Bob Bites The Bullet

A friend has called Mr. B's attention to the following:

Recent Signatories:

University of Minnesota
Robert H. Bruininks, President

Regular readers will recall that OurLeader was at first reluctant to embrace the green monster.

See for example: "It's Not Easy Being Green Or, Why Robert Doesn't Want To Rap."

But he has apparently decided to do the right thing and sign on to the fight against global warming. I wonder how he got around the little problem(s) raised by Professor Swackhamer?

Deborah L. Swackhamer, interim director of the university's Institute on the Environment, says she is not sure the university could achieve climate neutrality. More than 70 percent of the university's power comes from coal, she says.

[Note: 2-1-08: Apparently this should read "70 percent of the university's power comes from fossil fuels."]

The commitment also asks colleges to make climate neutrality part of the curriculum, which is not something the president can do. "The president has absolutely no control over the curriculum," which is set by faculty members, Ms. Swackhamer says. "So some of these things he would be promising to do, he can't promise."

Now if only OurLeader would finally 'fess up to the disconnect between ambitious aspirations and available resources, perhaps we might get somewhere. The clock is ticking.

Welcome back, everyone, to spring semester at BigU. There are very interesting times ahead of us.

Mr. Bonzo