The Paris Climate Agreement is important for many reasons. Setting a target is important. This has become increasingly important seeing that our new Congress just passed a law which allows Coal plants to be exempt from damaging streams when blowing up the top of a mountain for mining purposes. The debris that is launched into the air and streams will have unintended and unknown consequences which remain to be explored. The transition toward clean energy is extremely important. Clean energy is not clean coal energy -- do not be fooled.
I find myself baffled by the actions of our elected representatives. I understand that during his campaign for the office of the presidency, President Trump stated his views on climate change which ran counter to the prevailing view held by thousands of scientists. In a recent blog post, those views along with other important scientific issues were ambiguously answered.
Now, with President Trump's new choice to head the Environmental Protection Agency -- Scott Pruitt -- the current state of affairs regarding climate change seems to have returned to the 'wild west'. This is a dangerous state. Especially, when you consider even a Republican Senator (Susan Collins) voting against nominee Scott Pruitt for reasons that are centered around climate change. In a recent blog post, I displayed her letter of opposition which is beautifully laid out and simple to digest.
Additionally, ignoring the opposition toward believing that climate change is real, scientists have banded together and sent President Trump a letter just before he assumed office. The letter is stated below. After the letter, you can read the 236 signatures of heads of universities which provide a tremendous amount of research on renewable energy and climate change. These scientists are 'heavy hitters' of science and research surrounding the future of our planet. To ignore the advice is astounding. But based on the actions over the 30 days with this administration, I thought that a reminder might be in order. A reminder of how the current administration along with congress seems to be headed in one direction, while scientists are headed in another.
Without further ado, here is the letter which was sent to the President just before he assumed office. The original letter is provided at 'SecondNature.org':
Dear President-elect Trump and Members of the United States Congress,
We, the undersigned leaders of higher education institutions throughout the United States, recognize our academic and ethical responsibilities to current and future generations to take aggressive climate action; to reduce our sector’s carbon pollution, to support interdisciplinary climate education, and to continue research that expands our understanding of rapidly changing earth systems. We are committed to developing and deploying innovative climate solutions that provide a prosperous future for all Americans.
We join our colleagues in the business and investment communities in supporting the science-based targets outlined in the Paris Climate Agreement. In fact, many of our institutions have voluntarily set even more aggressive carbon reduction goals to lead our sector forward and to demonstrate what is possible for others.
Therefore, we ask that you support the following:
1. Participation in the Paris Agreement, with the resulting national carbon reduction and clean energy targets, to protect the health of our current communities and our future generations.
2. Research in our academic institutions and in federal agencies to ensure that our national climate, energy, and security policies are based on leading scientific and technical knowledge.
3. Investments in the low carbon economy as part of a resilient infrastructure to ensure the country can adapt to changing climate hazards. These investments will also help grow American jobs and businesses.
The upcoming transition of federal leadership presents a unique opportunity to address head-on the challenges of climate change by accelerating the new energy economy and creating strong, resilient communities. This is particularly important for those in our communities most vulnerable to climate change. Your support for these three areas is a critical investment in the future of the millions of students we serve. We will continue to prepare graduates for the workforce as well as lead in world-class research and innovation in order to secure a healthier and more prosperous future for all.
We stand ready to assist your incoming Administration and congressional representatives to embrace this opportunity for the nation to meet these unprecedented global challenges.
