Sundance Channel

US colleges compete in Campus Conservation Nationals

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 21:12:22 +0000

Thought football was the main competition going on between colleges and universities this fall? Well, it will get the lion's share of the attention... but we're smack dab in the middle of another intercollegiate competitive event that could make a difference for the planet: the Campus Conservation Nationals.

Goggles Project: Canadian universities get short course in “Rethink 101″

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 19:04:08 +0000

North American universities have become hubs for everything from recycling competitions to renewable energy installations, so you'd have good reason to believe that our higher educational institutions are leading the way towards a more sustainable future.

Freshman orientation goes green

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 19:00:34 +0000

Making the shift to college life, whether as a resident or commuter student, is tough: from buying books to living with a roommate to optional class attendance, new students have a wealth of choices and responsibilities open to them (or thrust upon them). At many colleges and universities, another change may include sustainability policies and practices... and this may mean that a student's navigating composting, organic food, and energy efficiency for the first time.

Mississippi universities eye energy savings to close budget gap

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 20:20:04 +0000

State university systems are trying just about everything possible to make ends meet these days... from raising tuition and fees to selling bottled water. Mississippi's College Board would like to avoid socking it to students, so in order to make up for a 20% drop in state appropriations, the board is taking a look at energy savings.

Princeton Review publishes green college guide

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 19:13:15 +0000

Got a student at home trying to make the big choice of a college to attend? Are schools' commitments to sustainability a part of his/her criteria for choosing one? If so, your budding collegian isn't alone: according to the Princeton Review's 2009 College Hopes & Worries Survey (which solicited information from college applicants and their parents), "66 percent of respondents said they would value having information about a college's commitment to the environment. Moreover, of that cohort, 24 percent said such information would 'very much' impact their decision to apply to or attend the school." But where do you find this information?

The school community garden: college students getting their hands dirty

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 21:05:17 +0000

You likely associate community gardens with neighborhoods: residents (either with permission or "guerrilla gardening"-style) take over an empty lot and turn it into a green space. It turns out that colleges and universities have gotten in on the act: a number of schools around the US now offer space to students, faculty, and staff members who want to dig in the dirt, and grow their own food. The University of Idaho is the most recent school to host a community garden; others have done it for years, or even decades. Here are just a few...

Recyclemania 2010: Over 600 campuses competing to reduce waste

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:59:20 +0000

College students just love a good competition, whether between dorm buildings, campus organizations, or rival schools. You probably remember homecoming float contests, intramural sports, and big games with the cross-state team. Since 2001, Recyclemania has tried to capture that spirit of campus competitiveness, and apply it to reducing waste at colleges and universities.

Hourly car rental exploding on college campuses

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 20:31:49 +0000

Having worked at five different colleges and universities over the past 16 years, I've heard a lot of excuses from students who were late to class. The most frequent of those excuses, hands down: "I couldn't find a place to park." I'd hazard to guess that personal transportation (i.e. a car driven by a single person) is one of the biggest contributors to college and university greenhouse gas emissions.

Cool green colleges: Princeton Review releases its “Green Honor Roll”

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 18:51:41 +0000

Arizona State University's solar-powered parking structure

Many universities and colleges are implementing innovative and comprehensive sustainability initiatives on campus. Which ones are making the grade, though, in terms of both lowering their ecological footprint, and training students to "think green" as they move into the next phases of their lives?

The coolest colleges are going green

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 19:27:45 +0000

Think this whole "green" thing is just a fad? Maybe some elements of it, but if trends in higher education are any indicator of larger patterns, sustainability will continue to play a role in how we live, work, and play. In late June, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) released its annual Digest, a collection and analysis of stories from the previous year's weekly newsletter. Just the size of the publication should give us hope: according to Acting Executive Director Judy Walton's "Introduction," the 2008 Digest is 50% larger than the previous edition.