Notre Dame leading by example to curb climate change

Pope Francis continues to make history on his first-ever trip to the United States, blurring the lines between spiritual and political responsibilities.

One message that he’s been trying to drive home to the American people is caring for our planet to prevent drastic climate change.

An administrator from the Environmental Protection Agency is visiting Notre Dame Friday morning to talk about the moral obligation for climate action, something Notre Dame has been committed to for nearly a decade.

Notre Dame’s on-campus power plant generates about half of all electricity used by the university and on Monday, university officials said they would take major steps to reduce the school's carbon footprint. Within the next five years, the university will stop burning coal entirely.

The university is already almost 85-percent natural gas.

The university’s Office of Sustainability is also looking to tap into other sources of power, like solar, hydro, wind, even geothermal power to heat buildings.

Notre Dame is also investing more than $100 million in sustainability projects to find ways to better conserve energy across campus.