The University of California, Merced (UC Merced) is a public research university in the San Joaquin Valley of central California, United States. It is one of ten campuses of the University of California system and the first American research university built in the 21st century. With an enrollment over 7,300 students, UC Merced opened on September 5, 2005 as the tenth and newest campus of the University of California system and the first American research university to be built in the 21st century. The city of Merced (pronounced “mur-SEED”), which is adjacent to campus, had a population estimated at 118,943 people in 2014.
UC Merced claims to have several advantages over more traditional universities: its small class sizes allow for greater student-faculty interaction; being relatively new it has state-of-the-art facilities; its location near Yosemite National Park exposes students to natural diversity; and it draws heavily from a region whose demographics are among the fastest growing in California and mirror those of the state as a whole. In addition, UC Merced is committed to environmental sustainability; two examples are its plans for a “zero net energy” future and its construction practices that achieved Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification for all five initial buildings on campus.
Sustainability features planned for UC Merced include: zero net energy status by 2020 through a combination of solar photovoltaic panels , cogeneration using fuel cells , passive solar heating , cooling towers , and extensive daylighting ; all new buildings will be constructed with Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) standards; landscaping will minimize water usage with drought tolerant plants native to Central Valley habitats; storm water will be managed on site using detention ponds ; nonpotable water will be used for irrigation; transportation management includes electric vehicle charging stations , preferred parking for low emitting/fuel efficient vehicles , carpool matching assistance via Zimride , bicycles available free of charge from Zipcar locations on campus plus showers/lockers/bike racks throughout campus; finally there are also plans for an eventual fleet of hydrogen -powered buses .
In terms that might be more easily understood by those not intimately familiar with environmental sustainability issues let us consider how these efforts help UCMC meet two key goals related to climate change . The first goal is reducing or eliminating net greenhouse gas emissions from owned or controlled sources . On track to reach this goal are various strategies such as powering all buildings with renewable electricity by 2016 and making newly constructed buildings carbon neutral . The second goal pertains specifically to mitigation measures taken within our boundaries that exceed reductions achieved through operational efficiency gains – what we refer “no regrets” mitigation . These would include investments like solar panels which provide both cost savings (by displacing grid -purchased electricity ) as well as tangible environmental benefits (reduced emissions) even if climate change were not occurring…or was not caused by human activity . By taking these no regrets actions we send an important signal about our institutional values while protecting ourselves against potential risks should climate change turn out to be worse than currently forecasted. Mitigation efforts like these help ensure that even if large parts of society continue emitting greenhouse gases unabated our own community will eventually reach carbon neutrality.”