It’s easy being green

Eleven interns worked on seven projects across Harvard University for three months in the summer of 2001. The internships were sponsored by the Harvard Green Campus Initiative, in collaboration with several different departments at Harvard that hosted the interns. Among the projects was an inventory of “greenhouse” gas emissions, which found that during the last 10 years, Harvard’s production of carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas, was up about 52 percent. Much of that is due to increased power consumption from new construction and the rapid increase in computer use. The project included recommendations that the University reduce its energy consumption by implementing conservation programs, utilizing energy-efficient building designs, and shifting to renewable energy sources where possible. Other projects looked at using alternative fuels for vehicles and reducing waste through such means as reusing printer cartridges.