Topic Page: Campus Sustainability

We’re Teaming up with Second Nature for the Climate Leadership Awards

How to Make a Cool Video Planet Forward is excited to be partnering with Second Nature this year on the Climate Leadership Awards to feature some of the great climate leadership work being done by colleges and universities. As part of this year’s Climate Leadership Awards, finalists are being asked to create a 1-3 minute …Read More…

Communities Skip Washington for Green Action Locally

With all the political gridlock in Washington, D.C. it’s easy to imagine the entire country is suffering from a similar lockdown. However, municipalities across the country are moving ahead in America’s clean energy discussion. Here’s how.

EPA P3 Competition

How to make a cool video

Green Building in Schools could save $20 billion in 10 years

Here’s a puzzler.  Right at the time of day when some kids are most likely to get into trouble, most schools close the door and turn off the lights.  Seems silly, doesn’t it?  That disconnect, along with a slew of other good reasons, has helped give  birth to the community schools movement. It aims to …Read More…

Center for Green Schools and UTC Announce New Findings on Green Schools

At the annual Greenbuild Conference Expo in Toronto, the Center for Green Schools and United Technologies Corp. held a press conference to announce findings from a new independent study conducted on green schools, as well as initiatives the Center will be taking in 2012. The results of the survey brought light to the fact that Americans are concerned about …Read More…

Rebuilding the 20th Century: It’s Time for Kids

This week we’re thinking a lot about Campus Sustainability with our partners at Second Nature. We’re hosting a video contest to see who’s a climate leader in the academic community. But instead of thinking about another recycling program (although it boggles my mind that only 33% of waste is recycled) we should think about how …Read More…

#ThinkFWD on Campus Sustainability

By Frank Sesno
To think forward is to take a good look at the present and then apply all of your ingenuity towards cultivating a better future. Who better to ask that college students? We’ve got an inspiring–and inspired–group of students doing just that.

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Ask an Expert: Campus Sustainability Day

What is your campus doing to be sustainable? What should colleges be doing to promote sustainability? In partnership with Second Nature, we’re hosting a very special edition of Ask an Expert for Campus Sustainability Day.

Talk to Meghan!

Biochar Produces Better Crops and Cleaner Air

A multinational research team is developing biochars–fine-grained, highly porous charcoal that helps soils retain nutrients and water. These additives can improve crop yields, help inoculate plants with beneficial microorganisms and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Better crop yields can increase farm income and improve human nutrition. The combination of biochar production and clean-burning cook stoves may …Read More…

Controlling Light Pollution

New measurements of the NSF-funded Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Ariz., show that sky brightness has remained remarkably constant over the past 20 years, despite the area’s rapid population growth. The study demonstrates that with a conscientious effort, human-caused light pollution can remain constant, despite large population growth in cities. Shielded outdoor lights, required …Read More…

Sparking the Algae Harvest

A team of engineers and scientists at North Carolina State University has developed a new method for harvesting marine algae. By applying an electric charge they change the chemistry of the algae cell boundary and cause cells to clump together. These algae clumps are easier to collect. One of the challenges facing algal oil production …Read More…

Conversion of Sugars to Make Fuels, Plastics and Pharmaceuticals

Researchers have developed a way to make an efficient catalyst that transforms biomass-derived sugars into a compound used in fuels, plastics and pharmaceuticals. The solid acid catalyst is noncorrosive and easily recovered for re-use, making it easier and potentially cheaper than other catalysts such as mineral acids. Renewable sources of fuels and chemicals are in …Read More…

Engineering Bacteria to Make Biofuels

Researchers have re-engineered an anaerobic bacterium known as clostridia to prevent spore formation, a change that improves the bacteria’s productivity in making biofuels. The University of Delaware engineers demonstrated the feasibility of using clostridia (specifically, C. acetobutylicum) as an economically viable, industrial-scale producer of biorenewable fuels and chemicals. Their work could help lower the cost …Read More…

Identifying Severe Weather Outbreaks Earlier

A team of scientists from three universities has developed a weather-prediction system that will allow forecasters to predict tornadoes and other severe storms at least three days before the storms start. Tornadoes and other severe weather outbreaks annually cause loss of life and massive property damage to many portions of the U.S. These research findings …Read More…

Understanding the Nanoparticle in Renewable Energy

Using a powerful electron microscope, a research group at Arizona State University has observed dynamic behavior in small catalytic nanoparticles during energy-related chemical reactions. Nanomaterials can act as catalysts for many important chemical reactions related to sustainable energy. However, many of the best catalysts are composed of expensive precious metals such as platinum or gold. …Read More…

Winter Shrinking by Seven Days Each Decade

Climate trends in the northeastern U.S. show that in the past 40 years, winter has lost seven days every decade and the growing season has expanded by nearly four days each decade. Researchers are figuring out how these changes will impact farmers, foresters, outdoor recreation and wildlife to help them adapt their practices to the altered climate.

Toward a Low Energy Computer: Efficient Caches

In an NSF-sponsored project, computer scientists at the University of Utah have developed techniques to reduce the energy consumption of computers associated with large, temporary storage areas, called caches. The innovation could significantly lower energy consumption and improve performance within multi-core processors, directly impacting future computing devices including laptops, desktops and server processors. The group …Read More…

Oil-spill Cleanup Material: Coal Fly Ash

A team of undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Central Florida is transforming fly ash–a waste product from coal-fired power plants–into an environmentally friendly adsorbent for oil-spill cleanup. Researchers hope this material will be an economical alternative to current methods of soaking up oil at clean-up sites. At the same time, it could …Read More…