A new article in Inside Higher Ed profiles a growing trend: hosting a themed "year of sustainability" on campus. The story notes, "with multiple campuses, including Davidson College, New Mexico State, Villanova University and University of Denver having just finished up their years, the results have been varied, and some question whether the concept is more than a gimmick."

The schools featured took different approaches, including everything from reducing food waste and increasing recycling to creating new graduate programs or minors that focus on sustainability.

The story goes on to quote NWF's director of campus and community leadership, Julian Keniry, who says, "Sustainability is something that needs to be the purpose of education across operations and disciplines and sustained over time. The idea of focusing on a one year theme doesn't lend itself to a [sustainable approach]. But it might be a way to catalyze thinking that could lead to long term work."

The point almost seems too obvious to make. A "year of sustainability" shouldn't be a discrete event, but rather a kick-off to bolder steps. By definition, sustainability is about the long-term, about making communities and campuses more flexible, more resilient and more useful over time. If treated as a fad, it will fail.

So it's encouraging to see that none of the faculty or staff interviewed for the story thought of their efforts as a one-off. Says Kealy Devoy, Davidson's sustainability fellow, "We haven't achieved 100 percent on most of the goals, but I don't consider that an issue because we're not going to just stop." 

Power Shift, a conference and lobby event that aimed to bring 10,000 young people to the Capitol to take action on climate change and environmental degradation, took a turn for the socially-aware at last night's opening keynote speeches.

Almost 12,000 t-shirted twenty-somethings filed into the hall, sometimes breaking out into spontaneous cheers or songs. About 2,000 more people had registered than Jessy Tolkan and other members of the Energy Action Coalition had hoped, and they filled the room to capacity. Buses were unloading more groups from colleges and youth groups all over the country until just before the session opened. The event is being cited as the largest gathering on climate change and clean energy in the history of the US; more people are in attendance here than were at the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali in December 2007.

For a group that considers itself the most tolerant and most diverse environmental movement in the nation, it was no surprise that opening speakers didn't restrict their remarks to increasing atmospheric CO2 or ocean acidification. Instead, Lisa Jackson of the EPA, Ken Salazar of the Department of the Interior, Majora Carter, Mayor Rocky Anderson, Van Jones, Clayton Thomas-Muller and others elaborated on the idea that environmental work cannot be delegated to any one group, nationality or ethnicity.

Majora Carter, an environmental activist from the South Bronx who has spent years on a "Greening the Ghetto' campaign, told stories of the pollution in the neighborhoods where she grew up, and the diabetes, asthma, and other health problems caused by manufacturing and energy plants in the Bronx. "Our pollution-based economy is built on the subsidies on the health of poor people," she said. She urged the audience to put a stop to mountaintop coal removal and other community-harming sources of fuel, to meet opponents with love and companionship, and find safe, fair work for those currently employed in coal or other industries. "Environmental justice," she said, "is civil rights for the 21st century."

Overwhelmingly, the crowd signaled their commitment to working with government and other organizations to find solutions to climate problems. One of the loudest cheers of the night went to Ken Salazar, who promised that the Department of the Interior would "appoint thousands of young people to restore America. We'll have the best youth conservation corp the world has ever seen!"

Van Jones also noted the importance of "adding to the world" rather than taking things out of it. "If all we do is take away the dirty powers in the system and stick a solar panel on it, but don't deal with our water, or the way we treat each other, we'll have biofueled bombers, and be fighting over lithium for the batteries," he said. "We can be locusts or we can be honeybees," he finished. "Will our work be a scourge on this planet or a blessing on this generation?"

Five minutes before the meeting started, Scott Lupin, Director of the Office of Sustainability at UMD, could already see that more chairs would be needed. The room was packed, and students were quickly dispatched to bring extra chairs for everyone crowded up against the wall.

Clean Energy UMD, a student club for climate neutrality in place at eight of the eleven University of Maryland campuses, had coordinated this spring semester kick-off meeting which would include a teach-in on climate change policy, the chance to write personal letters to Congress, a brainstorming session, some "climate calisthenics" to get everyone moving (shown above) and that beloved college staple: free pizza.

The purpose of the meeting made itself clear quickly. Speakers urged action on everything from emissions regulation in Maryland (through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act) to signing up for lobby days at PowerShift later this spring and campaigning their own administrators for more energy-efficient buildings on campus. Matt Dernoga, an active student member of UMD Clean Energy, said, "What was laughable two years ago is about to become a reality."

