On Nov. 3, environmental organizations wrote a letter to President Scholz, Chair Holwerda and members of the Board of Trustees, showing their support for option four of the thermal heating systems transition.
Option four is “Heat Recovery Chiller, Alternate Source.” This option uses chillers, which use the same technology as a heat pump but act more like a refrigerator. The system pushes out hot air to cool or pulls in hot air to heat and is more efficient than traditional electrode boilers, Plummer said.
Option four, along with option three, chiller recovery, does not use methane gas and would help reduce the university’s emissions.
Molly Babcock, co-director of the UO Climate Justice League, said option four or three in combination with options 2A or 2B would be a good course of action for the university.
“… with the combination of both those options, we would have more resiliency on our system, and then we would also have almost a complete reduction of methane gas,” Babcock said.
The letter’s authors stress the impacts methane gas has on the climate and on public health.
“…gas appliances contribute to indoor and outdoor air pollution. It is a health concern, it is a justice concern, it is a climate concern and it is something that we need the university to lead on,” said Aya Cockram, coalition coordinator of Fossil Free Eugene.
Selena Blick, former director of the UO Climate Justice League, believes the transition is achievable and will help reduce emissions.
“This is a very achievable way for them to significantly reduce their emissions and make a huge step towards that goal,” Blick said. “And if they don’t actually do it, to me like shows they’re not serious at all about it.”
The letter concludes that the university should move forward with option four to reduce emissions, protect public health, and do its part to mitigate the climate crisis.
“University of Oregon has responsibility not just to students but to the community at large to be taking actions, not just to reduce emissions, but also to reduce energy use broadly and helping our community maintain a stable supply of power that’s not being overtaxed by the use of less efficient gas or electric boilers,” Plummer said.
