By Kimberly Watson
Welcome summer! For most of us this time of the year means vacations. We all look forward to getting away to a restful vacation destination where we can be pampered and taken care of. Some of us choose to stay in hotels because they offer an array of accommodations and amenities, a few of which are not having to tidy up after ourselves or doing laundry if we don’t want to!
by Beth Gray
This past December, more than 120 Heads of State and Government traveled to Copenhagen, Denmark to participate in the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15). The Conference, lasting for close to two weeks, was intended to be the launching point for a comprehensive worldwide agreement on how to most effectively combat climate change. Even with the best of intentions, however, few who attended the Conference have expressed much satisfaction with the progress made and eventual outcome of the meeting.
The proceedings were plagued with administrative and logistical difficulties and contentious moments between some of the world’s biggest carbon emitters. For example, as estimated by one attendee, some 45,000 people attended the Conference – great turn out except that Copenhagen’s Bella Center where the event was held can only accommodate 15,000. Aside from the obviously cramped quarters into which Heads of state, their delegates, journalists, representatives from NGOs, and others were overcrowded, even greater difficulties hindered the progress of the discussions. Read the rest of this entry »
by Jennifer Lefebvre
For so many of us, our pets are a part of our family. We feed them, pamper them, and treat them very well. And, if you are a responsible pet owner, on your daily walks, you make sure to clean up after Fido’s bathroom breaks; maybe even being green by using your old grocery bags to scoop it up. But have any of us ever stopped to think about the impact that particular bag of poop has on the environment?
The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that the average dog generates approximately 275 pounds of waste per year. According to The Humane Society of the United States, there are more than 77 million dog owners in the United States, and almost 94 million cat owners. That is a lot of pet waste. If left outside, bacteria and viruses from this waste can be washed into our waterways; but picking it up using bags that do not biodegrade does not help much. Authors of the book, Time to Eat the Dog?, Brenda and Robert Vale, state “If you have a German shepherd or similar-sized dog, its impact every year is exactly the same as driving a large car around.” Their research found that a “dog’s carbon pawprint was twice that of a Toyota Land Cruiser being driven 6,213 miles a year. A cat’s eco pawprint was ‘slightly less than a Volkswagen Golf,’ and keeping two hamsters is the same as owning a plasma TV.” Read the rest of this entry »
by Beth Gray
The question of how to finance sustainability projects on campus can often be one of the biggest obstacles to getting a campus sustainability movement off the ground. Often, “going green” is perceived as more expensive than not and the increasingly tight budgets on many college campuses means a lack of capital funding available to initiate projects related to sustainability. Several colleges, however, have found creative ways to initiate and fund sustainability projects on their campuses and in turn have found that going green can often not only be fiscally feasible, but can also be a way of generating funding for additional projects. Read the rest of this entry »
by Allison G. S. Knox
Farming is an industry that is complex, challenging, and has been around for centuries. When we think of farms, we tend to think of rolling hills, the wonderful smell of the countryside, and the amazing vegetables produced. We don’t, however, think of farms taking place on very small pieces of land, or growing fruits and vegetables in apartments. The two ideas simply do not go together. Urban farming, despite the vast differences between it and traditional farming, is now becoming a trend in the cities and suburbs. It is becoming more and more popular as individuals are moving toward self sufficiency and sustainability in the wake of the climate crisis.
by Beth Gray
In 2009 the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) published a resource entitled, Financing Sustainability on Campus. Ben Barlow, a consultant for Second Nature, and Andrea Putman, Director of Corporate Partnerships at Second Nature, team up to author this resource and do a very good job at exploring a variety of funding options that can be helpful in pushing forward with sustainability initiatives. At just over 100 pages, this publication is a worthwhile resource for anyone tasked with implementing sustainability initiatives on a college or university campus. Read the rest of this entry »
by Allison G. S. Knox
Interest in the climate crisis has peaked during an economic recession plagued by a massive amount of foreclosures and risky behaviors on behalf of many financial institutions. In recent decades, many people did not believe in “global warming” or the notion that our planet’s atmosphere has seen an incredible increase in the amount of carbon dioxide – a situation that is warming the oceans and melting the polar ice caps. Perhaps because in light of the economic recession, people are finding creative ways to save money, many are beginning to believe in the climate crisis. Many are becoming increasingly interested in the ways that addressing the climate crisis can help save billions of dollars in the long run. Read the rest of this entry »
by Beth Gray
In February 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, commonly known as the Recovery Act. According to the Administration’s website established to track the Recovery Act and the funds allocated from it, the purpose of the Act is three-fold: to “create new jobs and save existing ones,” to “spur economic activity and invest in long-term growth,” and to “foster unprecedented levels of accountability and transparency in government spending.” The Recovery Act included more than $80 billion in clean energy investments. As institutions of higher education begin addressing their own carbon footprints and the issues related to climate change in general, there are opportunities for them to apply for funds through the Recovery Act in order to implement projects that can help.
Various government agencies have been provided with portions of the total allotted in the Recovery Act and institutions of higher education may find funding for their sustainability projects through these agencies. For example, the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is responsible for some $16.8 billion of Recovery Act funding. Included in that total is some $11.3 billion for projects related to weatherization, state energy programs, and conservation block grants. Additionally, according to Financing Sustainability on Campus, a National Association of College and University Business Officer’s publication, the Recovery Act allocated $3.1 billion to the State Energy Program (SEP) “for onward allocation by state energy offices to higher education institutions and other organizations within their jurisdictions.”
by Beth Gray
The growing concern over climate change has led many companies to consider how to alter their own practices in order to mitigate their carbon emissions. Several large corporations have taken significant steps toward assessing and taking steps to lessen their environmental impact. Walmart, for example, has a very well-developed sustainability initiative and has a page on their corporate website devoted to tracking how the company is doing in its attempt to have a less negative impact on the environment. General Electric also has a sustainability initiative and publishes an annual sustainability report to track the company’s progress in achieving a greener future. Nearly 700 institutions of higher education (including American Public University System) have also pledged to assess their carbon footprints through signing the American College and University President’s Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) and take dramatic measures toward eventually achieving carbon neutrality. Read the rest of this entry »
by Beth Gray
Written by educators for educators, 147 Practical Tips for Teaching Sustainability is an invaluable resource for anyone teaching sustainability. In his forward to the work, David W. Orr, Director of the Environmental Studies Program at Oberlin College, notes that colleges and universities must equip young people “with the analytical skills and wherewithal to become change agents beyond the years of formal education.” Anthony Cortese, President of Second Nature, also provides a forward in which he notes “We are the first generation capable of determining the habitability of the planet for humans and other species.” Cortese continues by quoting Albert Einstein who said, “’We can’t solve today’s problems at the same level of thinking at which they were created.’” For all of these reasons, 147 Practical Tips for Teaching Sustainability is a resource that can help college and university educators to engage their students in gaining a full and thorough understanding of the current state of the environment and what must happen in order to improve the quality of life within it for generations to come. Read the rest of this entry »
As a signatory to the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), American Public University System (APUS) is committed to developing methods to reduce the organization’s carbon footprint. Additionally, APUS is dedicated to sharing information and best practices with others who may be interested in developing “greener” practices for their own organizations or in their personal lives. This blog will provide a forum to discuss topics related to sustainability in higher education and in general. We welcome your comments and suggestions.