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Pitt Startup Enables Medical Community to Recycle Single-Use Plastics
In an effort to save the environment, companies from across all types of industries are joining in to phase out single-use plastics. But in the medical industry, it hasn’t been so easy. While Starbucks can survive without plastic straws, scientists and clinicians rely on single-use plastics — which are cheap, disposable and, most importantly, sterile… Read More
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Meet Second Nature, the NGO Guiding Colleges to Carbon Neutrality
Colleges and universities pride themselves on being leaders in research, education and development. Their ultimate purpose is to help create a future that is brighter than the past. And today, the future faces a potentially enormous existential crisis. Decades of irresponsible energy production and consumption have caused global surface temperatures to increase, posing a threat… Read More
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How Colleges Advance Environmental Sustainability in Their Greater Communities
With the United Nations warning that humanity has less than 11 years to prevent climate change from causing irreversible damage to the planet, immediate and accelerated climate action is necessary. The upcoming decade is “the most pivotal decade in human history,” said Fiona Wilson, the director of the Sustainability Institute at the University of New… Read More
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Hydroponics Club Grows Food for the Hungry, Educates Local Kids
With the global population approaching 8 billion and more people migrating to urban areas, it’s become clear that traditional agriculture is not the most sustainable way to grow produce. Simply put, to feed the rising population, the world is going to need to start growing significantly more food. And doing so through traditional farming would… Read More
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A Student Guide to Sustainable Living
With a garbage patch twice the size of Texas sitting in the Pacific Ocean and less than 11 years left to prevent climate change from irreversibly damaging our planet, the Earth needs all the help it can get. It’s true, the most effective way to save the planet comes through governmental action and international law.… Read More
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The Top 50 ‘Greenest’ Colleges in 2019
The Princeton Review has released its 2019 “Top 50 Green Colleges” list, highlighting the schools leading the way in environmental sustainability. Topping the list, in order, are The College of the Atlantic, State University of New York – College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Dickinson College, the University of Vermont, St. Mary’s College of Maryland,… Read More
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Australian University’s ‘Water Battery’ Wins Global Climate Award
A brand new solar-powered air conditioning system at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia, was named one of five winners at the 6th Global District Energy Climate Awards 2019, a series of awards that seek to recognize innovative and sustainable district energy systems. The ceremony was held in Reykjavik, Iceland, on Thursday, October 24.… Read More
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The Most Bike-Friendly Colleges in 2019
Whether it’s to reduce their carbon footprint, for exercise or just plain fun, more and more college students across the United States are opting to bike around campus. So, to accommodate these students, many colleges and universities have recently put a lot of time and resources towards making their campuses more bicycle-friendly. But while some… Read More
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How the Creative Industry Is Driving Social Impact
The creative industry is exerting its influence to drive impact on the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a set of 17 goals to be accomplished by 2030. The industry’s efforts were highlighted during the SDG Media Summit, an annual event created by PVBLIC Foundation, which focuses on harnessing the power of media, marketing and advertising… Read More
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UN Youth Climate Summit Shows Promise for Our Future
On September 21, young climate activists, innovators, entrepreneurs, influencers and trailblazers from all over the world gathered at the United Nations’ headquarters in New York for the first-ever U.N. Youth Climate Summit. In commanding fashion, these young leaders took the floor of the Trusteeship Council chamber and its surrounding areas to inspire change, showcase their… Read More
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How Universities, Students Can Help the World Achieve SDGs by 2030
For years, the United Nations and its member states have been striving to create a world that is more economically, socially and environmentally sustainable for all. In 2015, they set 17 specific goals, named the “Sustainable Development Goals” (SDGs), and provided the world’s countries with guidance on how to achieve them by 2030. The goals,… Read More
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Australian University Unveils New Renewable Power System
The University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) in Australia has completed construction on a new thermal energy storage system that promises to cut the university’s energy usage by 40 percent. The unique system, which is being dubbed the “water battery,” utilizes power drawn from over 6,000 newly-installed solar panels to chill a 4.5-megalitres tank of… Read More
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Report Highlights the Most Sustainable Colleges and Universities
The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) recently released its annual Sustainable Campus Index report, recognizing some of the world’s most sustainable colleges and universities. Topping AASHE’s list with “platinum” ratings are Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia, Stanford University, UC Irvine, the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and Colorado… Read More
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TUN Student Spotlight: Central Michigan U Student Builds Greenhouse for Orphans
Taylor Crowley, an environmental studies major from Central Michigan University, enhanced her learning in a rather unconventional way — working under the blistering Belizean sun to help construct a greenhouse for orphaned girls to grow food. Crowley spent six weeks in the often 100-degree heat of San Ignacio, Belize, in order to use her studies… Read More
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ASU Student Models How Individuals Can Contribute to Environmental Sustainability
Much of society has come to the realization that, eventually, the world could run out of everything. Animal species, ecosystems, fossil fuels, food and drinking water could all disappear, unless serious changes are made. These threats to the world’s vital resources have motivated the upcoming generation of workers and decision makers to consider sustainability, unlike… Read More
