Page 674 - Environment: The Science Behind the Stories

health risks and to prioritize opportunities for addressing them.
It specifies six focus areas:
• Reducing solid and hazardous waste
• Conserving energy and reducing carbon emissions
• Conserving water
• Making sustainable purchasing decisions
• Pursuing ecologically responsible landscaping and
maintenance
• Undertaking green building practices in construction
and renovation

This plan guides De Anza’s greening efforts, while CEAG
monitors progress and makes policy recommendations.
Challenges abound, and the main ones today are financial
as California and other states suffer severe budget cutbacks
in higher education. In tough financial times, more and more Figure 24.1 Sustainability-oriented curricula extend far
young people are enrolling in colleges, yet as state budgets and beyond the classroom. In California’s Coyote Valley, De Anza
private endowments shrink, schools receive fewer resources. College instructor Ryan Phillips trains students in tracking and
Sustainability initiatives often cost money, and their proponents surveying wildlife as they help perform research into the impor-
generally have to argue their case to penny-conscious admin- tance of habitat corridors.
istrators time after time. But De Anza’s administration, like
increasing numbers of others, has recognized that many of the Moreover, thousands of students enroll in De Anza’s envi-
short-term costs associated with sustainability efforts are actu- ronmental studies and environmental sciences courses each
ally investments that can save substantial amounts of money year. The learning extends far beyond the classroom. In one
in the long term. new certificate program, students are trained in wildlife tracking
Despite these challenges, De Anza continues to make and help conduct research on wildlife populations and habitat
strides. Today, 60% of the campus’s waste is diverted from corridors in the Coyote Valley and other areas in the region.
landfills. Ninety percent of the chemicals used by the custodial The data they collect informs the work of regional planners and
staff are environmentally friendly. The dining services are using brings pragmatic benefits to their region, as the students them-
biodegradable containers and local and organic food. Students selves gain hands-on experience in the science of conservation
receive transit passes from the local bus service and can rent biology (Figure 24.1). All in all, De Anza is providing an inspir-
bicycles for use on and off campus. De Anza’s sustainability pro- ing model for other community colleges in California and for
ponents have produced a policy handbook on energy efficiency colleges and universities nationwide as they strive for campus
and are leading workshops for other community colleges. sustainability.

Sustainability on Campus An audit is a useful way to begin
Campus sustainability efforts often begin with a quantitative
Whether on campus or around the world, sustainability means assessment of the institution’s operations. An audit provides
living in a way that can be lived far into the future. Sustainabil- baseline information on what an institution is doing or how
ity involves conserving resources to prevent their depletion, much it is consuming. Audits also help set priorities and goals.
reducing waste and pollution, and safeguarding ecological Students can conduct an audit themselves, as when University
processes and ecosystem services, so as to ensure that our soci- of Vermont graduate student Erika Swahn measured heating,
ety’s practices can continue and our civilization can endure. transportation, electricity, waste, food, and water use to calcu-
Truly sustainable solutions will satisfy all three pillars of sus- late her school’s ecological footprint (it turned out to be 4.5
tainability: environmental quality, economic well-being, and acres for each student, instructor, and staff member). If you
social justice (pp. 174–175). set out to do an audit yourself, one useful tool is a handheld
If we are to attain a sustainable civilization, we will device called a “Kill-A-Watt” meter (Figure 24.3), which can CHAPTER 24 • Su STA in A bl E Sol u T i on S
need to make efforts at every level, from the individual to help measure energy use plug by plug and room by room.
the household to the community to the nation to the world. Sometimes an audit can be done as part of a class, as
Governments, corporations, and organizations must all when students at Stetson University in Florida conducted a
encourage and pursue sustainable practices. Among the greenhouse gas inventory of their campus. In contrast, Harford
institutions that can contribute to sustainability efforts are Community College in Maryland hired specialists to audit its
colleges and universities (pp. 34–35). In today’s quest for energy use and pollutant emissions, which then served as the
sustainable solutions, students at colleges and universities basis for setting reduction goals. Students at Georgian Court
are playing a crucial role. They are creating models for the University in New Jersey worked with consultants from the
wider world by leading sustainability initiatives on their Environmental Protection Agency to assess their campus’s
campuses (Figure 24.2). carbon footprint, then remeasured it after instituting changes. 673

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