Recently, the University of Wisconsin was labeled the nation’s ‘Greenest University’ by a conservation advocacy website, thedailygreen.com. According to the website, UW has invested $48 million in energy-saving projects which has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 16 percent, and reduced water use per capita by 29 percent. Combined with other conservation-oriented projects, these initiatives have put UW ahead of other nominated large public universities such as UC Davis and the University of Minnesota.

While this is not very surprising, especially considering Madison’s strong history of environmentalism, the award was timely in pointing out all the efforts that are going on in UW to ‘go green.’ From the ubiquitous blue recycling bins spread all over campus, the environmentally oriented GreenHouse in Cole Hall, to the student organization Wisconsin Student Public Interest Research Group, there is a strong sense of responsibility on campus towards protecting the environment.

Indeed, it is impressive that UW has managed to reduce its footprint significantly throughout the various projects and campaigns over the years. Nonetheless, sometimes it might be wise to step back and look into the overall picture. In the larger scale, are we really making a difference? Are the millions of dollars poured into running these programs being spent correctly on the fight against climate change?

Now, this is not at all a denialist argument decrying the ‘fake science’ of climate change. What I would like to question is the significance of emission reduction through individual efforts – or in UW’s case, institutional efforts. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, residential and commercial greenhouse emissions each account for less than 20 percent of overall U.S. greenhouse emissions, while transportation and industrial use account for almost a third each.

From the statistics, we can thus see that to a certain extent, efforts to conserve at the UW will have a significant effect. A college would fall under the commercial sector in the statistics, and that forms a significant portion out of the overall emissions – just less than 20 percent. Nonetheless, we still need to remember the effort UW puts into conservation is significantly more than other colleges; despite UW’s commendable efforts, it still remains unreplicated at most other colleges.

On the other hand, we also see that over 60 percent of all emissions come from two sources: transportation and industrial use. That transportation could form such a big portion of the emission breakdown is a uniquely American phenomenon – vast distances, inefficient vehicles and reluctance to use public transportation. On the industrial side, the usual image of huge factories puffing black fumes into the air might come to mind.

Together, these two are where most of the damage is being done. What is also worrying is that individual efforts or campus projects will do nothing to mitigate this 60 percent of greenhouse gas emissions – it is not at the UW where the fight can be fought. Instead, it is within the government’s hands to change this.

Nonetheless, the efforts of some officials in the government to halt the development of a quality public transport system and the reluctance to invest in alternative energy sources – all in the name of the hallowed budget deficit – will not bode well in the long term. Unfortunately, there is no easy way out of this, as Obama’s first term has shown. As his first term comes nearer to its end, hopes have faded and promises of environmental leadership have been broken.

While UW’s ongoing effort to combat unnecessary energy consumption and save the environment is commendable, we also need to remember that it is only less than half the battle. It is disappointing to watch those in power fail to take responsibility for the environment, but we should only continue to do what we can as individuals, as we wait on the government to change.

Albert Budhipramono ([email protected]) is a freshman majoring in biology.