The University of Colorado at Boulder's student-initiated purchase of wind power is featured in a public exhibit promoting global warming awareness at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
Organized by the World Resources Institute, the exhibit "Global Warming and You" is open through March 16. CU-Boulder is one of 11 organizations, communities and companies highlighted in a section of the exhibit focusing on local initiatives from around the country that aim to combat global warming.
The exhibit, which introduces visitors to the science and impacts of global warming and offers some solutions, is located in the Salt Lake City Visitors Center at 125 Main St. in the heart of the city, according to Rich Barnett of the World Resources Institute in Washington, D.C.
In 2000, the CU Environmental Center led a student initiative to make CU-Boulder a model for university efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to Ghita Levenstein Carroll, program coordinator of the CU Environmental Center. CU-Boulder students voted to increase student fees by $1 per semester for four years to purchase wind power. The program was the first in the nation and has been used as a model by several other colleges and universities.
In January, the CU Environmental Center hosted an energy summit that brought to Boulder hundreds of energy experts, activists, students, faculty and administrators from colleges and universities around the country to focus on campus leadership in the battle for energy security.
The summit, "Thinking Ahead: Energy in a Changing Climate," delved into topics ranging from how to create an effective campus energy program to the Colorado Renewable Energy Act, Carroll said. Participants also discussed the impacts of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the role of universities in the Kyoto Protocol on climate change. More information about the summit and the center is available on the Web at .
The CU Environmental Center also was nationally honored in 2001 with a Green Power Leadership award for its role in building demand for green power, which is electricity generated by renewable energy sources including solar, wind, water, geothermal biomass and biogas.
In 1994, the International Olympics Committee added environment to sport and culture as the third principle of Olympism, and Salt Lake City is the first city to win the bid after the element was added, according to Barnett. The exhibit also highlights the Olympics' 2002 environmental initiatives.
The World Resources Institute worked with the Environment Program of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee of the 2002 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, the Earth Communications Office, Utah Power and the Coca-Cola Company to create the exhibit.
The World Resources Institute is a nonprofit organization that provides information, ideas and solutions to global environmental problems.
An online version of the exhibit is available on the World Resources Institute Web site at .