Respectfully,
1) Raymond Crossman, President, Adler University
2) Elizabeth Kiss, President, Agnes Scott College
3) Don Bantz, President, Alaska Pacific University
4) James Mullen, President, Allegheny College
5) Karan Powell, President, American Public University System
6) Sara Wenger Shenk, President, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary
7) Thomas Manley, President, Antioch College (OH)
8) William Groves, Interim Chancellor, Antioch University
9) Melinda Treadwell, Provost, Antioch University New England
10) Michael Crow, President, Arizona State University
11) Paul Pribbenow, President, Augsburg College
12) Leon Botstein, President, Bard College
13) Debora Spar, President, Barnard College
14) Laura Coleman, President, Bay de Noc Community College
15) Jill Wakefield, Interim President, Bellevue College
16) Mariko Silver, President, Bennington College
17) Terrence Leas, President, Big Bend Community College
18) Glen LeRoy, President, Boston Architectural College
19) Mickey Burnim, President, Bowie State University
20) Christina Paxson, President, Brown University
21) John Bravman, President, Bucknell University
22) Pam Eddinger, President, Bunker Hill Community College
23) Christopher Kimball, President, California Lutheran University
24) Timothy White, Chancellor, California State University System
25) Horace Mitchell, President, California State University-Bakersfield
26) Gayle Hutchinson, President, California State University-Chico
27) Jane Conoley, President, California State University-Long Beach
29) Eduardo Ochoa, President, California State University-Monterey Bay
30) Dianne Harrison, President, California State University-Northridge
31) Robert Nelsen, President, California State University-Sacramento
32) Gregory Smith, President, Central Community College
33) James Gaudino, President, Central Washington University
34) Robert Mohrbacher, President, Centralia College
35) Donald Laackman, President, Champlain College
36) William Guerriero, Interim President, Chandler-Gilbert Community College
37) David Finegold, President, Chatham University
38) David Angel, President, Clark University
39) Anthony Collins, President, Clarkson University
40) Ronald Berkman, President, Cleveland State University
41) David McInally, President, Coe College
42) Susan Stuebner, President, Colby-Sawyer College
43) Brian Casey, President, Colgate University
44) David Coon, President/Superintendent, College of Marin
45) Diana Morris, President, College of Menominee Nation
46) Darron Collins, President, College of the Atlantic
47) Richard Cummins, President, Columbia Basin College
48) Joyce Judy, President, Community College of Vermont
49) Brian Murphy, President, De Anza College
50) Jean Goodnow, President, Delta College
51) Neil Weissman, Acting President, Dickinson College
52) Earl Martin, President, Drake University
53) MaryAnn Baenninger, President, Drew University
54) Elsa Nunez, President, Eastern Connecticut State University
55) Lee Snyder, President, Eastern Mennonite University
56) Jean Hernandez, President, Edmonds Community College
57) Leo Lambert, President, Elon University
58) Lee Pelton, President, Emerson College
59) Jake Schrum, President, Emory & Henry College
60) Joyce Brown, President, Fashion Institute of Technology (SUNY)
61) James Anderson, Chancellor, Fayetteville State University
62) Anne Prisco, President, Felician University
63) Frank Sims, Interim President, Fisk University
64) Wilson G. Bradshaw, President, Florida Gulf Coast University
65) Thuy Nguyen, President, Foothill College
66) Judy Miner, Chancellor, Foothill-De Anza Community College District System
67) Dene Thomas, President, Fort Lewis College
68) Javier Cevallos, President, Framingham State University
69) Daniel Porterfield, President, Franklin & Marshall College
70) Ronald Nowaczyk, President, Frostburg State University
71) Elizabeth Davis, President, Furman University
72) Roberta Cordano, President, Gallaudet University
73) Joseph Marbach, President, Georgian Court University
74) Thayne McCulloh, President, Gonzaga University
75) James Brenneman, President, Goshen College
76) José A. Bowen, President, Goucher College
77) Elaine Maimon, President, Governors State University
78) Jim Minkler, President, Grays Harbor College
79) Robert Allen, President, Green Mountain College
80) Maria Klawe, President, Harvey Mudd College
81) Kimberly Benston, President, Haverford College
82) William Maki, President, Hibbing Community College
83) Mark Gearan, President, Hobart and William Smith Colleges
84) Lisa Rossbacher, President, Humboldt State University
85) Larry Dietz, President, Illinois State University
