Catholic campuses embrace 'green' initiatives

Published: 2007-07-27

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Amid fears about global warming, going "green" has achieved new popularity. However, for many Catholic colleges and universities, developing a sustainable campus has always been a goal -- one that is now easier to achieve with new technologies. At Georgetown University in Washington, for instance, solar panels were installed on the roof of a building in the early 1980s. Almost 30 years later, the panel design is the longest running such project of its scale still operational in the United States. Today, the Jesuit university has an energy management team that monitors and fine-tunes energy use in campus buildings throughout the day. For another Jesuit school, Boston College, the impetus to reduce energy consumption and become a sustainable campus comes from its Catholic mission, said Jack Dunn, the director of public affairs at the college. Boston College saved more than a million dollars last year after it launched a campaign to reduce energy consumption. Managing Boston College's effect on the environment, Dunn said, is an effort students have joined.

Copyright (c) 2007 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .