In the spirit of today's Earth Day, the University of Utah and its neighbor, Westminster College, are announcing environment-friendly campus plans.

Westminster has joined more than 170 colleges and universities to become a charter signatory of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment and will work toward "carbon neutrality."

Components of Westminster's plan include completing a campus emissions inventory within one year and determining within two years a time schedule for becoming climate neutral.

"I believe we have already taken important steps to put Westminster on the path toward climate neutrality," Westminster President Michael Bassis said in a statement released this week. Steps so far include purchasing of 11 percent of the college's energy from wind energy sources, encouraging faculty, staff and students to use alternative transportation, and installing solar panels on several new campus buildings.

The college's purchase of Blue Sky Wind Energy will have the same environmental benefits as planting more than 176,000 trees or not driving more than 1.9 million miles annually, Bassis said.

Westminster's new Dumke athletic field is made of artificial turf that does not require watering or insecticides. A water reuse system underneath the field gathers excess storm water from the campus that is pumped back to the campus lawns for watering.

Westminster established an Environmental Center last fall and now offers a major in environmental studies.

The U. announced Friday that more than 20 students are designing 11 "green" projects they hope to finance and install in a new $25 million geology building currently under construction. Some of the projects that will be discussed during a Tuesday press conference include a storm-water recycling system on the roof, natural lighting, solar power and bicycle racks to encourage alternative transportation.

Students are also seeking donations to add their green projects to the new Alfred Frederick Sutton Building, which is being built using only private money. The new building will house the U.'s Department of Geology and Geophysics.

"The campus community benefits by enhanced collaboration between students, staff, faculty and professionals and the greater community benefits from the development of infrastructure that publicly promotes increased environmental performance," said Marjorie Chan, professor and chair of geology and geophysics.

Even if students don't obtain the donations needed to build their projects, "at a minimum, the students have developed conceptual designs that can be implemented in subsequent campus structures that do have the advantage of state funding," Chan said.

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