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The Green Campus
If you attended this year's commencement (毕业典礼) at Williams College in western Massachusetts, you probably sampled the fresh food made from locally produced, hormone-free milk. You might have tried the organic greens with edible cabbage blossoms or sampled the fresh asparagus (芦笋) all from nearby farms. These dishes not only tasted better than standard ones but also saved fossil fuels normally used to ship food long distances. Disposable plates and cutlery were nowhere to be found, reducing trash by 80 percent. And the rare disposable items were eco-friendly. 'We used compostable paper 'napkins and biodegradable straws,' says Stephanie Boyd, who helped organize the 'green commencement' as part of her job as chair of Williams's climate-action committee.
It was not only aimed to impress parents. More and more colleges are getting serious about going green. In June, 284 university presidents representing some of the nation's most influential schools announced an agreement pledging to make their campuses 'carbon neutral'. The message was clear. 'We're saying that sustainability is no longer an elective,' says Cornell president David Skorton. Their motivation wasn't merely to reduce energy consumption and waste. As a $ 315 billion sector of the economy--and one that will train future leaders--higher education has a special responsibility to encourage environmental stewardship. The university presidents hope that even students who don't pursue increasingly popular majors in environmental studies will learn simply from being on a green campus, living in green buildings, eating sustainable food and absorbing everyday messages of conservation. And who knows? Far-reaching environmental programs may create an air of excitement that attracts applicants. 'In the long run, students will say, why would I want to go to a school that doesn't care about this?' says Michael Crow, president of Arizona State University, which has. made a major commitment to sustainability.
At Harvard, going green starts before students even arrive on campus, when freshmen receive mailings urging them to buy only energy-efficient refrigerators for their dorm rooms and purchase compact fluorescent (发荧光的) bulbs, which use an average of 18 Watts apiece instead of 75. But some of the most effective lobbying comes from students themselves. Harvard pays 20 undergraduates to help get the green message out to fellow students in a fun way. That might mean whipping up a competition between residential houses to win the coveted Green Cup for the greatest energy reductions and biggest increases in recycling. Or it could be organizing trash-free dances or green movie nights ('Who Killed the Electric Car?') with free ice cream for anyone who brings a recyclable bowl. One day a year, students collect trash from Harvard Yard and pile it into a single heap, called 'Mount Trashmore'. The giant mound (垛) reminds students how much they are throwing away and how much waste they could avoid by recycling. Students even compete to come up with the best ecothemed cartoons. This year's second-place winner showed Marilyn Monroe with her iconic billowing skirt under the caption wind does great things. The fun adds up to serious savings. 'Energy use in the dorms has decreased 15 percent over the past few years, and recycling has risen 40 percent,' says Leith Sharp, head of the Harvard Green Campus Initiative.
At many schools, the construction of a new building is another chance to push green solutions. 'What message does a conventional campus send?' asks David Orr, who teaches environmental studies at Oberlin. 'It sends the message that energy is cheap and plentiful. 'At Oberlin and other colleges, administrators are seeking to reverse that message with energy-efficient buildings. The Lewis Center at Oberlin, opened in 2000, was one of the firsts. It's powered entirely by solar arrays, which produce 30 percent mor
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