Taking the University to Task

Students are challenging campus administrators to make the setting of their education more sustainable. University students in North America, Europe, and Australia have conducted over 1,000 campus environmental audits, leading to an explosion in student projects at their institutions and in their communities. Many of the student-initiated programs concentrate on energy efficiency and conservation--students have induced nearly 80 percent of universities in the U.S. to develop recycling programs. Worldwide interest in experiential environmental education is rising, and it is recognized that students gain a better grasp of abstract global issues by working on manageable local ones. Educators are seeing the educational benefits of these programs, and administrators are beginning to see the practical operational benefits of recycling, waste reduction, energy savings, and better food services.