Today I had the honor of hosting the ribbon cutting event for American Public University System’s (APUS) latest addition to its Charles Town campus, a 1,660 panel solar array.  The array is the largest solar project in the state of West Virginia and will produce approximately 480,000 kWh of energy.  The energy produced will provide between 40 and 50 percent of the energy needed to power the 105,000-square-foot green Finance Center which is under construction adjacent to the array and being built to US Green Building Council’s LEED Gold standards.  The array features 15 universal electric car charging stations and doubles as covered parking for the university’s staff and guests.  The array was fully constructed with American-made components and will produce enough electricity to power 30 average size homes annually.  To equate this to vehicles and commuting, the amount of electricity generated by the array would enable the average gas-powered vehicle to travel 1.9 million miles, the equivalent of 120 commuters driving 15,000 miles each year. 

I was joined at our ribbon cutting event by several notable dignitaries including West Virginia Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito.  Vice Mayor of Charles Town, Don Clendening and Mayor of neighboring Ranson, David Hamill were also on hand to commemorate this event.  Congresswoman Capito, Vice Mayor Clendening, and Mayor Hamill have all expressed and demonstrated their own commitments to sustainability and sustainable development so it was especially fitting to have them in attendance.  We were able to demonstrate the universal electric car charging stations thanks to three local car dealerships (Apple Valley Chevrolet in Martinsburg, Younger Auto Group in Frederick and Hagerstown, and Renn Kirby Mitsubishi in Frederick) that showcased their own electric vehicles during the event.  The APUS Sustainability Committee also hosted an information booth to share information with visitors about the university’s comprehensive sustainability initiatives. 

Today’s event and the comprehensive sustainability program at APUS not only represent our own commitment to sustainability but also illustrate the American spirit of ingenuity and innovation in general.  It was as much about providing renewable energy for our university as it was about making a commitment to our local and extended communities that we will continue to work to promote a more sustainable future for us all.  In 2007 when I signed the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) as a charter signatory, I did so because I believe higher education has a unique opportunity to shape the future of the nation in addressing the issues associated with climate change. 

With access to some of the best and brightest minds, higher education would be remiss if it did not use that opportunity to address one of the nation’s – the world’s – most pressing problems.  The hallowed halls of the university can, in the most traditional sense, be seen as places for the exchange of theory and ideas.  Higher education has a unique opportunity, however, to lead by example and turn those theories and ideas into action.

One of the most visible sustainability efforts that we have undertaken relates to buildings.  As part of our commitment to the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), we have pledged to build all new construction to at least US Green Building Council (USGBC) LEED Silver standards.  Our new 45,000-square-foot Academic Center, built on a brownfields site, is currently in the LEED certification process and we hope to achieve a Gold designation.  There are many green features in that building which we completed and occupied in late 2010.  The HVAC system is highly efficient and operates through multiple zones, for example.  In addition, the building is outfitted with energy efficient windows which are covered with sunshades to assist in further regulating indoor temperatures.  Occupancy sensor lighting fixtures and ENERGY STAR appliances can be seen throughout the building.  All materials used in construction and all furniture originated within 500 miles of the building site, decreasing the carbon emissions associated with materials transportation.  Perhaps, the crowning achievement of the Academic Center is 99 solar panels situated on the roof which supply approximately 7 percent of the building’s total energy needs.

On the other end of the building “spectrum,” however, are APUS’ comprehensive adaptive reuse practices.  Rather than utilize existing green space to construct new buildings, we decided to invest in the historic downtown Charles Town community by purchasing and renovating existing structures for our office spaces.  At least 5 of our buildings have great historical significance and we took measures to restore as much of the historic value as possible to those buildings while updating them to create greater energy efficiency (most have energy efficient windows and HVAC systems, low flow toilets, motion sensor lighting, etc.). 

Etter Hall (our main administration building), for example, was built in the early 1800s as the home and office of physician Charles Taylor Richardson.  The building became the area’s first hospital in the early 1900s, a capacity it served for several decades.  By 1950, however, the community had outgrown that hospital and the building became a nursing home.  APUS purchased the building in 2003.  Though we updated many aspects of the building (including the elements previously listed), the elevator car is the original (and, was one of the first in this area, quite a novelty) with upgraded electrical controls and doors.  The wooden floors in Etter Hall are also original to the building. 

