Be revolutionary is the campus motto, and yet the University of Massachusetts Amherst is the largest consumer of energy in the state.  We need to revolutionize our energy system, and we need to do it now.  We need to commit to a habitable future.

The university must be accountable for the climate impact of its operations.  The urgent need to reduce carbon emissions depends on a swift and deep reduction of how much fossil-fuel based energy we use.   A campus-wide transition to 100% reliance on renewable energy sources for all heating, cooling, and electricity usage can be achieved--according to a recent year-long engineering study--by increasing solar energy capacity, improving the efficiency of our 280 campus buildings, purchasing renewable energy from the rapidly-greening grid, and overhauling our outdated heating system. 

The campus burned coal for heat for nine decades, amassing an historical carbon debt to the planet.  Our current heating system—which accounts for 70% of campus energy usage—continues to depend on the combustion of fossil fuels.  Almost half of the source energy produced by this combustion is lost in transport along 26 miles of steam pipe.  This outdated steam system can be replaced with a low-temperature hot water system that depends on renewable thermal technologies to trade and store energy, resulting in a 65% reduction in energy demand.  We need to commit to this upgrade immediately as a first step in achieving a Net Zero campus. 

The undersigned citizens of the Commonwealth, along with faculty, staff, alumni, and students of the university, ardently support all efforts to accomplish a transition to 100% reliance on renewable energy.  We urge the administration to commit fully to the accomplishment of this goal.  We ask for transparency as the work progresses: an explicit commitment from the university administration, a clear timeline, and regular updates.  We ask for a full realization of the Net Zero goal no later than 2025.