“Green is the New Red, White, & Blue.”

November 13 2009, 12:58pm

Guest Blogger: Angelica Quicksey, Campus Liaison for Claremont McKenna College In a 2007 New York Times article, Thomas Friedman, author of The World is Flat, called green the “new red, white, and blue.”  He claimed that environmental awareness and activism has become a central topic on Main Street but that we, particularly my generation, still need a greater understanding of and commitment to truly being green. Start a Green Initiative on your Campus! On the contrary, the green movement has been gaining momentum on college campuses around the nation for some years now, and today it continues to grow stronger. The next generation is in fact doing more than ever before to create a greener campus and graduating students carry this ideology into the world. Since its introduction in 2006, 657 institutions have signed the American Colleges and University Presidents Climate Commitment. These institutions have agreed to completing an emissions inventory, creating an action plan and target date for becoming climate neutral, and taking immediate steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Often times, such commitment does not stem from the president’s office but originates among student’s themselves. Most schools have environmental clubs, which spearhead many of the initiatives taken at their respective institutions. Going tray-less in dining halls; reducing energy and water use in dorms; bike sharing programs; these are only a few examples of the slew of environmental-friendly activity that is taking place on college campuses around the U.S. In addition to these more standard methods, some students have taken more creative approaches: •    Students at the University of Cincinnati for example, set up an entire farmers market on their campus to promote local food. •    Claremont McKenna Students took a particularly interesting approach and hosted a party called “Save the Ales,” in hopes of having a positive impact on the decrease in hops growth due to global warming. Indeed, students play a vital role in increasing the movement to “Go Green.” Beyond these examples, students participate in panels to give long-term direction to their campuses. Such plans integrate sustainability into long-range models for campus development. Today, as campuses continue to grow, build, and expand, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certification seems to be almost an epidemic. Such commitment to sustainable structures on campuses serves to show that students not only have a dedication to a green present, but a sustainable future. Image originally found at UCSB Sustainability.

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