In an effort to clean up the environment, the City of Charlottesville recently joined Cool Cities, a national campaign that encourages countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
John Cruickshank, chair of the Piedmont Group of the Sierra Club, said the campaign, which is sponsored by the Sierra Club, encourages cities to commit to the Kyoto Protocol, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions seven percent from 1990 levels by 2012.
According to Charlottesville Mayor David Brown, increasing energy efficiency and lowering gas emissions are important issues facing Charlottesville.
"There are really two categories in addressing the issue," he said. "First, what the city can do, and second, what the citizens can do."
According to Brown, major environmental change will need to come from citizens, but the city is also taking steps to increase energy efficiency. He explained that city buildings underwent an energy audit to gauge the efficiency of their heating systems and windows. Brown also said he hopes to expand energy conservation to all areas of the community.
"An important concern is that the evaluations and environmental consciousness are not just within the affluent city community," he said, stressing that expansion of the campaign throughout the community must be done through education and outreach.
According to Brown, the University community and groups within it are important facilitators in increasing environmental awareness among individuals.
"The energy of the student body is something we can really tap into," Brown said. "To have students involved in both changing their lifestyles and getting the word out is very important."
Student Environmental Action, a contracted independent organization at the University, has taken up the task of seeking to increase awareness of environmental issues within the University community.
Second-year College student Ben Chrisinger, an SEA member, also noted the value of student participation.
"We would really like to see more involvement between the city and the student body," Chrisinger said.
Within the SEA there are many different subcommittees to address individual environmental concerns, such as those affecting dining halls, transportation and waste and recycling.
"For example, the dining subcommittee is looking into developing a way to remove trays from dining halls without any uproar," Chrisinger said. "We are also talking to the University about having professors who are renting cars use hybrid cars."
Both Brown and Chrisinger emphasized the importance of individual involvement and cooperation between the University and greater Charlottesville community.
"It will take a lot of work and creativity to get people to realize that it's what the community as a whole can strive to do," Brown said.
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