Aside from our buildings, APUS has undertaken several other initiatives to minimize the school’s environmental impact.  Our computers, printers, and servers are ENERGY STAR rated as are many of our buildings’ appliances.  Our printers are set to default to print on both sides of the page for multiple page documents.  We have recently expanded our recycling program to make it more comprehensive.  Using The Big Green Box Program, we are now recycling batteries and other electronics.  Though you may take up to a year to fill The Big Green Box before sending it back to be recycled, APUS filled its first box in only 5 weeks, sending nearly 40 pounds of batteries to be recycled.  Earlier this year, APUS introduced a carpooling program to its staff in order to address carbon emissions associated with employee commuting.  The program has seen early success and I suspect that it will continue to be successful, especially given the rising cost of gasoline.  Coupled with our carpooling program is a telecommuting policy that allows many staff employees to work from home at least one day a week; others telecommute every day.  Thanks to several paper reduction initiatives we have seen a 25 percent reduction in paper usage even in the face of tremendous employee growth. 

Thanks to APUS’ online format, our carbon footprint is comparatively lower than many other schools’, particularly since our faculty and students may teach and study from their home, office, or another convenient place.  However, while we do not have to contend with the emission challenges associated with student commuting, the maintenance and operation of dormitories, dining halls, sports facilities, etc., we will continue to work toward reducing our environmental impact even further.  Though Earth Day is a noble effort to call global attention to the state of our environment, at APUS the commitment to sustainability is alive and well throughout the year. 

Next week I will share an article about APUS’ latest green building project, a 1,660 panel solar array that doubles as a covered parking structure.  The array, the largest in the state of West Virginia, will provide approximately 50% of the power necessary for a green building that is currently under construction adjacent to the school’s green Academic Center. 

In September 1962 Rachel Carson published her groundbreaking work, Silent Spring, documenting the negative impact of pesticides on the environment, specifically on birds.  The book received nationwide acclaim and landed on the New York Times best-seller list where it stayed for 31 weeks.  In 1962, the New York Times wrote of Carson and Silent Spring, “’She tries to scare the living daylights out of us and, in large measure, succeeds.’” The editors of Discover Magazine recently included Silent Spring among its list of the 25 greatest science books of all time.  Prior to Carson’s book, environmentalism and sustainability were lofty ideals that had very little concrete application and brought even less sense of collective urgency.  As a result of Carson’s book, however, tangible actions were taken (the banning of the harmful pesticide DDT).  Carson proved to us all that even the voice of one individual can make a difference and with her voice, given to us through her work, Silent Spring, the modern environmental movement was born. 

Through various fits and starts, the American environmental movement has continued to gain momentum.  The passage of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in 1970 was a promising step in the right direction and represented the world’s first national policy on the environment.  The NEPA met with resistance in the United States, however, but sparked a larger movement and environmentalism as a discipline and practice began to spread across the globe.  National efforts to address environmental problems including climate change became more commonplace and the United Nations established its Environment Programme in 1972 as a result of the UN Conference on the Human Environment.  In recent years, despite international criticism regarding the United States’ stance on several international environmental treaties (most notably the Kyoto Protocol) Americans are beginning to see sustainability featured more prominently in their daily lives.  Addressing what is arguably the world’s most pressing collective issue will take more than a conscious recycling effort.  We must realize that negative changes to the environment impact every aspect of our lives and must be addressed in a holistic and comprehensive fashion.  One sector of American life is taking sustainability very seriously – American higher education is leading the march toward promoting sustainability. 

As colleges and universities began to consider the impact of their own operations on the environment, they also began to disseminate information about sustainability to their students, either formally or informally.  In 2006, as a result of planning sessions among a group of college and university presidents and a representatives from a variety of environmental organizations (including Second Nature and ecoAmerica) held at the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) conference at Arizona State University, 12 devoted college and university presidents outlined what would later become known as the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC).  By March 2007, 152 college and university presidents (I was one of them) signed the precedent-setting commitment aimed at providing a framework for addressing sustainability in higher education.  Today, nearly 700 institutions of higher education have signed the commitment.  Each of them has committed to reducing their environmental impact and working toward eventually achieving complete carbon neutrality by a date of their individual choosing based on their specific circumstances (based on our location in West Virginia and the limited fuel mix available to us at this point, APUS has chosen 2050).  While the goal is ambitious, I am convinced that if there is any collective group capable of addressing such a pressing issue, it is higher education. 