Eban Goodstein, speaking in the broadcast, drew a laugh from the crowd when he said, “Thirty years from now, you won’t remember the paper you didn’t write. But you’ll remember the role you played in building a sustainable future.”

The students in question were thoughtful and excited by turns. Several noted that the clean energy campaign wasn't purely about lobbying for emissions timetables (the darling of most climate change legislation).

"My vision is windmills on the horizon, and more specifically, I guess, not being at the mercy of gas and energy prices all the time. I don't want to go into a city and see people being disproportionately being affected by dirty air from coal plants and high prices. I see healthier people, a healthier planet, better jobs. It's all connected," said Hanna Poffenbarger. She added that she herself wants a green job when she graduates, and that she's looking at careers in sustainable agriculture.

The University of Maryland's National Teach-In event, which took place Monday night, was one of the first of more than 700 campus gatherings this week, with students uniting under a common cause: finding solutions to the energy and climate crisis that they feel affects their generation more than others. Some schools were even able to set up video conferences with their Senate or House leaders.

Scott Lupin, who opened the meeting by telling the students that they have more power than administrators like himself to push clean energy on campus, believes that these national organizing events are worthwhile, but only the first step.

"To the extent they can, students should also take courses or find internships to get real-world experience. They really need to learn to work through existing political channels on campus. More important than demonstrating is to get on committees, join advocacy groups and effect change at their school," said Lupin. "This is a great time to be working in this field."

If 2007's Power Shift is any example, Power Shift 09 is going to be huge:

Our latest issue is live. Here are today's headlines:

Youth Activists Making Their Voices Heard at Climate Talks
Joann Klimkiewicz
At climate talks in Poznan, young delegates from across the world added their voices to the debate, demanding that the global dialogue be refocused on the survival of civilizations and ecosystems.

Hydrogen: Just a Lot of Hot Gas?
Paul Tolme
Humboldt State’s new hydrogen-powered car and fueling station are part of a university-led effort to wean America off gasoline. But is hydrogen the fuel of tomorrow or yesterday’s hype? ClimateEdu goes for a ride to find out.

Service Learning Takes a Climate Approach
Courtney Cochran
A Warren Wilson College project addresses a climate challenge that lies beyond campus, taking advantage of the school's work program and service learning components to help local residents energy-proof their homes.

PERSPECTIVE: Recession is the Mother of Invention
Rachel Barge
As legislators make hard cuts to their budgets, education administrators hunker down on campus spending, particularly when it comes to so-called “luxury” sustainability programs. To compensate, student organizers and campus sustainability professionals are turning to new funding sources to implement vital campus sustainability initiatives.

ClimateEdu, published by National Wildlife Federation's Campus Ecology program, offers news, best practice analysis, events, resources, and opportunities for climate leadership on campus. To subscribe to our twice-monthly e-newsletter or read our archives, visit the homepage: ClimateEdu: News for the Green Campus.

Sustainability is rarely defined as a single-entity problem, especially when considering recent economic and political traumas. Gordon Rands of Western Illinois University and Mark Starik of George Washington University argued in one of this morning's sessions that a university's plan for sustainability should be taken far beyond the campus border.

Rands says, "An entity can become sustainable on its own, but it can’t remain that way." He went on to stress that without a larger context and a fully sustainable climate (environmental or cultural), even the most exciting higher education projects will be unsuccessful.

For example, a green business is unlikely to survive without competitors' willingness to make similar efforts, as their lower costs will cause the eco-minded company to fail. A college, even one running on renewable energy and stable supply systems, could find itself an island without the involvement of the surrounding town. Unless the local channels for food, telecommunications, energy, transportation, medical care, housing, and other provisions are as able to weather a crisis as the university itself, a few wind turbines and even carbon-neutrality will be ultimately meaningless.

Rands and Starik propose, instead, that a holistic view of higher education would work on five levels:

--Ecological: Ensure the viability and environmental-friendliness of the waste systems, products, and energy that support the university.

--Individual: Members of the institution must be invested and participating, whether that's through following a recycling policy, making sustainability knowledge an integral part of the curriculum. or inventing new storage technology for a solar array.

--Organizational: Make sure that your partners support your work, eg. forming strong industrial ecology arrangements or working with your local town for commuting programs.

