In many respects, the modern environmental movement was born in the colleges and universities that dot the American landscape. And that spirit and enthusiasm for green innovation continues to flourish today. But with all of the green claims made by government, the business sector and the mainstream media, it’s quite likely there will be some greenwash spilling from the windows of the the Ivory Tower.
To help us wade through all the green hyperbole, a growing list of sustainability ranking projects has emerged including the Princeton Review Green Honor Roll, the College Sustainability Report Card, and the Sierra Club’s just-released Cool Schools ranking. Each of the guides uses a different methodology but all of were helpful when formulating the following compilation of the top green colleges and universities in the United States.
Recognizing that defining the word ‘green’ can be problematic in its own right and that there are tons of colleges doing really great things in terms of sustainability, this list is certainly incomplete and/or inexact. Think we missed something? Have an example of campus sustainability that needs to be told? Tell the world in the comments section. In alphabetical order:
The stresses in our early twenty-first century civilization take many forms—social, economic, environmental, and political. One distinctly unhealthy and visible illustration of all four is the swelling flow of garbage associated with a throwaway economy. As noted in my book Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization, throwaway products were first conceived following World War II as a convenience and as a way of creating jobs and sustaining economic growth. The more goods produced and discarded, the reasoning went, the more jobs there would be.
What sold throwaways was their convenience. For example, rather than washing cloth towels or napkins, consumers welcomed disposable paper versions. Thus we have substituted facial tissues for handkerchiefs, disposable paper towels for hand towels, disposable table napkins for cloth ones, and throwaway beverage containers for refillable ones. Even the shopping bags we use to carry home throwaway products become part of the garbage flow.
In recent years there has been a growing concern over thresholds or tipping points in nature. In my latest book Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization, I state that scientists worry about when the shrinking population of an endangered species will fall to a point from which it cannot recover. Marine biologists are concerned about the point where overfishing will trigger the collapse of a fishery.
We know there were social tipping points in earlier civilizations, points at which they were overwhelmed by the forces threatening them. For instance, at some point the irrigation-related salt buildup in their soil overwhelmed the capacity of the Sumerians to deal with it. With the Mayans, there came a time when the effects of cutting too many trees and the associated loss of topsoil were simply more than they could manage.
The social tipping points that lead to decline and collapse when societies are overwhelmed by a single threat or by simultaneous multiple threats are not always easily anticipated. As a general matter, more economically advanced countries can deal with new threats more effectively than developing countries can. For example, while governments of industrial countries have been able to hold HIV infection rates among adults under 1 percent, many developing-country governments have failed to do so and are now struggling with much higher infection rates. This is most evident in some southern African countries, where up to 20 percent or more of adults are infected.
A similar situation exists with population growth. While populations in nearly all industrial countries except the United States have stopped growing, rapid growth continues in nearly all the countries of Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent. Nearly all of the 80 million people being added to world population each year are born in countries where natural support systems are already deteriorating in the face of excessive population pressure, in the countries least able to support them. In these countries, the risk of state failure is growing.
I’m doing a series of posts about why wheat has been an orphan crop. Today I want to talk about UG99 Stem Rust.
In 1999 a new strain of Stem Rust, a severe wheat disease, emerged in Uganda. It was named UG99, and since then it has spread to other wheat growing areas in Africa and Asia but is expected to spread further. It is a serious threat to the global human food supply because it causes severe yield losses.
There have been many great articles, blog postings and websites about this important plant disease, so today I will talk about how I think this situation will play out.
I’ll wager that the worst potential from this disease will NOT actually occur. This is not a casual wager - the health or even survival of millions of poor people around the world is at stake. Some of my wheat breeder friends might not like me to say this (because they legitimately need more funding), but my bet is is still that the breeders will prevail against all odds (and get little credit for it).
I base that qualified optimism on having seen what a remarkable group of scientists called “plant breeders” have been able to achieve in the past. I’m even more encouraged knowing that they have access to some new tools based on biotechnology.
Sean Daily, Green Living Ideas‘ Editor-In-Chief, discusses the impact of mass-consumption and the merits of using less stuff with Bob Lilienfeld, Speaker and Author of Use Less Stuff.