Colleges and universities have served as the nursery for nurturing social movements in America for decades.  As with the civil rights movement and the women’s rights movement, the growing movement to address our collective issue of global environmental change is being fostered on college and university campuses across the country.  It makes sense that these settings would nurture such movements – college campuses are packed with great minds eager to learn and understand, eager to make a difference in the world.  Though the ACUPCC provides a logical and effective framework for implementing sustainability into operations and curricula, many schools who have not signed that specific commitment are taking the issue of environmental change very seriously, as well. 

As students graduate from colleges and universities that recognize the critical nature of and are working to address the issues of global changes in the environment, they will enter the workplace more prepared than any previous generation to tackle these issues on an even grander scale.  As with other social movements whose sparks were ignited on college campuses and eventually spilled into our larger society, so too will be the path of the sustainability movement.  Colleges and universities are realizing that it is no longer enough to discuss lofty ideals in a theoretical setting.  We all must take collective action to address the world’s most pressing problems.  I applaud those schools that are working to address the issues related to environmental change and feel confident that this is just the first wave of a movement that will continue to grow.

The event was an opportunity to share ideas for promoting sustainability within higher education and within the communities in which college campuses are situated.  The audience included members of the Jefferson County Commission, representatives of the Jefferson County Planning Commission, the Mayor and other officials from Ranson, WV, the President of Shepherd University, Dr. Suzanne Shipley, and other higher ed representatives from APUS and West Virginia University (WVU), and various representatives of the building and development industry.

Rather than provide a few introductory remarks, I chose to provide the audience with a history of the acquisition, renovation, and construction of the buildings comprising APUS’ Charles Town, WV campus as well as some of the other green initiatives implemented by the Sustainability Committee since 2007 (click here to see my presentation).  I explained that our pathway to green construction occurred over time as we could see the demonstrated benefit to the community, our employees, and our energy consumption.

Our first outside speaker was Mr. Ed McMahon who is a Senior Resident Fellow at the Urban Land Institute (ULI) in Washington, DC. In that role, he oversees ULI’s worldwide research and educational efforts related to environmentally sound development policies and practices.  He is considered an expert on the topics of sustainable development, land conservation, urban design, and historic preservation.  In beginning his presentation, Mr. McMahon stated that Sustainability is “about our children.”  According to Mr. McMahon, in order to preserve the environmental well-being of our planet for the benefit of our children, a systematic behavior change is required.  He noted that “Even though the number of people per household has decreased from 3.57 to 2.62 over the last 50 years, the amount of land that each individual home consumes has increased by nearly 60 percent.”  The same trend is seen in commercial space as well.  Though the behavior change that is required to reverse this trend of consumption can be daunting, Mr. McMahon presented several positive examples of environmentally sound development.  One example was the Solara housing project in California which is equipped with solar panels on each unit, reducing energy consumption in the community by 95 percent.  Walkable neighborhoods with close public transportation have also had a significant impact on the success of projects.  Whereas city centers and towns migrated from mixed use to commercial use over the past 100 years, Mr. McMahon noted that successful developments are going back to the mixed use profile in style in the first part of the 20th century.  He also noted for the developers in the audience that top tenants are demanding green buildings and that “no one wants to be known as the last person to build a non-green building.”  Mr. McMahon’s presentation provided some thought-provoking ideas and provided some feasible options for this type of environmentally-friendlier and sustainable development.

Attendees at the Summit also had the benefit of hearing from Dr. Clement Solomon, Director of the Office of Sustainability at West Virginia University.  WVU has a comprehensive and successful sustainability program and Dr. Solomon has made tremendous strides toward incorporating sustainability into all aspects of the university, from operations to academics and from athletics to   community engagement.  Dr. Solomon discussed the various strategies that he and his team have employed to effectively engage the key stakeholders (students, faculty, staff, alumni, community leaders, etc.) involved in making any sustainability initiative successful.  During Dr. Solomon’s presentation, he highlighted the need for prioritizing efforts and encouraged the audience to identify and “pick” low-hanging fruit, the initiatives that are low-cost and relatively easy to execute.  Dr. Solomon provided some very interesting statistics about sustainability (and its execution within higher education) but the one that struck me as most relevant for higher education was that “64% of students say knowing a school’s commitment to the environment would influence their decision to attend that school.”  That is a compelling reason for more traditional, land-based institutions of higher education to pay close attention to the “triple bottom line” (“people, planet, profit”) as they move forward.

