April 8, 2022
We Can’t Wait for Our Institutions to Take Action on Climate Change
By Lisa Herforth-Hebbert
This year, the Penn State community has a golden opportunity to choose a new direction for its university.
Students and alumni of Pennsylvania State University—my school and Pennsylvania’s flagship land-grant institution—recognize that the climate crisis is personal. The Keystone State accounts for nearly 1 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and is expected to warm nearly 6 degrees Fahrenheit by 2050, after already sustaining hundreds of millions of dollars worth of infrastructure damage.
But Penn State can help lead Pennsylvania’s efforts to tackle climate change. With over 700,000 living alumni, the world’s largest dues-paying alumni association, and a massive $4.6B endowment, the university has the resources and reach to make sure that Pennsylvania is doing everything it can to ensure a livable future for its residents.
