GREEN YOUR EDUCATION

Latest news:

May 7 2013: Princeton Review relaeses which colleges are the greenest in the US?  For the fourth year, the Princeton Review has released a guidebook that profiles the greenest colleges in the US.  Schools included in the guide scored high on Princeton Review's "green rating" system, which weighs criteria such as academic offerings and career preparation, transportation and construction policies, energy consumption, recycling and waste diversion, greenhouse gas reporting and climate change initiatives, and organic food.  link   

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        Below:

• Links to organizations
• Student divestment campaign
  
• What colleges are doing 
• Students challenge coal on campus
• High schools
• How students can reduce their footprints

Campus Climate Challenge. Groups across the country are organizing to make their campuses leaders in the fight against climate change.

Environmental Science Degrees
For students looking at the environmental sciences, a web site constructed by Elena Frost makes the searching simpler. With www.environmentalsciencedegree.com you no longer have to call up colleges to find out if they specialize in a certain subject without any background knowledge firsthand, all that is required of you is that you give basic information on your location, the degree you want, and your area of study and that is it. Once you’ve entered that into your search criteria you will be prompted with a near endless assortment of schools and degrees that will give you exactly what you need when looking for the essentials to get a job in a very tough but rewarding field of work.

Power Shift 2013: Pittsburgh October 18-21 - link

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The American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) is a pledge to completely eliminate greenhouse gas emissions on campus over time. Universities from all 50 states have signed on to the pledge and many have already made significant strides toward achieving this goal. link  As of February 2010 close to 700 presidents representing 40% of the nation's undergraduate population have pledged to work toward making their campuses climate neutral. Furman University in South Carolina, for example, has a master plan to become carbon neutral by 2026  pdf

The Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC) is a student and youth run national network whose mission it is to build a network of diverse grassroots struggles that transcends current fabricated, oppressive constructs by sharing stories, skills, knowledge and radical analysis to dismantle destructive systems, and replace them with sustainable communities of resistance and collective liberation. We define the environment to include the physical, economic, political, and cultural conditions in which we live  - seac.org    

Also see Energy Action Coalition 

November 2012: First US school run on 100% renewable energy. A rural elementary school in Arizona is the first in the US to run entirely on renewable energy. Five wind turbines and 100 solar panels supply the school's electricity. Emphasis on Navajo traditions of community: self-reliance and caring for the environment through green building and clean energy  supplies 37 kilowatts of solar and wind power to the school. link

August 2011: Small community college in MA goes zero carbon. “We’re one of the few campuses in the country, and perhaps the world, that is approaching zero net energy and zero net carbon, and that’s without buying green energy from another source,” said Ed Terceiro, a former school official who helped lead the wind turbine project at Mount Wachusett Community College in Central Massachusetts. With electricity bills approaching $800,000 annually, school officials decided to reinvent the institution as one focused on renewable energy. Two Vestas wind turbines will power 97% of the school (video link). 

February 2011. Maryland colleges go solar. The University of Maryland is going solar, installing more than 2,600 photovoltaic panels on one of its buildings near the College Park campus, reducing the carbon footprint by more than 600 tons a year. The 631-kilowatt system is to be placed on the roof of the Severn building, a multi-purpose structure less than a mile from the campus. University officials say it will be one of the biggest solar installations in the state, though it's dwarfed by the 2.1MW solar "farm" being built at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. link 

October 2009: $24 million to universities to develop wind research projects. The U.S. Department of Energy will invest $24 million in three university-led wind energy research facilities. Illinois Institute of Technology, University of Maine and University of Minnesota will each receive up to $8 million for projects which will focus on research and development on land-based and off-shore turbine performance reliability. The projects are also expected to create career and educational opportunities for students in the wind sector. link

June 2011: First grid-positive college in U.S. Butte College in California this week becomes the first college in the history of the United States to go ‘grid positive,' meaning that it will generate more electricity from its solar arrays than it consumes and will deliver power back to the electric grid. The college estimates that it will save between $50 million and $75 million over 15 years, even after accounting for project costs and interest. link

May 2012: New Jersey college goes 90% solar. Lawrenceville School, a 100-year old private school in New Jersey. is now getting 90% of its electricity from solar.  The school installed a 6.1 megawatt (MW) ground-mounted system on 30 acres of school-owned farm land, the largest installed at a U.S. primary or secondary school.  link  

College life may look different in the not-so-distant future with announcements of cost-cutting programs that help sustainability. Hundreds of colleges and universities are turning down their thermostats to save on heating, in programs like “Chill-Out” at Davidson College in North Carolina which also saved $10,000 by switching from bottled water to tap at most college events. Colleges are also installing low-flow shower heads and energy-saving light bulbs and holding contests to see which dorm can most reduce its electricity costs. link

April 2011: A poll from Yale University showed teens had serious misconceptions about the causes of and solutions to climate change, which led some of them to doubt its occurrence, humanity's involvement in the process or to understand its causes and solutions. In many ways teens showed less understanding of climate change than did adults. Only 25% of American teenagers receive a passing grade on their climate change awareness and understanding, and only about half of teens accurately believe climate change is occurring. Overall, 54% of teens received a failing grade, compared with 46% of adults. Only 6% of teens polled have an A or B level of understanding of climate change, while 41% have C or D grade. link

