A student-led commission stood before the State College Borough Council Friday and told members a change in global warming must begin in State College.

The Centre County Commission Energy Project -- made up of Penn State juniors and seniors and led by geography professor Brent Yarnal -- presented its research five months after Yarnal spoke before the council about local efforts to monitor greenhouse gases.

Commission member Matt Gibson (senior-physical and environmental geography) said, as a community, it is necessary to find feasible and efficient ways to reduce greenhouse gas emission.

"We understand not everyone is going to stop driving their car tomorrow. We're going to do things that people are going to want to get involved with," he said.

Gibson said the first step to reduce emissions is informing the public. He added that two ways to reduce emissions are through behavior and technology, such as driving a hybrid vehicle and turning off the lights and television.

The biggest greenhouse gas
emitter in the borough is the transportation sector, which emits 42 percent of the community's greenhouse gases, commission member Ron Feingold (senior-human geography) said.

The three fuels commonly used locally are gasoline, diesel and
natural gas, which all emit diff-
erent levels of greenhouse gases, he added.

Borough Council member Craig Humphrey said Centre County has "the largest fleet of buses east of the Mississippi that use natural gas," adding that, out of all fuels, nat-
ural gas emits the least greenhouse gas.

Greg Armbrecht (senior-geography), a commission member, said the community must start locally to reduce greenhouse gas mitigation, because the nation as a whole is not doing anything to address the problem. Armbrecht said more than 400 communities across the country have started their own awareness plans.

The commission has been presenting its research to various people throughout the semester, and the council work session was the last stop on its tour.

The commission will now be conducting focus groups with community members throughout the week to look for solutions to reduce community greenhouse gas emissions.