How Colleges Are Going Green
The almighty U.S. News College Rankings, as I previously mentioned, don't include a green listing this year. However, universities are getting greener by the minute, with environmental studies courses and abundant green initiatives. Here are a few highlights:
- In the Environmental Protection Agency's "Green Power Challenge," universities compete against others in their athletic bracket to see who can purchase the cleanest energy. As of last month, Colby College is in the overall lead, offsetting 115 percent of its energy. NYU, UC Santa Cruz, Connecticut College, Western Washington, Evergreen, Central Oklahoma, Southern New Hampshire, and St. Mary's of Maryland are all offsetting their power by 100 percent.
- Environmentalism is becoming part of orientation. Beginning August 28, Smith College students will learn how to minimize their impact on the environment both on and off campus in a pre-orientation program, "Sustainability and Ecological Literacy." Topics include recycling, how to live a car-free lifestyle, energy conservation, and organic food. Students will tour a power plant, take nature walks, and meet those in charge of the college's environmental efforts (Smith hired a sustainability director this spring).
- More and more new dormitories are becoming LEED certified. Duke claims the first platinum LEED rating for a campus residence with its new 10-student Home Depot Smart Home. Many other schools around the country, including Warren Wilson College and Carnegie Mellon University, have silver- and gold-rated dorms. (LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.) Students can also think about green dorm decorations.
- Organic food is a huge draw for college students across the country. It's being incorporated into many schools' dining hall menus, from fast food to gourmet—well, as gourmet as college food can get. The New York Times reported on Yale's organic cafe, Brown's farmer's market, and Wheaton's low-carbon meals. The University of Minnesota uses locally grown food and composts its waste. Organic to Go fast-food kiosks make the choice to eat organic quick and easy at the University of Washington, many of the state schools in California, and Georgetown University. Nina Merrill, a senior at Colgate University, started a blog, Organic on the Green, to chronicle schools' efforts to get greener food.
- Grist's list of 15 eco-friendly colleges lists two schools that are only for the environmentally minded:the College of the Atlantic, which offers human ecology as a design-your-own major, and EARTH University in Costa Rica, dedicated to the environmental sciences.
Tags: EPA | colleges | environment
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Lower on the Food Chain in Dining Halls
It's great to see colleges using more organic and local food in their dining halls. It's worth noting that many are also cutting animal product use to reduce CO2e emissions, water use, and conserve land. Bon Appetit Food Management Company has done this in their college dining halls, and this past Earth Day Sodexo worked with the PB&J Campaign to promote plant-based meals on its Southeast Campuses, including at Emory University.
The American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment
Many of the schools mentioned in this post are signatories to the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC). A president led initiative and a high-visibility effort to address global warming by garnering institutional commitments to neutralize greenhouse gas emissions, and to accelerate the research and educational efforts of higher education to equip society to re-stabilize the earth’s climate. Many of the greening efforts being taken by the higher education sector are the result of this initiative. As of today 565 institutions, representing all 50 States, and more than 4.6 million students have committed to climate neutrality. For more information and to see if your school is a signatory visit http://www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org/index.php
Why eat meat when tofu will do?
Were the federal government, through the consent of the governed, of course, to ban the production of animals for slaughter, a significant number of problems would disappear. As any certified authority on the subject will assure you, the human body does not require "meat" for sustenance and good health. I think. Thank you.
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