Earth Day and Columbia Medical Center

23Apr11

According to Dean Goldman, Facilities and our CUMC energy coordinator, our campus generated 58,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2010. Current plans for improvement include automated building management systems, labeling and education, and air handling and lighting improvements with new construction and renovation, which will apparently go toward a 30% CO2 reduction by 2025.

Not the most ambitious set of goals. I understand that the fundamental mission of the campus- temperature control, is a fundamental energy sink, but one could certainly see more direct attacks than education and even “building management”: our old infrastructure means that even with the most efficient environmental controls, most of our air goes to poorly insulated environmental rooms and directly out of non-weatherized plain glass windows. In 15 years, with appropriate planning, insulation, green roofs, and heat storage/heat exchange, the entire campus could be net carbon neutral. In principle, there is no reason why any configuration of physical infrastructure should be designed to emit more carbon than it takes in. Though managing costs over the long term isn’t the easiest project.