Washington college campuses are going green
Sustainability seen as key for next generation
Pineapple heads, watermelon rinds and lettuce leaves fertilize the flowers at Seattle University instead of going into the garbage.
Students and faculty members at Pacific Lutheran University hold math classes in a building without a carbon footprint.
Staff members at the University of Washington drive hybrid cars and may soon be able to fill up other motor pool vehicles with biodiesel.
These and other efforts on Washington campuses underscore the movement to turn the unofficial colors of each college to an Earth-friendly green. Local universities are reducing the garbage and pollution they produce while cutting back on the amount of energy they use.
Going green has meant changes in the way colleges maintain their grounds, construct their buildings, perform their research and even teach their courses.
In some cases, colleges are complying with government environmental and energy-consumption rules and saving money by conserving. But campuses also have been moved to act because of a responsibility -- not just to the environment but also to their students.
"We feel that campuses have a special duty, and I think they see it as well," said Judy Walton, executive director of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. "They're training the next generation."
Many campuses around the country first implemented sustainability measures -- recycling, for example -- years ago, but their efforts seem to have expanded in recent years, Walton said, citing four possible reasons for the growth.
Work done by newly formed environmental groups in the 1990s has taken hold and reached more people. Industry established national standards for "green" buildings. Climate and energy issues have received more mainstream attention. And students began pressuring campus officials to adopt more environment-friendly policies.
Washington undergraduates have been active in promoting sustainability on campus.
UW students are exploring how to use cooking oil from campus eateries to fuel university cars. Engineering undergraduates at Seattle University developed a solar panel system that collects enough sunlight to power an energy-efficient home for one year. And the student body at Western Washington University agreed to pay up to $10.50 a quarter to buy renewable electricity -- becoming one of the first in the state to go 100 percent green on the main campus.
"That has generated a lot of pride in the student body," said Erica Althans-Schmidt, a recent Western graduate who worked on the green-energy campaign.
It's also become a source of pride -- and in some instances bragging rights -- for the campuses themselves. As more colleges hire sustainability coordinators and form sustainability committees, campuses find themselves in a friendly competition over who is most environmentally friendly, just as they might with academics or athletics.
Continue reading this article from the Seattle P-I:
College campuses are going green
