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Though it is the smallest state in the union, Rhode Island proved a big contender in Forbes.com's first America's Greenest States rankings, released last week.
The Ocean State ranked eighth overall, after being evaluated for six environmental factors: air and water quality, hazardous waste management, energy consumption, policy initiatives and carbon footprint, or the amount of carbon emissions per capita. Rhode Island also boasts the lowest energy consumption per capita and the third-lowest carbon footprint, following Idaho and Vermont, respectively.
"(Rhode Island) is starting from a great place," said Steven Hamburg, associate professor of environmental studies. "We have relatively energy-efficient infrastructure, but we need to build from that and not just sit back and say 'look at how good we are.' "
Hamburg, a strong advocate for climate-change issues, said the best way Rhode Island could improve its standing on next year's list is by expanding its public transportation system and by "walking the walk, not just talking the talk."
"Rhode Island doesn't really have substantive environmental policies," he said, referring to the policy initiatives factor in the rankings taken from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy's energy efficiency scoreboard, released in June.
Forbes noted that Rhode Island is now mandating that utilities obtain 16 percent of their power from renewable fuel sources by 2020.
"There is a difference between things being done and things we are wanting to do," Hamburg said.
Green-friendly initiatives are being proposed throughout Rhode Island. In 2004, Gov. Donald Carcieri '65 proposed a $70-million environmental bond for watershed protection, which voters later passed. For 2008, Carcieri has proposed an $85-million environmental bond - the largest of its kind - for cleaning up Narragansett Bay, according to the governor's Web site.
Visiting Lecturer for Environmental Studies Donald Pryor's work focuses on the effects of climate change on the ecology at Narragansett Bay. When asked what he thought of the Forbes rankings, Pryor said he was surprised that Rhode Island was among the top 10.
"I give (Forbes) a lot of credit for making quantitative estimates, but when I looked at some of them I was struck. There is a difference between spending money and achieving something with it," Pryor said. Forbes factored how much money states have allocated for policy initiatives into its rankings.
"The political machine here (in Rhode Island), they're not having the open discussion we need to have to move forward," he said. As for Carcieri's agenda, Pryor said "the governor resisted for a very long time."
Some student environmentalists think Rhode Island and the University could become more environmentally friendly. "Even if Rhode Island's per capita energy consumption is the lowest of all 50 states, American society is still undeniably consumptive in comparison to the world average. Whether your state comes in first place or last (in the Forbes rankings), we can always do better," Kirsten Howard '09 wrote in an e-mail. Howard is a member of emPOWER, a student group working to end Brown's contribution to global warming.
Last month, the Energy and Environmental Advisory Committee submitted its final recommendations to the University. The recommendations were influenced by emPOWER and will be submitted in the budget proposal in the Corporation's next meeting, wrote Julia Beamesderfer '09 in an e-mail to The Herald. Beamesderfer is also a member of emPOWER. According to Howard, emPOWER members are working to incorporate sustainable design into Brown's curriculum. Brown recently acquired $350,000 in grant money for local, student-initiated environmental initiatives - $150,000 from President Ruth Simmons' office and $200,000 from the Sidney E. Frank Foundation.
"It is our hope that students can use this money to fund local offsetting projects with the objective of making Brown a climate-neutral institution," Beamesderfer said. Hamburg and Pryor said the University must evaluate future expansion plans and make sure they are environmentally conscious.
"(Brown) has a lower carbon output compared to our peers, but that doesn't mean we can't be more aggressive. We need to think about how to expand, but at the same time not create negative impacts," Hamburg said.
© Copyright 2007 Brown Daily Herald
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