The InterAcademy Medical Panel reported carbon dioxide and other gas pollutants are not only harmful to the environment, but human health as well, according to a New York Times article.

The medical panel met on Nov. 26 and urged nations to adopt polices to lower emissions of harmful gases that may be linked to global warming, mainly carbon dioxide, in an effort to reduce both the environmental and health risks they pose.

Human health can be affected by pollutants in the environment because the warmer temperatures brought on by global warming would also bring diseases and malaria, Melissa Nergard, assistant manager of the office of sustainability, said.

The article explained other harmful effects of carbon emissions on human health would be large-scale displacement of people, malnutrition, fast-spreading infections, pulmonary disorders and increased heart stress.

The areas of the world in which these risks pose a serious threat are the nations that have contributed the least to curb carbon concentrations in the air. They are also the most vulnerable to a sea-level rise, malnutrition and crop destruction.

According to the article, changing policies and counteracting carbon emissions will be costly, but the outcome will be lesser costs in healthcare because people will be healthier.

Nergard said ISU is making changes to be more energy efficient and produce less carbon emissions.

“ISU has signed the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commission, which recognizes the need to be more energy efficient and develops plans to make the campus and community to achieve climate neutrality,” Nergard said.
    Other Illinois colleges to sign on are the three University of Illinois campuses and various community colleges, she said.
    She said the university has been looking at many different areas to help make ISU more efficient.
    Those areas include evaluating international students’ airfares, having a bus system available for students and cars for rent at the Alamo II, changing the heating and cooling systems and removing the boilers of buildings, installing flat screen televisions and retrofitting the buildings with energy efficient windows.
    “We have also been composting the leftover food in the dining centers at the University Farm to offset carbon emissions. The community has also been involved in that effort as well and with that, we can earn carbon credits,” she said.
    “We have also changed the light bulbs in many buildings to reduce carbon emissions,” she said.
    Milner Library will undergo a renovation in order to make the building more energy efficient.  Ron Kelley, director of energy management, explained how Milner will get a makeover to make it more efficient.
    “Through Energy Services Contract, we will perform contracting in April to make Milner an energy-saving building. It will cost about $9 million and will happen over a period of one to two years,” he said.
    “Once finished, it will amount to $700,000 in energy savings a year,” Kelley said.
    There are several tasks that will be involved in making Milner more efficient including mechanical changes, heating and cooling, lighting and energy conservation to make it more efficient, he said.
    “Milner and the Science and Technology Labs will both undergo energy saving renovations,” he said.
    ISU was named in The Princeton Review’s 2010 to 2011 Guide to 286 Green Colleges, Nergard said.