Creating a Sustainable World

If you’re concerned about environmental crisis and climate change, learn about sustainability.

What world leaders and citizens do to change the way we use resources early in this century will influence how we live for generations in the future. If you’re concerned about environmental crisis and climate change, you will want to learn about sustainability—the concept and practice that may let us continue to enjoy life on this planet.

Sustainable development means “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Brundtland Commission). That means cutting only enough trees per year that can be regrown. That means minimize the burning of fossil fuel, which causes global warming. That means designing energy-efficient buildings, using recycled materials when possible. And it means rethinking our social institutions and the way we conduct our business to be more equitable to all both across the globe and in future generations.

Because universities are at the forefront of research and development, many U.S. campus leaders have decided that all future construction will be “sustainable” and that they will transform the daily operation of the campus to conserve resources.

Moreover, they are introducing courses, majors and conferences on sustainability.

You, the international student, can learn firsthand about this crucial concept the minute you decide to study in the U.S.A. You can practice recycling, eat locally grown food and wash your car and clothes with non-toxic, biodegradable products.

A leader in sustainability is Arizona State University near Phoenix, which has established the world’s first School of Sustainability. The undergraduate, graduate and research programs focus on problems including urbanization, energy and water use, biodiversity, and economic and social development. Graduate students will be able to specialize in areas such as water use and conservation, sustainable construction techniques and materials, urbanization and planned communities, alternative fuels, and environmental health issues, including ozone pollution and “brown clouds.” Students in the American English and Culture Program (AECP) at ASU have visited local “green” buildings and toured the School of Sustainability as part of their ESL studies.

Pacific Lutheran University’s Morken Center for Learning and Technology was built to high environmental standards. Concrete is used in 65 percent of the building to reduce the chemical cleaning products and wax needed to maintain the floors. Low-energy window glass reduces energy used for cooling in warm months. A geothermal system for heating and cooling means the Morken Center does not use fossil fuels.

Lights in each classroom and lab are controlled by motion sensors and shut off when no one is in the room. Wood on the main stairway in the atrium is made of bamboo, which is a rapidly renewable hardwood. The building’s framing uses steel that has a recycled content of 95 percent. The center received gold-level certification in the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.

As part of its commitment to environmental stewardship, Bemidji State University in Minnesota purchases five percent of its electricity from wind power and supports recycling, “green” cleaning and maintenance, and waste reduction programs. The Chemistry Department uses laboratory techniques that reduce hazardous waste and conserve purchases of new chemicals. The university maintains over 600 feet of Lake Bemidji shoreline with native plants and rocks as part of a restoration and stabilization project. At least one environmental course is required for a Liberal Arts degree at BSU.

Students in the Studies in American Language (SAL) Program at San Jose State University in California learn what Silicon Valley companies are doing to reduce energy usage and costs when their Business and Communication classes visit Adobe Systems’ San Jose headquarters. “I was very impressed with their ‘green’ energy plan,” said Chang Chi-Yu, from Taiwan, after a recent tour. “They really put the idea into practice.” The building won a national award for measures such as drought tolerant landscaping. San Jose State employs energy-saving techniques on campus. Better glazing and new technology in lighting design and control systems have reduced the cooling and heating requirements of SJSU’s new library building by one-third to nearly one-half.

Boulder, Colorado has been a center of environmental consciousness and sustainable practices since the 1960s. Sustainability is an interdisciplinary subject at University of Colorado at Boulder, with programs and classes offered by the departments of Engineering, Business, Arts and Sciences, and Architecture and Planning. CU is the home of one of the country’s leading research institutes in environmental sciences, the law school’s Energy and Environmental Security Initiative developing legal solutions and policies to solve the energy crisis, and a field laboratory for sustainable construction practices such as building with straw bales. The campus is frequently the site of sustainable development, green building and renewable resources conferences.

The American English and Culture Program at Arizona State University offers English for Sustainability and the Environment, possibly the only U.S. language course focused solely on this topic.  Students improve English language skills by discussing contemporary environmental issues and concerns.  They take field trips to "green" buildings on campus and nearby, listen to expert speakers, and work on research projects dealing with such topics as water resources, Native American environmental practices, recycled building materials, and life in a desert community (the desert climate, adaptations by plants and animals, and implications for people.)  Classes have visited the Grand Canyon and rare or threatened environments like the Desert Botanical Gardens, to explore how these treasures can be enjoyed and preserved for future generations.

Because the campus is located in the heart of the U.S. corn and soybean growing areas, Iowa Central Community College is one of the first schools offering a program in biofuels technology. Renewable fuels such as ethanol from corn, and biodiesel from soybean oil are helping to replace the fossil fuels that are significantly contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. To offer this program, Iowa Central has assembled a biofuels testing laboratory. In partnership with a local trucking company, Caterpillar Inc. and several agencies, ICC is conducting field studies comparing benefits of a 20% soy biodiesel blend (B20) with petroleum diesel. ICC students can thus participate in an actual research project that has a direct application to what they are studying.

by Charles Redman is Director of the Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University.

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