86) William Lowe, Chancellor, Indiana University Northwest
87) James Di Liberto, President, Island Drafting and Technical Institute
88) Jorge Gonzalez, President, Kalamazoo College
89) Marilyn Schlack, President, Kalamazoo Valley Community College
90) Alison Byerly, President, Lafayette College
91) Thomas Pleger, President, Lake Superior State University
92) Linda Lujan, President, Lamar Community College
93) Mary Spilde, President, Lane Community College
94) Lewis Thayne, President, Lebanon Valley College
95) Thomas Hellie, President, Linfield College
96) Jo Ann Rooney, President, Loyola University Chicago
97) Brian Linnane, President, Loyola University Maryland
98) Kenneth Garren, President, Lynchburg College
99) Brian Rosenberg, President, Macalester College
100) Sasan Poureetezadi, Interim President, Mesa Community College
101) John Anderson, President, Millersville University of Pennsylvania
102) Elizabeth Hillman, President, Mills College
103) Vicki Martin, President, Milwaukee Area Technical College
104) Sharon Pierce, President, Minneapolis Community and Technical College
105) Sylvia Jenkins, President, Moraine Valley Community College
106) Debra Derr, President, Mt. Hood Community College
107) Charles Lief, President, Naropa University
108) Sue Henderson, President, New Jersey City University
109) Andrew Hamilton, President, New York University
110) Harold Martin, Sr., Chancellor, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
111) Johnson Akinleye, Acting Chancellor, North Carolina Central University
112) Warren Brown, President, North Seattle College
113) Patricia Gentile, President, North Shore Community College
114) Michael Miller, President, Northland College
115) John Jasinski, President, Northwest Missouri State University
116) Joianne Smith, President, Oakton Community College
117) Marvin Krislov, President, Oberlin College
118) Jonathan Veitch, President, Occidental College
119) Roderick McDavis, President, Ohio University
120) Edward Ray, President, Oregon State University
121) Thomas Krise, President, Pacific Lutheran University
122) Paul Dale, President, Paradise Valley Community College
123) Cathy Dove, President, Paul Smith’s College
124) Melvin Oliver, President, Pitzer College
125) David Oxtoby, President, Pomona College
126) Mark Mitsui, President, Portland Community College
127) Wim Wiewel, President, Portland State University
128) John Flicker, President, Prescott College
129) Carlee Drummer, President, Quinebaug Valley Community College
130) Bradley Bateman, President, Randolph College
131) Michael McDonough, President, Raritan Valley Community College
132) William Destler, President, Rochester Institute of Technology
133) Donald Farish, President, Roger Williams University
134) Nancy Cantor, Chancellor, Rutgers the State University of New Jersey Newark Campus
135) James Dlugos, President, Saint Joseph’s College of Maine
136) Patricia Meservey, President, Salem State University
137) Kathryn Jeffery, Superintendent/President, Santa Monica College
138) Elissa Tenny, President, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
139) Jan Gehler, President, Scottsdale Community College
140) Sheila Edwards Lange, President, Seattle Central College
141) Shouan Pan, Chancellor, Seattle Colleges
142) Susan Hencking, President, Shimer College
143) Cheryl Roberts, President, Shoreline Community College
144) Edward Coughlin, President, Siena College
145) Tom Keegan, President, Skagit Valley College
146) Philip Glotzbach, President, Skidmore College
147) Kathleen McCartney, President, Smith College
148) Gary Oertli, President, South Seattle College
149) Joe Bertolino, President, Southern Connecticut State University
150) Mary-Beth Cooper, President, Springfield College
151) Nancy Zimpher, Chancellor, State University of New York (SUNY)
152) James Stellar, Interim President, State University of New York at Albany
153) Harvey Stenger, President, State University of New York at Binghamton
154) Satish Tripathi, President, State University of New York at Buffalo
155) Virginia Horvath, President, State University of New York at Fredonia
156) Donald Christian, President, State University of New York at New Paltz
157) Samuel Stanley, President, State University of New York at Stony Brook
158) Heidi Macpherson, President, State University of New York College at Brockport
159) Katherine Conway-Turner, President, State University of New York College at Buffalo
160) Erik Bitterbaum, President, State University of New York College at Cortland
161) Denise Battles, President, State University of New York College at Geneseo
162) Nancy Kleniewski, President, State University of New York College at Oneonta