To wrap up the day, Mr. Noah Mehrkam, Founder and Partner of Arcland Property Company, presented the ways in which colleges and universities can begin the process of undertaking environmentally sound development projects.  The key points in Mr. Mehrkam’s presentation included the need to identify the key stakeholders in any sustainable development project.  For colleges and universities, “relevant stakeholders” include the obvious groups (students, faculty, staff, alumni) but also the less obvious groups including local community members, local governments, and even local businesses.  In fact, Mr. Mehrkam noted that in many communities, sustainability is driven by a highly engaged local business.  According to him, socially-conscious businesses can bring focus to “developing the urban core” of a community in order to provide for a more environmentally friendly community plan.  Mr. Mehrkam was instrumental to the development of APUS’ first green building, a 45,000-square-foot Academic Center that is currently in the LEED certification process (we have applied for LEED Gold). 

Overall, the Sustainability Summit was a great success.  The outside speakers were top-notch and spoke directly to many of the key functions of the various audience members.  During breaks and over lunch, audience members mingled and these relevant “stakeholders” were able to share ideas with one another, network, and confirm their common goal of creating a more sustainable community within Jefferson County.  I want to thank Beth Gray and the Sustainability Committee members at APUS who organized this first Summit. 

APUS recently completed the newest addition to its Charles Town campus – a 44,000 square foot, state-of-the-art green building which is anticipated to receive LEED certification later this year.  The building features solar panels, low VOC paints and finishes, a reflective roof, a variable flow HVAC refrigerant system, and double hung windows designed to reflect ultraviolet rays, to name only a few of the elements that make the building green.  All furniture in the building was either made or purchased within 500 miles of the site and the building sits atop a restored Brownfields site.  To see more information about the specific elements of the building that make it green, take a look at the article published on the APUS Sustainability Committee blog when the ribbon cutting for the building was held.

As I think of the commitment to sustainability made by the now 677 signatories of the ACUPCC, I am proud that APUS is a charter member.  The initiatives are important if the member colleges and universities can call attention to the benefits of being environmentally conscious.

Years ago, people used to hang freshly washed clothes on a clothes line in their backyard to dry in the air, not in an energy guzzling machine.  They walked distances to visit friends instead of climbing into inefficient vehicles to travel just a few blocks.  Mowing the lawn used to require some muscle and energy from the individual mowing; now we use lawn mowers powered by fossil fuels that can move with little to no effort from the individual.  Children played outside instead of sitting in front of one of several televisions in their homes all day.  Individuals who wanted to improve their health took a walk outside; they did not spend money on expensive gym memberships to run indoors on electric powered treadmills.  Corporations, on the other hand, were not so green, choosing to consume energy as long as it was cheap.

The irony in all of this is that our parents were “green” without even thinking about it.  Today not only do we have to consciously think of how to “go green,” we expend tremendous resources to get there.  In all of the examples above, energy was expended by the individual, not the machine, which is at least one reason why we are now a nation of overweight individuals.  Our lives have become so accustomed to leisure that we think nothing of the practices that are now commonplace (including using dryers, gasoline-powered lawn mowers, and watching television for hours on end, to name only a few).  Many corporations and universities have watched the cost of energy increase as well as the cost to society for an ignorant approach to the merits of conserving energy, recycling, and practicing good stewardship with our environment.

I am happy that many Americans are taking measures to implement greener practices in our daily lives, at our places of employment, and requiring such practices of the companies whose products we purchase.  Taking a walk outside may be helpful to our waistlines as well as the environment.  Given the increased levels of stress, it may also be helpful to our mental health.  Having healthier employees benefits companies/universities in many ways from better attendance through fewer sick days to lower health insurance costs.  In later years, these practices benefit our country through lower Medicare and Medicaid costs for the elderly.  Reducing carbon and other emissions also reduces the incidents of asthma and other respiratory diseases in the young and the elderly.

Aside from these specific requirements, there are several others which are more flexible, allowing schools to be creative in how they implement them.  One such requirement is that of public engagement and education.  To implement the requirements of the commitment, APUS has established a Sustainability Committee.  This group, comprised of interested employees, is tasked with researching and proposing strategies to fulfill APUS’ requirements.  The group has already brought several well-researched and worthwhile proposals to our leadership team for review and consideration.  Most recently, the Sustainability Committee established a Sustainability blog which will help provide some public outreach and education on issues related to sustainability.

