A Recap of the Week

Our Climate Future has wrapped the first week of programming and we wanted to share some highlights.

We kicked things off on Sunday night with an inspirational keynote address from Rob Watson, the “godfather” of LEED and voted one of the 25 most important Dartmouth alums of all time.

Rob also spoke to the group on Monday morning about principles of green building design, which was followed by a tour of the Life Sciences Center, a LEED Platinum certified science building on campus. The greenhouse and green roof were definitely highlights!

Throughout the rest of the week we’ve been learning about climate change through different projects and activities, including a talk on climate science basics and energy; a presentation from Rosi Kerr, Dartmouth’s Director of Sustainability; a talk on climate storytelling from journalist and Dartmouth professor Tom Zoellner; debates about the relative merits of different energy sources; debates about the most sensible building efficiency retrofits that could be made to our residence hall; and a group project and presentation on climate modeling. Lots of fun has been had, too. Canoeing on the Connecticut River, swimming and a hike on the Appalachian Trail this morning. Good fun and a great group with lots more to come!