Club Description: Started in August of 2006 by the two Pomona seniors Ada Aroneanu and Praween Dayananda, the Campus Climate Challenge (CCC) club has been one of THE most prolific environmental groups at the Claremont Colleges. The club, inspired by and part of the national Campus Climate Challenge movement, works with students and school administration with the goal of reducing Pomona's greenhouse gas emissions to ZERO.

Even in the club's short life it has started and succeeded at many creative and daunting environmental initiatives. Most notable was the "Green Cup Dorm Challenge" in the fall of 2006. Throughout November, the CCC challenged every Pomona dorm to reduce its electricity usage by 5% or more compared to last year's November. The dorm which reduced electricity usage the most would win $2,000 to invest in a dorm sustainability measure. In addition, if every dorm reduced energy usage by 5% and 50% of all students signed "The Sustainability Pledge" Pomona College would offset 10% of its dorm electricity consumption with Renewable Energy Certificates. The initiative succeeded with dorms reducing their energy consumption by an average of 8% and Walker dorm taking home the $2,000 prize.

More recently, club members have recognized that the organization stands for much more than climate change action, and the new name reflects our commitment to environmental justice and the many other causes that are necessary to ensure a just and sustainable world.

Mission: "PEAR seeks to raise awareness of environmental issues on campus, giving individuals the knowledge to change their behavior. We serve as a voice for environmental causes within the institution. But our focus is certainly not limited to Pomona or the 5-Cs, and we seek to be active presence in the larger community we are a part of."

Meeting Time & Place:  TBD

Club Leader(s):

• Grace Vermeer '10  ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it )
• Samantha Meyer '10  ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it )
  

Links:  http://groups.google.com/group/PEAR47?pli=1

Last Updated: September 2009