Committee members will provide articles for the blog and from time to time, the Committee may publish articles from guest authors.  Focusing on issues of sustainability in higher education, APUS actions related to sustainability, and issues of sustainability in general, the blog is intended to create an engaging and meaningful dialogue about the topics.  I encourage you to take a look at APUS’ latest blog and I know that the Committee will appreciate any comments and suggestions that you may have.

Mr. Holmes’ blog will provide a forum in which he can share the information related to the construction of the building, the LEED elements of the building, and will even include a webcam to show real-time construction development.  In documenting the progress of this construction, Mr. Holmes will touch on issues related to “environmental policy; sustainable development; natural resource utilization; and responsible, community-oriented growth.”

APUS is a charter signatory to the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) and has committed itself to “greening” our operations and helping develop the leaders this country will need to evaluate the many complex issues regarding the environment.  As institutions of higher education begin to realize the need for educating tomorrow’s leaders about environmental issues, many have begun incorporating sustainability into their curriculums in a variety of ways.  I was impressed when Dr. Pollio discussed Mr. Holmes’ concepts for this project, and I believe it will be the first of many ways in which APUS’s faculty and students will integrate issues of sustainability into the curriculum. 

I encourage you to follow Mr. Holmes’ blog as he documents the construction of APUS’ LEED building.  I am sure that he will welcome suggestions as well.

The book begins by outlining sustainability initiatives to date including the Kyoto Protocol and the subsequent discussions currently underway for the drafting of another version of that agreement as well as the history and efforts of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) among others.  The authors contend that colleges and universities are uniquely positioned to make a significant impact in the global struggle to address climate change.  Quoting President John Adams’ statement that “’There are two types of education.  One should teach us how to make a living, and the other how to live,’” Bardaglio and Putnam argue that not only does the pursuit of sustainability in college curriculums and business practices make good financial sense, it is an imperative if institutions are to educate students for the social challenges they will certainly face upon graduation.

The authors point out that “as we move from a postindustrial economy that generates wealth through the production of information to a creativity economy that turns information into knowledge, connecting the dots in new ways rather than just producing the dots will yield the highest rewards.”  Providing numerous case studies to illustrate the ways in which colleges and universities have successfully integrated sustainability into their business practices and curriculums, Boldly Sustainable serves as a comprehensive guide for university administrators pondering the worthiness of sustainability.  Interestingly, as the authors point out, college students are often igniting the spark that leads to institutions implementing sustainable practices.  For example, the authors note that “according to a recent survey of entering freshmen, their ‘number one social concern’ is not getting a job but rather protecting the environment.” 

In Chapter 5, “Transforming Campus Life,” the authors tackle the issues related to greening dining halls, dormitories, campus events, and even wellness centers on campuses.  Though as an online institution APUS only has office buildings, the discussion of the impact of greening various elements of campus life is worthwhile for any college administrator wishing to initiate green programs.  Prior to the last energy crisis, APUS began planning and implementing energy efficient solutions in our building maintenance and upgrade plans.  Communicating those initiatives to our staff has been helpful for creating suggestions for other strategies at reducing energy inefficiencies or consumption.

Many colleges and universities are taking green initiatives outside the campus walls to incorporate sustainable practices in their communities.  Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, for example, has taken some very innovative approaches to greening their local community, taking it from the “rust belt” to a burgeoning “green belt.” 

Chapter 7 provides a step-by-step guide for successfully reducing carbon emissions on college campuses.  This chapter examines seemingly all aspects of college life, from lighting efficiency to new construction projects and purchasing.  It is in Chapter 7 that the authors examine the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s (AASHE) Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS) which is scheduled to be released this year and will serve as a voluntary reporting and tracking mechanism for colleges and universities to track their progress as they move toward a greener campus. 

As is the case at many institutions, financing mechanisms can often be the biggest obstacle for initiating new projects.  Green initiatives are certainly no exception but as the authors point out toward the end of the book, greening the campus and operations of any college and university often does not require as much money up front as many think and the return on investment (ROI) is typically well worth any initial expense required.  A variety of case studies from institutions around the country are provided as evidence.  The authors also offer suggestions for various funding mechanisms of which many may not be aware.  Power purchase agreements, grants, and collaborations with other institutions and even different industries are among only a few of the funding mechanisms discussed in the book. 

