Submitted on January 15, 2010; last updated on October 26, 2010
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The University of Maine will employ three fundamental mitigation principles to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040: 1) Reduction in total campus energy use through highly efficient delivery of energy services. 2) Replacement of fossil fuel energy inputs with renewable energy flows. 3) Procurement of emissions offsets to cover whatever remaining emissions reductions are required after the first two strategies have been implemented as aggressively as possible. The UMaine Climate Action Plan also establishes specific performance standards that will be used to guide decision-making and ensure that the specific projects that we implement produce adequate GHG emissions reductions. Please see the attached report for more details.
Sustainability, renewable energy research, and innovation are already important components of the UMaine experience for both undergraduate and graduate students, but we are committed to expanding and improving the sustainability-related learning opportunities that we offer. Our goal is to be a leader in training the next generation of environmental innovators who will be confident in their ability to incorporate the latest and most exciting findings in natural-systems and renewable-energy research into the day to day workings of the global economy. UMaine will work towards this goal by focusing on the following areas: Sustainability in the General Education Core Curriculum / Undergraduate Research Opportunities Strengthening Ties with Student Environmental Groups Sustainability-Focused Graduate Programs Please see the attached report for more details.
During 2009, UMaine received nearly $50 million in external funding to support sustainability-related research on campus. In addition to creating practical solutions to problems being faced by Mainers today, UMaine researchers are working to develop new technologies that will catalyze significant change in the renewable energy industry and will transform energy use at the national and even international levels. We are very excited about the tremendous progress that we have made in this area, and we will strive to strengthen even further our research programs in the areas of climate science, sustainability, and renewable energy. We are particularly excited about the following research programs: Global Climate Change Research Deepwater Offshore Wind Power in the Gulf of Maine Tidal Power Forest Bioproducts Research Initiative (FBRI) Please see the attached report for more details.
As a Land-Grant institution, the University of Maine conducts public outreach and service on an ongoing basis. As a part of this climate action plan, however, we will work to move towards a model of deeper sustainability-related engagement with the broader university community and the general public. Our primary goal is to make UMaine a vibrant meeting place for both the exchange of ideas and the creation of solutions related to the challenge of global climate change. We are very proud of what we already do, and we look forward to great progress in the following areas: Cooperative Extension/Sea Grant and Sustainable Agriculture Public Policy Education / Lifelong Learning Stakeholder Engagement through the Sustainability Solutions Initiative (SSI) Please see the attached report for more details.
