Benjamin Hobbs says that, right here and now, Johns
Hopkins has the opportunity to leverage
its strengths and influence to help safeguard the future of
the planet. An ambitious goal by any
stretch, but one he is ready to embrace
enthusiastically.
Hobbs, a professor in the Whiting School's
Department
of Geography and Environmental
Engineering, has been tapped to chair the President's
Task Force on Climate Change, a group that will
help guide the development of the university's new climate
change policy that focuses on practical,
innovative and economically viable approaches to confront
this environmental threat.
In his announcement of a climate policy, adopted in
July, President William R. Brody said that he
feels strongly that universities can and must play a
central role in meeting the challenge of climate
change.
As part of the policy, the university will set an
example through the reduction of greenhouse
gas emissions derived from university operations, with the
long-term vision of carbon neutrality.
On an even grander scale, Johns Hopkins wants to help
lead the way to confront global warming
through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the
development of more-Earth-friendly
technologies. The university will offer leadership and
assistance on actions that can help reduce the
carbon footprint of the Baltimore-Washington region. The
policy also calls for JHU to harvest its
strengths in science, technology, public health and public
policy to find solutions to climate change on a
global level.
"We are going to look inward at what we are
contributing to global warming. That means taking a
comprehensive look at our buildings, vehicle use, the stuff
we plant, all of it," Hobbs said. "But the
task force's work will be a lot broader than that. We are
also going to look at what JHU can do for the
community, the nation and the world in terms of being an
intellectual leader, a creator of new
knowledge and an educator in the realm of climate
change."
Hobbs, a much-sought-after expert on environmental and
energy systems analysis and
economics, joined Johns Hopkins in 1996. He has two decades
of experience in the area of energy
supply, including work with the Netherlands Energy Research
Foundation and the California power
market.
The task force, which will meet for the first time
this week, is specifically charged with
developing within one year a comprehensive strategic plan
and creating an interdisciplinary working
group of experts who will focus on innovative and novel
approaches related to climate change. Its
membership includes a number of people from outside Johns
Hopkins.
Serving along with Hobbs are Scott Barrett, professor
at SAIS; William Baker, president of
the Chesapeake Bay Foundation; Thomas Burke, professor at
the Bloomberg School of Public Health;
Kenneth DeFontes, president and CEO of Baltimore Gas and
Electric; Andrew Frank, first deputy
mayor of Baltimore City; Kristina Johnson, provost and
senior vice president for academic affairs; F.
Pierce Linaweaver, trustee emeritus; Sally MacConnell,
Johns Hopkins Health System; James McGill,
senior vice president for finance and administration; Teryn
Norris, undergraduate student; Jack Ross,
a consulting engineer with Ross Infrastructure; Darryn
Waugh, a professor in the Krieger School of
Arts and Sciences; and Samuel Yee, Applied Physics
Laboratory.
The Task Force on Climate Change was convened in large
part due to a call from students. In
2006, a group of undergraduates formed the Hopkins Energy
Action Team, or HEAT, whose members
urged the university administration to adopt a new climate
change policy that would set a goal of
carbon neutrality by the year 2015. The team involved
nearly two dozen student groups and received
broad support from the student body.
HEAT member Teryn Norris, a sophomore majoring in
international studies, says that the
students presented a united and committed front.
"We were, of course, very pleased when President Brody
announced the formation of this task
force," said Norris, who will serve on that body. "The
issues related to global warming and climate
change will certainly impact our generation, and that is
why we are so committed to this effort. We
want to make sure the university sets out some ambitious
goals."
Hobbs said that student involvement will be an
essential element in all relevant greenhouse gas
emission reduction strategies.
"The students feel very strongly about this, and the
pressure they've been exerting has already
made a very positive difference here," Hobbs said. "They
will certainly play a vital effort in our
efforts moving forward."
Due to the enormity of its charge, the task force will
be broken up into three working groups:
Tactics and Strategies, Community Partnerships, and
Innovation and Research.
The Tactics and Strategies working group will help
develop a broad collection of technical
measures, behavioral incentives and innovative approaches
to reducing carbon emissions on the JHU
campuses. Hobbs said that this group will examine
everything from leaky old windows to how university
personnel get to and from work.
"In terms of solutions and approaches, we want to look
into behavioral incentives to get people
to, for example, turn off lights, take public
transportation or, if applicable, even bike to campus,"
said
Hobbs, who himself bikes to work when possible.
The Community Partnerships group, Hobbs said, will
develop and nurture relationships with
state, city and community organizations to explore ways to
enhance shared goals, transfer knowledge
and collaborate on efforts related to climate change.
The Innovation and Research group will seek to spur
creativity, innovation and new avenues of
scholarship by re-examining various aspects of climate
change from a multidisciplinary perspective.
Hobbs said that this group's work is not confined to
traditional Earth science or to just the Homewood
schools. It's also got the charge of energizing the
curriculum. It could be more than courses, he said.
It could be entire new curricula or degrees.
"All of our divisions have a stake in this," he said.
"SAIS, for example, is a world leader in
training diplomats and leaders of business, people who will
go on to negotiate pacts and set policy in
the area of climate change. The School of Public Health
will be involved, clearly. Just as an example,
they've witnessed firsthand how Dengue fever has become
more and more of a problem due to global
warming."
Dengue fever, a mosquito-borne disease, was once
confined to the tropics, but rising
temperatures have moved the range of these particular
mosquitoes as far north as the continental
United States.
The task force will look into the feasibility of
more-energy-efficient facilities (existing and
planned), alternative fuel use, the addition of
climate-related courses to the curriculum, collaborative
efforts with the community and other schools, and other
proposals. The task force will also lead an
effort to determine JHU's "carbon footprint," both current
and projected.
The group will work in consort with the Johns Hopkins
Sustainability Committee, a 16-member
group formed in 2006 to head a universitywide effort to
greatly improve Johns Hopkins' environmental
profile. The committee provides a unifying voice for
environmentally conscious and clean energyÐ
focused initiatives, such as the use of biodiesel fuels,
solar power and recycled storm water. It also
will undertake tasks such as compiling a "greenhouse gas
inventory" for the university.
The Task Force on Climate Change will meet four times
a year, and its working groups will meet
as often as necessary, Hobbs said.
He said that while the group is focused on long-term
strategies and goals, he anticipates that
the group's members will help stimulate activities that can
be undertaken in the short term.
"I can see a member of a working group going back to
his or her division with ideas that they
might be able to implement, or perhaps just stimulate
future discussion on the topic," he said. "What I
don't want is for us to meet the minimum number of times in
order to present Dr. Brody with a plan. I
want to energize people and have them look at this effort
for what it is: an opportunity for real
change and impact on a large-scale level."