As a participant in the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment, Bates’ first step toward achieving climate (or carbon) neutrality is to account for current emissions. These 2006 figures show Bates emissions in metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents (MTCDE), the accepted method of measuring the global warming potential of various human activities. The low figure for electricity (it was once around 5,000 MTCDE annually) reflects the College’s 2005 switch to green electricity.

Category	MTCDE
Student commuting (plane 6,620; car, bus, train:1,742)	8,362
Heating	6,972
Study-away travel	2,466
Faculty-staff commuting	1,154
Solid waste	608
Purchased gasoline	155
Electricity	5
Total	19,971

Source: Julie Rosenbach, environmental coordinator