Earth

Temple University Helps the Cause of Sustainability with Surplus Program

In 2014, Americans generated about 258 million tons of municipal solid waste, which is defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to exclude industrial, hazardous and construction waste. That translates to each person producing 4.4 pounds of trash per day. That’s a lot of trash! More than half of the trash generated is either incinerated… Read More
Moving Out of Campus: Sustainable Ways to Reduce Waste by Universities

The average college student discards 640 pounds of waste annually, with the bulk of the waste generated in May and June when students move out of campus at the end of a school year. Instead of taking their belongings — clothes, books, foods and even furniture — back with them, many students simply throw away… Read More
University Of Kentucky Campus Kitchen’s Fight Against Hunger Beefed Up by Student’s Research

Hunger is a continuing problem in the U.S. that remains largely hidden, even though over 42 million Americans suffer from it. While 1 in 8 Americans go hungry, 60 million tons of produce worth $160 billion pounds are discarded annually in the U.S. What a waste! The reason for such waste sounds ludicrous, but it… Read More
Virginia Tech Residential Leadership Community Ties Praxis Projects to Sustainable Development Goals

In September 2015, 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted by 193 United Nations members to end poverty and hunger, protect our planet and ensure that every single person enjoys peace and prosperity. It was a call to action for global involvement that has inspired many universities, including Virginia Tech, to take action towards them.… Read More
New Device From MIT and UC Berkeley Pulls Water From Dry Air

Just a week ago, I wrote about the dire need for safe water around the world and the role of universities in this fight. I’m happy to report that two universities have come up with yet another invention that will help alleviate the water crisis. The device, which extracts water from dry air, is the brainchild of… Read More
Universities Help to Alleviate Water Crisis

Water makes up 65 percent of our body mass, and we can’t survive more than 3 days without it. Yet our water is in jeopardy, mostly from problems we created. In this article, we address the urgent need for action — to ensure access to safe water, to preserve the planet’s freshwater, and to fix… Read More
USC Students Help Solve California’s Water Crisis

California, hailed for so long as the “Promised Land,” may be seeing a new kind of promise. The state has been suffering from severe water drought the past few years; the water crisis was so serious that Gov. Jerry Brown ordered a mandatory cut of 25 percent in water usage by cities and local agencies… Read More
RecycleMania: The Other March Madness

While March Madness, College Basketball’s biggest tournament, is still about a week away, another competition is already heating up at many colleges across North America. “Recycle Mania” is a green movement, started in 2001, where colleges compete against each other in an effort to promote recycling and waste reduction. The friendly annual competition starts in the… Read More
Tires Made From Trees – UMN’s Green Breakthrough!

Research teams at universities across the country are working day and night to help our planet in any way that they can. A team from the University of Minnesota may have just stumbled upon a breakthrough, though. This team has engineered a way to create automotive tires from trees and grass. Such a breakthrough could… Read More
The Future of 100% Renewable Energy Will Happen Sooner Than You Think on College Campuses

It may not be easy being green, but many colleges and universities across the country are certainly making a significant effort to try. The past few years in particular have seen many changes regarding energy and resources being made around the country, in both private homes and businesses. Some colleges have opted to join the… Read More
University of Michigan’s Campus Farm Encourages Interest in Agriculture

The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan has many traditions and qualities that fans and non-fans alike might know and even love. There’s one thing, however, nestled near the Project Grow garden in the Matthaei Botanical Gardens that many people might not be aware of. A campus farm. Though the Campus Farm began in… Read More
Growing Their Own: California University Tries Its Hand at Farming

When we think of The University of California, Santa Barbra, we don’t typically picture anything to do with farming. Located on the sun-kissed coast of Southern California, this beautiful campus is known for everything from beach parties to beach volleyball tournaments. Indeed, fruit tree orchards and vegetable gardens seem to be about as far removed… Read More
University of North Carolina Receives Duke Energy Grant for Wetlands

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) is the newest recipient of a Duke Energy Water Resources Fund grant to construct two new wetlands on campus. Duke Energy’s grant which totals over $46,000 will go towards the wetland construction, which will be built on on their campus in March of 2017. According to a… Read More
UMich Students Help Flint Residents Find Clean Water

Mywater-Flint, a joint project between University of Michigan-Flint and the Michigan Data Science Team at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, was launched December 8. The mywater-flint web app — a direct response to the Flint water crisis (in which dangerous levels of lead were found in the city’s water supply)— displays a map of the city where… Read More