Warren Wilson College has once again shown itself to be a local leader in environmental causes.

The schoolís president, Sandy Pfeiffer, recently became one of only two college presidents in the state to sign the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment. UNC Chapel Hill was the first to do so.

By doing so, Pfeiffer has committed WWC to reducing the carbon-dioxide emissions on its campus to zero.
Under the agreement, participating schools must first develop a plan for sustainability, which includes mesuring all carbon emissions on campus.

Then, they are required to pursue specific initiatives to curb emissions and publish their actions and results through the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.

It is a tall order, but one for which WWC is undoubtedly prepared.

A small liberal-arts college with a strong focus on community service and ecological stewardship, WWC has been at the forefront of many environmental initiatives.

We commend its leaders for having the vision to see the role that higher education can have in instilling environmental values in its students and for taking direct, practical action to put those values to work.

This initiative bears similarities to the Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, a contract by the mayors of more than 300 U.S. cities to work towards cutting greenhouse emissions.

It has been increasingly clear in recent years that such grassroots efforts are necessary to combat the effects of global warming.

The evidence that human carbon emissions are contributing to potentitally disastrous climate changes has never been stronger, as evidenced by the most recent assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Yet our politicians at the federal level have been largely reluctant to take decisive actions to curb emissions.

No doubt there are reasons for their recalcitrance ó few national politicians can afford to run afoul of the powerful petroleum and car lobbies.

Fortunately, a growing chorus of state and local governments, educational institutions and even corporations have begun to call for change.

As the old adage goes, ìIf the people lead, the leaders will follow.î

Hopefully, the example set by WWC and UNC will help to motivate other local colleges to come on board and cut their emissions.

After all, if those charged with educating the future generations do not take the initiative on climate change, how can we expect their students to do so?