Anyone who travels will eventually find themselves returning home with a hotel card key (or two), despite our well-intentioned interest to remember to leave it in the room or drop it by the front desk upon check out.Most are made of petroleum-based plastic.
But not the Green Earth Agri Card Keys made by USFI GreenWorks.It’s made of a durable, but completely biodegradable corn-based (or plant based) plastic, providing the same appearance and performance, but without the chemicals and waste.The product does, however, require industrial composting and not the backyard variety.Printing on the cards employs soy-based inks.The card is meant to be reusable, not to just be thrown away after one use.However, truth be told, millions of hotel card keys never find their way back to the front desk for reprogramming. According to some in the industry, fewer than fifty percent are returned. Some key cards get worn out and have to be replaced.
As I write about in ECOpreneuring, green businesses do not want to do less harm to the environment.They want to create products or services and operate in ways that make the world a better place.In much the same way as T.S. Designs re-invented the concept of printing on t-shirts using a completely ecologically safe process, USFI GreenWorks reinvented the form the cards take by creating the cards using plant-based plastics. To the extend we can, we need to support these companies and push them to continue to innovate.
Host Sean Daily talks about conserving paper and document management as strategies for combating paper addiction in the office with Renee Thomas, Director of Americas Field Marketing for Esker.
This past weekend, we had the pleasure of hosting Dennis Paige, founder of Swiftdeer-Paige, at Inn Serendipity to share a program on storytelling with our community of friends and family. Awarded the 2008 Grassroots Conservation Leadership Award from the Audubon-Chicago Region and the Chicago Wilderness Habitat Project, Paige has been entertaining and teaching thousands of people about the most pressing ecological issues of our times while inspiring a more balanced relationship with the web of life through the craft of storytelling.He’s been at it since 1989.
Paige’s hour-long program was a reminder of how far we still need to go on our journey of creating a “Story of Sustainability” that most American’s can embrace, not just a few.Obviously, the present American story of never-ending growth, executive bonuses, consumer-based economy, and more jobs is not compatible with the long term sustainability of a finite planet – especially if you recognize that despite our technological know-how, two thirds of the planet’s human inhabitants still cannot drink a glass of safe water, for example.
Elements of a Great Story
According to Paige, the elements of a great story are imagination, believability and content.Our group of local friends, bed & breakfast guests and family members circled around Paige as he orchestrated various activities to help our group, who ranged in ages from 4 to 80, become better storytellers and understand this ancient art and craft of storytelling. In terms of the content, it’s all about the problem, resolution and moral of the story.
GreenTalk Radio Host Sean Daily discusses simple living, anthropology, and lessons from the Maya culture with Dr. Eric Gibson, author of Nine Lords of the Night
Let’s start by mentioning a few of the wonderful things that the Los Angeles Business Council and its fabulous President, Mary Leslie, are doing: They are corralling the city’s public and private heads of agencies and businesses into a forum where they can engage in conversation. This corral has taken place at the Getty Museum for the past 3 years under the moniker of the Los Angeles Business Council’s Sustainability Summit.
On August 10th, Leslie is hosting a similar event specifically for our film industry. The LABC is shepherding our City’s prominent, if not still #1, industry – the film studios – and getting them all together to talk about the business of sustainability: Sustainability and the Entertainment Community.
I’m all for conversation. When we sit down and talk with each other, a wealth of information can get shared if all parties engage and are engaged. Personally I’m convinced that it was through these types of pow-wows that the notion of “creating fire” was spread among humankind.
Since July 2003, sustainablog has been providing information on environmental and economic sustainability, green and sustainable business, and environmental politics. The blog regularly features environmental leaders, experts in alternative energy and green technology, and real people trying to lighten their environmental footprints.
In many respects, the modern environmental movement was born in the colleges and universities that dot the American landscape. And that spirit and enthusiasm for green innovation continues to flourish today. But with all of the green claims made by government, the business sector and the mainstream media, it’s quite likely there will be some greenwash spilling from the windows of the the Ivory Tower.
Sean Daily, 
Host 
