OU has formed a task force to assist in reducing environmental emissions and conserving fuel in its transportation system, OU President David L. Boren announced Tuesday in a press release.

The task force will be chaired by Nick Hathaway, vice president for Administrative and Executive Affairs, and will include Theta Dempsey, director of OU Parking and Transportation Services, and Burr Millsap, associate vice president for Administrative Affairs, the press release said.

Boren said the task force was created in response to student concern.

The task force has yet to meet, but members of the group have ideas in mind.

"We will be looking at expanding the types of fuels used," Millsap said.

The task force will examine university vehicle fuel usage and any other ways fuel is used on campus. Millsap said he hopes the effort for alternative fuel use will have a domino effect through the university to the students. Millsap said suggestions for students on energy usage may come in the future.

Lindsey Moorhead, advertising sophomore, said she thinks the task force will prove useful.

"Economically, it's a really great idea, especially with the cost of fuel," Moorhead said.

The new program is a part of the university's commitment to preserving the environment. In January 2004, the university became the first public academic member of the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), "a multi-national market for reducing and trading greenhouse gas emissions," according to the press release.

CCX is the world's first and North America's only voluntary, legally binding greenhouse gas emissions allowance trading system, according to www.chicagoclimatex.com. Membership of CCX generally consists of large corporations, but includes the University of Iowa, the University of Minnesota and Tufts University, who followed OU's precedent.

"I'm very proud of the fact that our university was recently one of the first universities in the country to join the Chicago Climate Exchange, which commits our institution to continually meeting environmental benchmarks over the next several years," Boren said.

OU's involvement with the CCX led the university to commit to reducing its own emissions of greenhouse gases by four percent below the average of its 1998-2001 baseline by 2006, according to the press release.

"I'm very proud of the fact that our students, over the past several years, have come forward with suggestions ... to make the university more sensitive to environmental needs," Boren said.

Many students agree that the environment is of concern. Brent Snyder, psychology junior, said he approves of the effort to make OU more ecologically friendly.

"We should make a change for environmental reasons because the world as we know it will be one big grey cloud," Snyder said.
hello there & you too