions plan is scientifically sound, simple to understand and straightforward to implement. It just requires a commitment to a sustainable future, and I am very proud of the trustees and the college for their leadership in setting such a strong example."

Since its very first year of classes in 1972, when students were instrumental in getting Maine to pass its groundbreaking bottle recycling bill, College of the Atlantic has been a leader in promoting environmental sustainability. In 2004, COA became the first institution of higher learning to sign a multiple-year contract to offset 100% of the emissions generated from its electricity use. In 2005, the college had the first zero-waste graduation, a time of such focus on trash reduction that the week's general campus operations, along with commencement and a reception for 800 people, netted no more than five pounds of waste. COA's 2006 commitment to become a "net-zero" campus for greenhouse gas emissions is even more far-reaching.

College of the Atlantic was founded in 1969 to offer a new educational philosophy to prepare students to address the world's social and environmental challenges. Its one major, Human Ecology, pioneers a distinctive interdisciplinary approach to undergraduate education that is especially well suited to developing the types of leaders required to address the future sustainability of the world's ecosystems in the face of compelling and growing human needs.