--Political: Engage in political mechanisms, such as lobbying, trade associations, and media organizations to affect policy and public information.

--Socio-cultural: Use the university's stature in its community to increase the involvement of off-campus citizens and create a broad culture of sustainability.

The idea that a university has an obligation to the wider community is not new, but is usually considered in terms of thought leadership -- research and innovation will eventually trickle down to the populace, even if no direct conversation takes place. However, Rands and Starik suggest that the university itself do more to collaborate with its neighbors, making everyone greener in the process.

Rands says, "This is still on a conceptual basis. At WIU, we've made some operations changes, but that's pretty much it so far. The model, however, started with business and could easily be aimed at government as well. It's just a way to think about all of this."

We are recapping AASHE: Sustainability on Campus and Beyond as it happens. If you were at the sessions we're covering, weigh in with your comments below. Or see others' blogs, photos and Twitter updates on the AASHE live page.

Mr. Obama has only a few short months to prepare for inauguration and all the challenges that come with it, of which environmental problems are only one piece. In the past, he has called for emissions reductions 80% by 2050, a cap-and-trade market for carbon emissions, higher efficiency standards, investments in renewable energy, and a smarter electricity grid.

As he puts together his staff and his policies, what would you like to see? What are your priorities for the first 100 days? The first year? A possible second term? Do you agree with Mr. Obama when he says that this is a time for sacrifice and service? This post is an open thread for you to express your thoughts, concerns, demands, and yes, hopes.

Here are a few links on Obama's declared goals for our "planet in peril" for you to browse:

The Obama Energy Speech, Annotated: DotEarth
Barack Obama's environmental platform and record: Grist
Obama Hits Hard on Efficiency Themes in Debate: Green Inc.

And some food for thought: To the Next US President, 100 Words for 100 Days

In case you haven't heard, Al Gore addressed students across the country tonight in a live webcast from the Energy Action Coalition and the PowerVote campaign, asking young people to continue the work they're doing to change the way we think about and use energy, and make climate issues the driver of their vote in this election.

It's a short broadcast (less than 30 minutes), but one worth watching, especially if you haven't heard Gore weave together the economic, energy, and climate crisis.

Watch the Gore-Cast

Since its launch, WorldChanging has been known for its innovative and game-changing solutions, and this week they're having a look at colleges and universities.

The feature on School Sustainability is worth a look, as it breaks down some good choices for study in Environmental Law, Sustainable Engineering Conservation Biology, and other sustainability-focused programs both in the US and abroad. There's even a (very short) discussion of "Generation-E," which we've addressed before, student activism, and a quick note on the race between colleges themselves in becoming sustainable as institutions. 

While I'm sure a few more posts are coming down the pipeline in the next few days, so far I think the undergrad and grad school listings are the most valuable, particularly for students looking for top-tier training in environmental work. Deeper analysis of institutional sustainability can be found all kinds of places, and youth activism, whatever its stripe, is nothing new around here.

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Speaking of campus activism, have you signed the PowerVote pledge yet? Nothing scary (you're not signing away your future children, I promise), it's just a way to show your commitment to clean energy in the looming election.

If you're visiting for the first time (perhaps linking over from DotEarth, a blog we follow regularly), welcome!The Campus Ecology program here at NWF promotes climate leadership and sustainability among colleges and universities by providing resources, creating networking opportunities and organizing education events.

In that spirit, we have many resources for schools, such as coordinator support, publications, national events and broadcasts. Many are designed to help campus staffers (such as the Report Card or the Guide to Climate Action Planning) while others are motivated largely by students, such as our annual Chill Out competition.

This blog, where you should feel free to browse and comment, is not to break news, but rather to discuss campus sustainability and track trends in climate work on campus. Blogs are always more meaningful as participation grows, so I'd like to hear from you on individual posts and even on the kind of thing you'd like to read in future.

Finally, if you ARE looking for news, check out ClimateEdu, our twice-monthly online newswire. We do our best to cover interesting campus projects that are breaking new ground in climate action, but are always looking for new stories, so feel free to contact one of the editors with ideas. Look for changes on the landing page in the near future, as it's a new publication and we're still working out a few programming bugs.

As always, glad to have you around. Let me know in the comments or by email if there's more we can do, projects we need to cover, or interesting developments in the campus scene that we can discuss here.