UM makes sustainability coordinator official position

The ASUM senate heard a report on greenhouse gas inventory, funded the sustainability center with $3,300 and officially added the sustainability coordinator job title into ASUM personnel bylaws during Wednesday evening’s meeting.

Sustainability coordinator Jessie Davie presented the initial report of the University of Montana greenhouse gas inventory to the senate to get their feedback and answer questions.

Unfortunately, the data used in the report is not complete. Information requested from the athletic department has not been turned in to Davie yet and a survey on student commuters to campus hasn’t been conducted. Davie used results from the 2006 faculty and staff survey to fill in the student commuter to campus hole.

In the last seven years electricity usage on campus and greenhouse emissions has increased. Davie said this makes sense because the campus size and population has also increased in the last seven years.

Davie hopes to have a more reader-friendly report prepared in June with less numbers and more analysis. The inventory report is for UM to use and make reduction goals and notice which areas need to be targeted to decrease UM’s greenhouse gas inventory.

The sustainability coordinator was made an official job position. The coordinator will work 80 hours a month at $13 an hour. Some of the senators were concerned that the sustainability coordinator might not have enough work to meet 80 hours a month. ASUM president Dustin Leftridge assured them that there is enough work for that amount of time. He said that this year Davie has put in many hours that she was paid for.

The UM Administration has expressed interest in expanding the sustainability program in the future. The President’s office and administration is willing to help fund the center. The senate voted to fund the sustainability center with $3,300. This money will allow it to continue next year.

The ASUM senate also passed a resolution to create a Union Emergency Account, which would contain funds that would be used for unforeseen travel by sports and music union groups involved in national and international events.

At the end of each fiscal year half of the money left over in the Special Allocations-Travel account will be placed into the Union Emergency Account.