The authors discuss many aspects of implementing sustainability into college campuses.  From discussions of marketing and branding efforts to gain stakeholder buy-in to methods for integrating sustainability into student curriculums, almost any question a college administrator may have about sustainability efforts are addressed.  One of the intangible benefits of the book is the plethora of resources mentioned and described.  An appendix including suggested readings as well as listings of organizations that can offer additional information provide college and university administrators with a wealth of information.  As a charter signatory to the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), I found Boldly Sustainable a great resource for additional information on ways of implementing sustainable initiatives.  I would strongly recommend this valuable resource to anyone interested in or involved with campus sustainability efforts.

At a March 12 meeting of Business Roundtable, an organization comprising CEOs from America’s leading companies which collectively see annual revenues of $5 trillion and employ some 10 million people, President Obama made his intentions clear.  He addressed the group saying, “We all know that the country that harnesses the power of renewable energy will lead the 21st century.  And yet, it’s China that’s launched the largest effort in history to make their economy energy efficient.  We invented solar technology, but we’ve fallen behind countries like Germany and Japan in producing it.  New plug-in hybrids will roll of our assembly lines, but they’re running on battery cells made in Korea.  I do not accept a future where the jobs and industries of tomorrow take root beyond our borders – and I know you don’t either.  It’s time for America to lead.” 

The average American produces 4.6 pounds of waste (the most in the world) in one day; only about 1.5 pounds of that waste is recycled.  With no federally mandated recycling laws in America, local and state jurisdictions must implement recycling programs with scarce resources and, as of 2006, only about 8,600 curbside recycling programs existed in the United States (actually fewer than in 2003 perhaps due to budgetary restraints facing many local and state jurisdictions).  As President Obama attempts to ignite the flame of sustainability in America, many of America’s economic competitors are well on their way to establishing sustainable practices within their countries and among their citizens.  Several notable examples deserve attention.

The UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) received £4.5 million to implement waste reduction incentive programs in local jurisdictions across the country.  Additionally, the UK’s new “Recycle on the Go” program has placed recycling bins in public spaces making it much easier for the average individual to recycle waste when not at home. 

The French are world-renowned for their efficient recycling programs – so efficient, in fact, that until recently the UK sent a portion of its waste to France for recycling processing.  Parisians are provided with two bins for recycling, one for glass and one for paper, metal and plastic.  The rest of Paris’ waste is sorted at a facility outside the city and what can be recycled is. 

A recent poll suggests that nine out of ten people in Berlin willingly sort their trash and Berliners are provided with seven different bins for waste.  Similarly effective programs are found throughout Germany.  A hallmark of the German system is that Germany handles all of its waste within its borders, avoiding the use of fuels to transport waste elsewhere for sorting and recycling. 

Some countries have placed much of the impetus and cost of recycling on manufacturers.  Spanish law, for example, requires that food and drink companies pay for the cost of recycling glass containers in which their products are sold. 

The Chinese, as Obama pointed out, are making tremendous strides in implementing sustainable initiatives.  For example, in April 2006 the National Development Reform Commission launched a program targeted at the top 1,000 companies in China which collectively consume some one-third of the nation’s primary energy resources.  The plan would force these companies to make significant strides in implementing energy efficient practices.  A December 2007 Treehugger.com article notes that China’s recycling industry is boosted by average Chinese citizens who are perhaps attempting to supplement their incomes through recycling waste.  Regardless of motivations, there can be little doubt that with 1,338,612,968 people (July 2008 estimate), the Chinese have the manpower necessary to make a tremendous impact on Chinese sustainability initiatives.

As the United States and its international neighbors enter a world in which climate change is a pressing issue, it will be up to nations to work together to find viable solutions.  The European Sustainability Reporting Association (ESRA) is one forum in which European countries are able to share best practices and trends in order to most effectively and efficiently address the issues relating to climate change within their respective borders.  The International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) is a unique initiative in which local jurisdictions can become members and promote more sustainable practices at a local level.  To date, more than 180 European cities representing more than 55 million citizens have become members of this organization. 

President Obama and the United States face a unique challenge vis-à-vis sustainability.  Whereas the United States has once been the leader in most international forums and initiatives, there is little doubt that when it comes to sustainability we have much to learn from others.  With the upcoming discussions scheduled for December in Copenhagen centered on redrafting the controversial Kyoto Protocol, I am hopeful that President Obama will dedicate some of his time to placing the United States at the forefront of those discussions.  Indeed, it seems that whereas the United States once led the world in creating energy-efficient technologies, we are failing to provide leadership in sustainability initiatives.

