With our very own President Lois B. DeFleur newly committed to reducing Binghamton University’s carbon emissions, BU green will soon be getting a lot brighter ‘ provided the administration follows through on their promises to make the campus environmentally friendly.

The commitment, which demands that BU’s carbon footprint be completely eliminated by September 2009, also represents a united front of nearly 400 college campuses who are establishing their dedication to this cause.

While signing the compact makes BU look good on paper, the real test of Lois’s resolve will come through her actions. In today’s story (see Page 1), Vice President for Administration James VanVoorst cited the enormous cost of green-friendly projects, saying that the ‘need for the campus to keep functioning as an educational institution’ has to be kept separate from the need to meet the environmental initiative for the sake of retaining enough grant money.

But what Vice President VanVoorst’s comment suggests is a troubling ideology that hints at a dismissive attitude toward environmentalism. Considering that DeFleur signed the pact nearly four months after receiving a personal invitation to join in April, one can guess that the priority level was tepid at best.

The innate importance of the movement at this University, it seems, is missed. After all, it isn’t enough to save the newts.

The truth is that BU cannot exist as an honorable ‘educational institution’ if we fail to meet the challenges other campuses ‘ and, indeed, governments ‘ are meeting.

At a college which excels in research, science and liberal arts, it would be a calamity if the administration fails to consider the importance of the green movement with as much attention as our academic rankings. Indeed, other colleges who have signed the pact have also integrated climate mitigation into their curriculum on days specifically devoted to the topic.

While the cost of an environmental initiative on this campus is massive, we urge the administration to think creatively about the process of funding a significant change at BU ‘ one that could be critical to our success as a temple of higher education.