UNH Today

长期以来，可持续发展和对地球友好的精神一直是联合国大学的核心价值观. 这所大学是美国第一个被捐赠的可持续发展研究所的所在地, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2023, and was one of only three institutions of higher education in the U.S. 2017年获得高等教育可持续发展促进协会(AASHE)的STARS白金评级, the highest rating available and one UNH can still proudly claim.

这些价值观体现在大学每天所做的工作中. 联合国大学的专业知识继续帮助社会应对当今地球面临的一些最紧迫的挑战, including rising sea levels, plastic pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, extreme weather and many more. 随着4月22日地球日的临近，以下是联合国大学每天帮助拯救地球的10种方式:

1. All of UNH’s dining halls earned a four-star rating from the Green Restaurant Association (GRA) in 2023, 这使它成为全国仅有的两所大学之一.
    
2. UNH boasts a robust composting program, with an average of 25,000 to 40,000 pounds of food waste collected per month during the academic year, resulting in more than 200,000 pounds composted annually. 所有食堂和UNH纪念联盟大楼(MUB)的食物垃圾, as well as select residence halls and apartments, is transported to Kingman Research Farm for composting.
    
3. 联合国大学的研究正在推动加强替代能源的发展. More than two-thirds of the U.S. wind energy resources are located in deep waters, 这促使人们对海上浮动风力发电场的部署越来越感兴趣. With a $2.5 million contract from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), a UNH team will lead research that will maximize power production, 限制硬件损坏，降低浮动海上风力发电场的成本.
    
4. The campus is powered by innovative and efficient energy sources. UNH benefits from a diverse array of energy sources. 我们的COGEN热电设备通过捕获和再利用发电过程中的废热来体现这一点，这一过程显著提高了我们的整体能源效率并减少了排放. Since 2009, 该设施主要由ECOLine项目收集的甲烷提供动力, a pioneering landfill gas-to-energy initiative. This project effectively transforms methane gas, a potent greenhouse gas from a nearby landfill, into a valuable energy resource for our operations. 这种方法不仅有助于减轻对环境的影响，而且体现了我们对可持续能源实践的承诺.
    
5. UNH researchers are advancing solutions to make our Earth a better place. For example, Wil Wollheim, 联合国大学水系统分析小组主任兼自然资源副教授, leads an effort to understand how plastic litter from three major cities — Boston, Chicago and Toronto — is settling in streams and rivers, 碎裂成碎片，最终进入五大湖或海洋.
    
6. In addition, Liz Burakowski and Alexandra Contosta, both research assistant professors in the Earth Systems Research Center, focus their research on the rapid warming of North American winters, 研究高水平和低水平二氧化碳排放对未来气候变暖情景的影响. 他们发现，减少排放可以保持近三周的积雪覆盖和冰点以下的温度.
    
7. UNH is helping reduce carbon footprints by providing critical measurement tools. SIMAP(可持续发展指标管理与分析平台)是一个独一无二的平台, 联合国大学创建的氮和碳会计平台被500多家学术机构使用, nonprofits, small businesses, municipalities and other organizations around the world. 去年春天，它进行了一次重大的功能更新，允许它计算所有范围3的间接排放, which can make up more than half of an organization’s total emissions.
    
8. 生物地球化学教授露丝·瓦纳不仅是湿地和永久冻土甲烷排放的主要研究人员, 她还领导了几个培训下一代气候研究人员的项目. EMERGE (对变化的紧急生态系统响应)为本科生和研究生提供资金，让他们前往瑞典北极地区进行研究，调查快速变暖的北极如何将永久冻土泥炭地转变为湿地. And Convergent Arctic Research Perspectives and Education (CARPE)培养研究生解决北极季节变化的复杂社会生态挑战.
    
9. Researchers at UNH are playing a key role in charting a path to achieving a net-zero greenhouse gas economy in the United States by 2050.
    
10. As rising sea levels and flooding threaten Portsmouth’s Strawbery Banke, 联合国大学的研究人员正在帮助活历史博物馆应对这些气候变化引发的挑战 sensor technology that monitors water levels in its structures’ basements.