"Responsibility to Earth"

FSU president makes pledge to environment

Jennifer Raley

FROSTBURG — No matter what side people take in the global warming debate, each person has a responsibility to be a good steward of Earth, according to Frostburg State University President Jonathan Gibralter.

“We have a responsibility to be kind to the Earth and to reduce toxic emissions,” said Gibralter, who pledged his commitment to the environment by signing the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment.

To reduce the net negative impact in the environment, FSU will take steps such as recycling, purchasing dual-fuel and hybrid vehicles and maintaining energy-efficient buildings, according to Gibralter.

“I’ve always been very environmentally conscious and concerned,” said Gibralter, who has a 1970 poster from the first Earth Day hanging in his office.

In his 20 years in higher education, Gibralter said he has never seen a group of students more dedicated to the environment than the Sierra Student Coalition at FSU.

The students have spearheaded a recycling program for bottles and cans. FSU already had recycling programs in place for paper, cardboard and newspaper.

“When I first arrived, I made sure I had a box for paper recycling under my desk,” said Gibralter.

“Dr. Gibralter has been great at pushing for a sustainable university,” said FSU senior and treasurer of the Sierra Student Coalition Patrick O’Brien.

A task force, which includes members of the Sierra Student Coalition, has been appointed to evaluate the campus.

“We’v e been looking at where the campus is and what we could do to reduce our impact,” said O’Brien.

FSU and Mount Saint Mary’s are the only two academic institutions in the state to take part in the national pact, which has been signed by more than 160 higher education leaders. In June, Gibralter will travel to Washington to meet with presidents from other climate-neutral campuses, and he has asked to be a member of the governor’s climate task force.

Through a grant from the Maryland Energy Administration, FSU will construct a residential scale solar- and wind-powered energy system to study renewable sources of power. FSU will host two conferences on sustainable energy in September.

For more information on the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment, log onto www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org.

For more information on the renewable energy project, contact FSU professor Oguz Soysal at osoysal@frostburg.edu or log onto www.frostburg.edu/renewable.

Jennifer Raley can be reached at jraley@times-news.com.