February 2100: Purdue University in Indiana moves towards clean energy. Purdue was the only university in the country planning to build a new coal plant. Instead the Board of Trustees chose wind and natural gas sources of energy over coal. A drop in gas prices and the likelihood of future regulations with respect to coal use and ash disposal were factors in the university's decision. In a separate decision the Board approved a plan to lease land for a 60-turbine 100MW commercial wind energy park. Some of the power could be an additional energy source for the university. link

November 2010: College campuses continue to leave coal behind. With more than 60 campuses nationwide getting energy from coal plants, student protests and lawsuits over power generation have become a part of college experience.  link

February 2012: Green Schools Alliance.  K-12 schools in America spend over $8 billion a year on energy. So they’re the perfect place to save money by implementing efficiency, conservation and green building techniques, all while educating students about energy issues. A competition organized by the Green Schools aims to help facilitate that transition. Across the U.S., students of all ages from kindergarten to high school are competing in the Green Cup Challenge (now in its 5^th year), a four-week event that encourages schools to cut energy use. Three weeks into the event, one school has cut its electricity consumption by 17% through simple changes in behavior. link
The Green Schools Alliance is a global community of schools working together to achieve an environmentally sustainable future.

March  2013: Man-made climate change to be added to U.S. curriculum. New recommendations are being introduced for educators to teach the evidence for man-made climate change starting as early as elementary school, and incorporate it into all science classes. By eighth grade, students should understand that "human activities, such as the release of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels, are major factors in the current rise in Earth’s mean surface temperature (global warming). This potentially ends an era in which climate skepticism has been allowed to seep into the nation's classrooms. The ‘Next Generation Science Standards” were developed by the National Research Council, the National Science Teachers Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the nonprofit Achieve and more than two dozen states. link

November 2010: They're about 50 feet high, whirl like pinwheels and instill an excitement in students. Wind turbines spreading around the West in schoolyards under the Wind for Schools project. Currently 11 states take part in the program, but eventually 35 states are expected to participate. link

Seven steps to a greener dorm room
Green tips for dorm living

Many of the ideas listed on the What Can You Do? page are things that the average college or university student can easily do as an individual.  But collectively students are in a unique and powerful position to influence the decisions of their institution's leaders and make significant changes on their campuses, as shown by the examples above.

There are many ways students can make a difference. Here are a few ideas to help you get started:

Join your campus’ environmental group or start your own.  The Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC) is a national grassroots coalition of student and youth environmental groups fighting environmental injustice.  To see if a SEAC chapter is present on your campus or for help starting a new one check out www.seac.org.

Encourage your school’s president or chancellor to sign on to the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment.  If they haven’t already signed on (to check click here) work with your campus environmental group to get them to!  If they have signed the commitment, find out what steps have been taken to achieve carbon neutrality on your campus. You can start by contacting your Sustainability office, if there is one, or Facilities Management.

Green your transportation.  If you live on campus or nearby, ride your bike, walk, or take public transit as much as possible.  If you commute to school consider carpooling, or start a campus carpooling program if one does not already exist.

Make smart paper choices.  Students use massive amounts of paper.  Buy recycled paper and notebooks, and recycle papers you no longer need.  Print only what you need to print, and whenever possible print on both sides of the sheet.  Save sheets that have only been printed on one side to use as scrap paper or for printing on the other side.

Write to your school or local newspaper.  If there is something you want to change, or an effort you want to praise, write about it!  This is also a great way to publicize what your group is doing on campus and attract new members.  Here are some tips for letter writing. 

Reduce waste on campus.  This may seem obvious but campuses produce lots of garbage that ends up in landfills.  Reuse or recycle everything you can!  Use reusable water bottles instead of buying bottled water.  Push for more reusable items in dining halls, such as reusable bags, cups, and plates.  Avoid styrofoam and plastic and if you must use disposable products, opt for those made from paper.  Push for a campus composting program for leftover food.

Buy used.  A great way to save money and the planet is to buy used.  Textbooks are much cheaper if purchased used from the school bookstore or online.  But don't stop there!  Look for good used furniture, appliances, and clothes at thrift stores or on sites like Craigs List. Sell or trade your stuff when you're finished with it instead of throwing it away.  Organize a yard sale at the end of the school year.

Unplug appliances when not in use.  Your cell phone charger is consuming energy even when your phone isn't plugged in.  Your computer is hogging energy while you're asleep.  Put appliances on a power strip that you can turn off at once if you have trouble remembering to unplug each one.  For more on conserving energy check out the Conservation page. 

Be involved.  Probably one of the best ways you can make a difference is to be involved on your campus and within your community.  You can meet others with similar interests and promote awareness of environmental issues.  Stay informed of what is happening in your community.  Volunteer at a local elementary school or help clean up a stream.  You are making a difference!  Check out volunteer opportunities in your area here.