Did you know that 38 percent of all CO2 emissions on earth come from inefficient energy use in buildings?  That is just one of several statistics that Alliance for Climate Education will introduce to Northern Virginia Community College students on Feb. 22 at 11 a.m., in the Schlesinger Center on Alexandria campus. In hosting ACE, NOVA will aid the organization in their mission to educate, inspire and activate the younger generation around the issue of climate change.

Though NOVA is the first college ACE has given a presentation to, the organization has a three-year history of speaking to audiences of people ages 8 to 90 about climate change. ACE is a national organization that is functioning in eight regions across the country and, according to their D.C. representative Daisy Pistey-Lyhne, has given the presentation to 650,000 young people in 1,200 high schools and middle schools in those three years.

ACE has inspired and supported hundreds of community projects by offering projects ideas and giving advice to students.

Pistey-Lyhne is excited about the prospects of giving the presentation to the age-demographic of NOVA students.

“What’s cool about speaking to college-age students at your school is that you are even more empowered [than younger students] to do something about the environment,” Pistey-Lyhne said in our interview.

ACE fully intends to take advantage of NOVA students’ ability to achieve success by encouraging the student body to battle climate change in myriad ways at home and on campus.

According to ACE’s website, acespace.org, some of those avenues for action include making  homes or campus buildings greener by conducting an energy audit to find out just how much energy the building is using and how much it is wasting.

Next, to crank it up a notch, they suggest retrofitting those energy-wasting buildings with energy-efficient lighting, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning, among other retrofitting ideas.

Other green projects include hosting energy summits, writing to the editors of local newspapers about environmental issues in your neighborhood and reducing waste on campus through recycling projects. ACE provides step-by-step guidance for students in conducting all of these projects and more on their web page and through direct contact with ACE representatives.

The NOVA Environmental Club has already consulted ACE about the recycling issue on Alexandria campus, and ACE has provided some guidance as to how to get the recycling program reinvigorated at the college.

By: Ashley Strobridge

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