As the global climate crisis deepens, President Obama addressed it in a major speech presented to college students on June 24:
“The question now is whether we will have the courage to act before it’s too late.... As a President, as a father, and as an American, I’m here to say we need to act. I refuse to condemn your generation and future generations to a planet that’s beyond fixing.”
Obama pointed out how local efforts are providing needed leadership in shifting our nation away from dependence on fossil fuels. Here at Ohio University, there is now a unique opportunity to provide that leadership. The proposed Turning Point solar farm in southeast Ohio would take a former strip mine site and convert it into one of the largest solar farms (49.9 megawatts) east of the Mississippi River. Where the enormous “Big Muskie” coal shovel once scraped the land, no less than 250,000 solar panels would be installed. Every single one would be built right here in Ohio, at a facility attracted here because of the planned size of Turning Point.
The final step necessary is to line up electricity purchasers. Due to the size of OU, project planners confirm that if OU were to enter into a substantial purchase agreement, it would allow the project to become a reality. OU has already formally committed itself to transitioning its electricity supply away from sources that generate global warming greenhouse gases and toward clean renewable alternatives. In 2007, OU President McDavis officially signed the University Presidents Climate Commitment. An excerpt:
“We, the undersigned presidents and chancellors of colleges and universities, are deeply concerned about the unprecedented scale and speed of global warming and its potential for large-scale, adverse health, social, economic and ecological effects. ... Accordingly, we commit our institutions to … initiate the development of a comprehensive plan to achieve climate neutrality as soon as possible.”
It also encourages signers to take the following action: “Within one year of signing this document, begin purchasing or producing at least 15 percent of our institution’s electricity consumption from renewable sources.”
Other universities in Ohio have taken major steps. Ohio State University signed an agreement to obtain a full 25 percent of its electricity from wind farms in northwest Ohio, establishing OSU as a leading green campus. Another example: “The University of Toledo meets much of its power needs with a 1.12-megawatt solar array and an 80-kilowatt wind farm... Officials have committed to eventually powering the entire campus with renewable energy and biofuels.”
OU is to be commended for assembling its Climate Action Plan. That plan states the following: “A soft goal of 25 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is established for fall 2032.” But if OU were to purchase 25 percent of its electricity from Turning Point, it would appear that this goal could be reached much sooner. Rather than 19 years, it could happen in as little as two or three. If OU believes the climate crisis is real and urgent (and all indications point to this being true) and the overall commitment goal is reduction “as soon as possible”, then why not move more quickly to achieve this goal?
Unless carbon emissions are reduced quickly, it is projected that severe impacts—such as inundation of coastal cities by sea level rising and serious food shortages due to drought —will occur by the middle and latter part of the century. From every standpoint, OU’s support is the right thing to do. It is right on the moral level because every single one of OU’s 20,000 students will be touched in a real way by the global climate crisis. It is right because OU’s own greenhouse gas reduction goal could be reached in three years rather than 19. It is right on the economic level as good green jobs would be created. It is right on the level of university pride as OU would gain stature as a national leader on renewable energy. And it is right because OU support would be the pivotal factor that either makes or breaks this project.
This project is a wonderful chance for OU to lead the way on clean renewable energy in southeast Ohio. Let us hope that it will recognize the opportunity being presented and take positive action!
Gary Houser is a longtime resident of Athens County active in environmental protection, sustainable energy and public interest writing. He is co-founder of the Ohio University Ecohouse and has worked as a consultant for Athens City Council on green energy projects, including advocacy of the solar array at the Athens Community Center. He is currently an associate producer collaborating with partners in London, England, on a documentary.