163) Deborah Stanley, President, State University of New York College at Oswego
164) John Ettling, President, State University of New York College at Plattsburgh
165) Kristin Esterberg, President, State University of New York College at Potsdam
166)Quentin Wheeler, President, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
167) Merodie Hancock, President, State University of New York Empire State College
168) Harvey Kesselman, President, Stockton University
169) Cliff Wood, President, SUNY Rockland Community College
170) Valerie Smith, President, Swarthmore College
171) Barbara Gitenstein, President, The College of New Jersey
172) George Bridges, President, The Evergreen State College
173) Steven Knapp, President, The George Washington University
174) Kim Schatzel, President, Towson University
175) Karin Hilgersom, President, Truckee Meadows Community College
176) Anthony Monaco, President, Tufts University
177) Stephen Ainlay, President, Union College
178) Melik Khoury, President, Unity College
179) Ann Hart, President, University of Arizona
180) Nicholas Dirks, Chancellor, University of California, Berkeley
181) Ralph Hexter, Acting Chancellor, University of California, Davis
182) Howard Gillman, Chancellor, University of California, Irvine
183) Gene Block, Chancellor, University of California, Los Angeles
184) Dorothy Leland, Chancellor, University of California, Merced
185) Kim Wilcox, Chancellor, University of California, Riverside
186) Pradeep Khosla, Chancellor, University of California, San Diego
187) Sam Hawgood, Chancellor, University of California, San Francisco
188) Henry Yang, Chancellor, University of California, Santa Barbara
189) George Blumenthal, Chancellor, University of California, Santa Cruz
190) Charles Ambrose, President, University of Central Missouri
191) Susan Herbst, President, University of Connecticut
192) Eric Spina, President, University of Dayton
193) Helen Cox, Chancellor, University of Hawai’i Kaua’i Community College
194) David Lassner, President, University of Hawai’i System
195) Michael Amiridis, Chancellor, University of Illinois at Chicago
196) Robert Jones, Chancellor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
197) Timothy Killeen, President, University of Illinois System
198) Bruce Harreld, President, University of Iowa
199) Kathryn Foster, President, University of Maine at Farmington
200) Freeman Hrabowski III, President, University of Maryland Baltimore County
201) Donald Boesch, President, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
202) Kumble Subbaswamy, Chancellor, University of Massachusetts Amherst
203) Fred Wood, Chancellor, University of Minnesota-Crookston
204) Lendley Black, Chancellor, University of Minnesota-Duluth
205) Jacqueline Johnson, Chancellor, University of Minnesota-Morris
206) Danielle Ripich, President, University of New England
207) Mark Huddleston, President, University of New Hampshire
208) Philip Dubois, Chancellor, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
209) Jim Wohlpart, Interim President, University of Northern Iowa
210) Isiaah Crawford, President, University of Puget Sound
211) Ralph Kuncl, President, University of Redlands
212) David Dooley, President, University of Rhode Island
213) Sophia Wisniewska, President, University of South Florida St. Petersburg
214) Rodney Smith, President, University of The Bahamas
215) Mark Pagano, Chancellor, University of Washington, Tacoma
216) James Schmidt, Chancellor, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
217) Dean Van Galen, Chancellor, University of Wisconsin-River Falls
218) Bernie Patterson, Chancellor, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
219) Robert Caret, Chancellor, University System of Maryland
220) Marc Mihaly, President and Dean, Vermont Law School
221) Peter Donohue, President, Villanova University
222) Scott Miller, President, Virginia Wesleyan College
223) Rose Bellanca, President, Washtenaw Community College
224) Jonathan Gibralter, President, Wells College
225) Jim Richardson, President, Wenatchee Valley College
226) Michael Roth, President, Wesleyan University
227) John Dunn, President, Western Michigan University
228) Lee Rasch, President, Western Technical College
229) Sabah Randhawa, President, Western Washington University
230) Ramon Torrechila, President, Westfield State University
231) Kathi Hiyane-Brown, President, Whatcom Community College
232)Dennis Hanno, President, Wheaton College (MA)
233) David Chard, President, Wheelock College
234) Kathleen Murray, President, Whitman College
235) Stephen Thorsett, President, Willamette University
236) Adam Falk, President, Williams College
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