Colleges and universities are increasingly looking for ways to
increase their sustainability in all aspects — from curriculum
to food service to building operations. Sharing best practices
and talking through challenges was the focus at the recent
national conference in Pittsburgh of the Association for
Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, known as
AASHE. I was glad to have an opportunity to attend. The
conference began with a student summit featuring prominent
environmentalist and popular author on climate change, Bill
McKibben, the founder of the 350.org, a grassroots environmental
movement that has organized demonstrations in nearly every
country around the world. Many schools are making huge changes
in response to the American College and University Presidents’
Climate Commitment, which hundreds of colleges and universities
around the countries have signed on to in order to reduce their
impact on climate change through the reduction of greenhouse gas
emissions, energy conservation and other