The green economy, according to the Administration, will “invest in alternative and renewable energy, end our addiction to foreign oil, address the global climate crisis and create millions [five million, to be exact] of new jobs.”  President Obama has stated his intention to invest $150 billion over the next ten years in efforts meant to encourage private efforts to establish and use clean energy.  Through this investment, the President expects to not only create jobs (developing, installing, and maintaining new green technologies) but also reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050 through the use of clean and renewable energy sources.  Breaking the nation’s addiction to foreign oil is an obvious underpinning of the Obama plan. 

While Obama was still working to secure the votes needed to secure his place in the White House, he continuously espoused his intention to execute the plan described above.  For example, during the second Presidential debates in October 2008, Obama said, “…if we create a new energy economy, we can create five million new jobs, easily.”  Interestingly, as Obama made these promises to the American people in hopes of winning the presidency, other world leaders were taking similar efforts.  A November 2008 article in Britain’s The Independent, describes the efforts of British Ministers to increase environmentally friendly investments as a central part of their economic rescue plan.  Similarly, according to the article, Australian officials were discussing execution of a plan that would result in a 3,000 percent growth in green jobs over the next several decades.  Clearly the idea of a green economy benefitting not only citizens who will work within it but also the environment is gaining momentum.

There are significant implications that must be considered, however.  Several economists and conservative politicians and analysts have challenged the most fundamental element of the proposal, arguing that government initiatives to create jobs to bolster a weak economy have historically failed.  Rich Lowry argues in a recent article in the National Review that there are “currently 1.8 million jobs in the economy related to oil and gas.  Why layer more than double – if the Obama goal can be taken seriously – that number of ‘green’ jobs on top of already existing energy jobs?  Even if all the traditional energy jobs disappear, we will have succeeded only in employing more people in energy than otherwise necessary.” 

In a November 2008 article, Kenneth Green, writing for the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, Obama’s plan to create jobs through a green economic revolution to French economist Frederic Bastiat’s 1850 “broken window” fallacy.  Bastiat’s theory refutes the idea that it is wise for government to try to create jobs and not possible to stimulate a dwindling economy through such means.  The explanation of the theory goes something like this:  A kid throws a rock and breaks a shopkeepers’ window.  Most people feel bad for the shopkeeper but eventually decide that broken windows are not such a bad thing because it creates work for the glassmaker who can then benefit from having work and potentially even creating another job by hiring an assistant.  Bastiat’s 1850 argument contends that the kid breaking windows is not performing a public service by creating work for the glassmaker; the money that the shopkeeper paid the glassmaker to replace the windows would have been better spent investing in his own shop and potentially, in the process, creating jobs himself.  According to Green, “Obama’s ‘green jobs’ plan would indeed create jobs, but it would do so by killing other jobs” (including jobs in the coal, gas, nuclear, and automobile industries which currently “directly employ more than 1 million people.”) 

The green economy will have a significant impact on higher education regardless of whether the effort ultimately benefits the larger economic picture.  President Obama’s so far unwavering dedication to the green economy should be a call to arms for those in higher education who are responsible for preparing the nation’s workforce.  The current workforce is inadequately prepared for Obama’s green economy jobs, a realization of many colleges and universities as they attempt to prepare their students for a competitive entrance into the job market.

The Department of Education has realized this academic shortcoming and has promised to hold a Sustainability Summit no later than September 2010.  The Energy Independence and Security Act which is not yet funded would provide $500 million in loans and $250 million in grants for the establishment of green technologies; half those funds would go to institutions of higher education.  The Obama Stimulus Package finally settled in February of this year will allot between $50 billion and $75 billion to higher education with an additional $16 billion going to federal agencies for research grants and facilities over 2 years.

A year or two prior to the 2008 election, a group of concerned college presidents formed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC).  The premise of the ACUPCC is that higher education is in a unique position to address the pending climate crisis.  The purpose of the commitment is to call attention to the issue of global warming and signatories pledge to reduce greenhouse emissions on their campuses.  Some notable improvements have been made at many campuses as a result of participation in this initiative.  Only 637 of the approximately 4,000 institutions of higher learning have signed the agreement to date, but President Obama’s focus on the “green economy” may stimulate more colleges to participate.

Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”  In today’s evolving world, it is imperative that higher education keep up with changing trends in the marketplace.  With President Obama’s initiative to create “green” jobs, higher education must accept and respect that and make efforts to create curricula and initiatives that cultivate the educational experience necessary to compete in the new green economy.