How Big is our (Carbon) Footprint? Ashley Badgley is On the Case. by Ivana Susic, Journalism

Photography by Alexandra Pilichowski

Many programs at Columbia require students to complete an independent study before you graduate. Some students are content to meet the requirements for research and continue planning their graduation party; others, however, use the time to investigate a topic they truly find worthwhile. Ashley Badgley has chosen to calculate Columbia’s carbon footprint.

Badgley is a senior majoring in journalism with a concentration in reporting on health, science, and the environment. For her minor in environmental studies, she applied to calculate the footprint, which involved working with faculty from the Office of Campus Environment, the Sustainability Plan Task Force, and Kevin Fuller from the math and science department.

A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions being measured and is most commonly expressed by the number of tons of carbon dioxide (C0²) emitted. Many individuals and companies are now calculating what is known as their baseline, or current carbon footprint measure. Once the baseline is calculated, you know where your biggest problems are and where you can start reducing.

To calculate the baseline a number of factors, such an energy consumption and heating and cooling costs, are totaled together. The calculation can be for any amount of time, but calculating over a year is common. Electricity and gas bills can be used to get these numbers since the amount charged is based on usage; the higher your bill, the more energy your are using. So every time you leave your music on while sleeping or forget to turn the lights off before you leave, you are not only running up your electricity bill but you're increasing your carbon footprint.

“You can’t really become more sustainable unless you know where you’re at now,” Badgley said. “We need to find the baseline before we can go anywhere.”

As part of her calculations, Badgley has designed a survey for students and faculty about their commute to and from school. Generally, energy use in buildings is the biggest emitter of C0², but for urban schools, the commute is a significant factor as well. Many schools do not even include transportation in their baseline, Badgley said, because it raises the baseline too much. Since Columbia is located near public transportation and has a largely vertical campus, this reduces transportation needed, she explained, which can reduce Columbia's footprint. Nearby student housing is another factor that may reduce our baseline.

“We’re still getting all the facts together, but it’s coming along,” Ashley said. “All this work is going into this problem. It’s like a giant math problem.”

Joe Leamanczyk, project manager for the Office of Campus Environment, has been working closely with Badgley for her project. Though the project idea was sent out to a handful of students, Badgley seemed ideal for the task.

“It came together really well,” Joe said.

Once the data has been analyzed, the school will review it and hire an outside consultant to help formulate ideas on how to reduce the baseline and “figure out the nitty gritty,” Leamanczyk said.

The school is currently undergoing several renovations to increase the efficiency of its heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems.

“HVAC is a huge thing, that’s where a lot of our energy goes. We want to be able to power down when no students are around,” Leamanczyk said, which would decrease energy consumption and costs considerably.

All new college projects will default to using sustainable and recycled materials where possible, Leamanczyk explained. Older buildings will over time be made to be more efficient. He said the school is also looking for grants to install sustainable features such as more green roofs (the school currently has two), wind turbines, and solar panels.

On an individual level, Leamanczyk said the college plans to start campaigning on campus to have everyone chip in a little more. If lights are shut off at the end of the day, and computers are set on a timer to turn off, it can greatly reduce the amount of energy used while saving the school money.

“Changing people’s habits saves money, it doesn’t cost anything...it’s more just thinking about how do it in a smart way,” Leamanczyk said.

Columbia’s President Warrick L. Carter has also recently signed the American College and University and Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), a nationwide initiative of more than 650 colleges and universities committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions within a given period.

Badgley said the goal is to have all the data compiled by week 13 of this semester and have a full plan for the college by next fall.

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