Carbon neutrality

Board of Trustees approves transition to geothermal energy

Board of Trustees approves transition to geothermal energy

Mount Holyoke College’s Board of Trustees recently brought the College a step closer to achieving carbon neutrality by 2037. The Board voted to transition the College’s heating and cooling system to one powered by geothermal energy. The decision was shared with the MHC community in the Oct. 19 edition of the MHC This Week newsletter, alongside other updates from the Board’s fall meeting. The transition to geothermal power, which the meeting summary referred to as the “College’s Energy Master Plan,” would reduce the College’s carbon footprint by an estimated 80 percent, per the summary.

Trees Are Becoming Less Efficient at Climate Change Mitigation

Trees Are Becoming Less Efficient at Climate Change Mitigation

At the end of 2020, the U.K government approved planting trees in over 100 acres of a northern England peat bog. Peat bogs, areas where plants have been decaying over thousands of years into soil that traps their carbon, can store twice as much carbon dioxide as forests. When the trees were planted in northern England, they effectively dried out the soil, causing carbon to be released from the bogs and ending the project before it was ever finished.

Weekly Climate News

November 19, 2020

  • U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a 10-point plan for a “green industrial revolution” with the long-term goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. The plan includes an increase in green investments along with the creation of 250,000 jobs in the sector. 

  • The U.N. approved a fuel efficiency deal with the International Maritime Organization that allows shipping emissions to decrease by only 1 percent until 2030, despite much opposition to the inadequacy of the deal. 

  • With no plans to achieve carbon neutrality before the end of the century, Russia is looking to expand its Arctic gas industry.

  • U.S. President-elect Joe Biden stated that he will “name and shame global climate outlaws,” indicating that a hard line on climate will be drawn under the incoming administration. Potential climate outlaws may include Australia, Brazil, Russia, Mexico, Indonesia, China and Saudia Arabia.  

  • The Trump administration will face challenges if it moves forward with its plan to sell the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

  • Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced that Line 5, an underwater pipeline that provides Ontario with oil from refineries in Michigan, will be shutting down due to environmental concerns. The pipeline has been in operation since the 1950s.

  • Tucson, Arizona, experienced record-breaking heat this September, which prompted city officials to declare a climate emergency. Read this article on where they stand now. 

  • Astypalea, a Greek island in the Aegean Sea, will be replacing all fossil fuel cars with electric vehicles as part of its climate-neutral approach. 

  • A new study found that urban greenery adds CO2 to the atmosphere through decomposition, which increases overall greenhouse gas emissions.