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April 6, 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Furthering Its Commitment To Sustainability, Smith To Sign On To Northeast Climate Change Partnership

April 14 Signing Ceremony to Feature Speakers on Global Warming,
Renewable Energy and Colleges' Roles in Environmental Issues

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. -- In recent years, Smith College has made a number of positive efforts toward environmental sustainability. Furthering that commitment, Smith President Carol T. Christ will sign a voluntary partnership agreement with Clean Air-Cool Planet (CA-CP), pledging the college to work toward reducing greenhouse gases in its operations and to promote awareness among its students, faculty and staff of the importance of responsible environmental stewardship.

A panel discussion among three speakers on global warming, renewable energy and campus sustainability will take place at noon on Wednesday, April 14, in the Neilson Library Browsing Room and will be followed by the signing ceremony.

The event is free and open to the public.

Featured on the panel will be Steven Roof, assistant professor of earth and environmental sciences at Hampshire College and a frequent speaker on issues of climate change, conservation, land use planning and environmental chemistry; Mia Devine, graduate student at UMass and a research assistant for the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy; and Ned Raynolds, senior program officer at CA-CP and an expert in energy and environmental policy.

Based in Portsmouth, N.H., CA-CP is a science-based non-profit organization dedicated to finding and promoting solutions for global warming in New England and the Northeast. CA-CP works with university and college campuses to set up a framework for action against global warming, particularly by cutting down on carbon emissions. In signing the partnership agreement, Smith will gain access to CA-CP's campus greenhouse gas inventory calculator, which will help the college monitor and lower harmful emissions. Furthermore, CA-CP will provide Smith with current climate change information, outreach and communication assistance, and a network of regional campus contacts.

"This is a notable step on behalf of Smith," said Professor of Geology Allen Curran, chair of the college's recently established Sustainability Committee and director of the college's Environmental Science and Policy Program. "Joining forces with Clean Air-Cool Planet will launch the college into the company of such sustainable institutions as Tufts University and Bates, Middlebury and Skidmore Colleges."

Sponsors of the panel discussion include the Smith chapter of MassPIRG, a student-run organization that works for positive change in hunger and homelessness, consumer education and the environment.

Smith College is consistently ranked among the nation's foremost liberal arts colleges. Enrolling 2,800 students from every state and 60 other countries, Smith is the largest undergraduate women's college in the country.

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Office of College Relations
Smith College
Garrison Hall
Northampton, Massachusetts 01063

Marti Hobbes
News Assistant
T (413) 585-2190
F (413) 585-2174
mhobbes@email.smith.edu

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