Eco Colleges Encourage Environmental Activism

Green Colleges Environmentally Motivate Students In Eco Activism

Awareness of the environment shows the need to cut carbon dioxide emissions. Green, environmentally aware colleges help instill this environmental awareness in students.

Educational institutions are becoming much more environmentally aware. In Canada the SEEDS Foundation is promoting the “Green Schools” program while in the US both the Eco League and the ACUPCC encourage the teaching and practice of environmentalism in schools.

Rise of Environmental Awareness in Education

In his introduction to Greening the College Campus, by Jonathan Collett, et al, published by Island Press in 1996, David Ehrenfeld of Rutgers University, New Jersey says “Along comes the environmental crisis, forcing us to proclaim that ecological ignorance is dangerous, that gaining environmental understanding must be an essential goal of every student’s education.” But rather than just teach about the environment, many educational institutions also put what they teach into practice by running the institutions on an environmentally friendly basis.

Canadian Environmental Education

The SEEDS (Society, Environment, and Energy Development Studies) Foundation in Canada, an educational environmental group founded in 1976 promotes “The Green Schools Program” which is designed to encourage green education issues in Canadian schools. On their website section entitled “About SEEDS” their mission statement says “To support Canadian educators in promoting student literacy and active personal and societal responsibility for energy, sustainability, and the environment.” In the “SEEDS Chronology” section they state that “Presently, SEEDS offers programs in over 2,000 Canadian High Schools and in over 8,000 Elementary and Junior High Schools.”

Growth of Green Colleges in America

According to its Annual Report, published in May 2008, “The American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment was publicly launched on December 12, 2006. As of March 1, 2008 just over a year later, over 500 schools have become signatories including public and private colleges and universities of all sizes and types in 48 of the 50 states representing over 25% of the higher education student population of America”. In the "About ACUPCC" section of their website they state that their object is "A framework and support for America’s colleges and universities to go climate neutral. The Commitment recognizes the unique responsibility that institutions of higher education have as role models for their communities and in training the people who will develop the social, economic and technological solutions to reverse global warming."

The Eco League is a consortium of five colleges, spread across the United States, that are dedicated solely to environmental studies. The colleges are Alaska Pacific University, College of the Atlantic, Green Mountain College, Northland College and Prescott College. The “About the Eco League” section of the Eco League website states that “The Eco League is the only college consortium in the United States dedicated to environmental learning and the active pursuit of environmental studies. Five of the most distinctive colleges in the country make up the consortium, together offering students exciting opportunities to study human and natural systems from Maine to Alaska.”

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In a report in Forbes Magazine, published on May 2, 2008, titled “America’s Greenest Colleges”, Brian Wingfield, the author, states “Many of the greenest schools are in the Northeast and West, where there's a long history of environmentalism, and they're often private colleges with sizable endowments that can be directed toward green initiatives. But Mark Orlowski, executive director of the Sustainable Endowments Institute, notes that the movement is catching on fast nationwide.”

Protection of the environment needs the responsible use of energy, reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and adoption of sensible recycling programs. Educational institutions are the best place to instill these attitudes into the citizens of tomorrow.

Nickelodeon Global Challenge Multiplayer Game

Spongebob Squarepants, Aang, Timmy, Otis on Nick.com Big Green Help

Play the Nickelodeon Global Challenge game with Nicktoons. Check out the Nick.com Big Green Help. What to say if kids ask, "What is carbon dioxide?"

The newest addition to the Nick.com Big Green Help is an interactive video game. By playing this game, kids can learn about saving the environment while having fun!

The Global Challenge Multiplayer Game - Learning Is Fun with Nick.com Big Green Help

In this game, Nicktoons Aang, Timmy, Otis, & Spongebob Squarepants battle CO2 monsters like giant toxic slugs and smog-producing guzzler trucks in an effort to protect Earth’s last green cities. The ultimate goal of the game is to put environmentalism in kids’ minds and encourage them to join the Big Green Help. In the game, players drain CO2 from the CO2 monsters and turn it into clean energy. The goal is to keep C02 levels at bay (indicated by an appropriately-colored green CO2 monitor on the edge of the screen) and use clean energy to green the environment. Players score points by performing eco-moves on piles of junk, trees, and puddles of sludge. The game must be downloaded on the player’s home computer, but when the game is started, the software contacts the server and waits for other players.

What is Carbon Dioxide? How to Explain CO2 to Kids

Kids who have heard about the Global Challenge Mutliplayer Game and the Big Green Help may have questions about carbon dioxide, especially if they are too young to have learned about environmental awareness in school already. Here’s a quick explanation for parents to provide to their children based on information from the Nickelodeon Big Green Help glossary and the Green Facts website.

Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that occurs naturally in the atmosphere.
Human actions greatly increase carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, which contributes to global warming.
Carbon dioxide is given off when fossil fuels like oil and gas are burned.
CO2 is another term for carbon dioxide.

In addition to the explanations above, kids might be interested in knowing the neat fact that plants use CO2 to make food.

More About Nick.com Big Green Help: Green Tips, Global Challenge Tracker

In addition to the Global Challenge multiplayer game, the Nick.com Big Green Help website features the following:

Big Green Games
LeBron James Q&A
Glossary of environmental terms
Big Green Quiz
Global Challenge Tracker
Daily green tips

Kids can access the Nickelodeon Global Challenge game using the link above or by visiting biggreenhelp.com. Read The Nick.com Big Green Help for more information about this Nickelodeon crusade for environmental awareness. See The Nick.com Big Green Help Global Challenge for a longer list of suggested environmental pledges kids can make to help the environment.

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Carbon Offset Kiosks Come to U.S. Airports

Travelers Can Counteract Pollution From Their Flights

Airport travelers in San Franciso and beyond can purchase certified carbon offsets, with money going toward programs to offset pollution from their flight.

Travelers who feel guilty about the carbon dioxide emissions created by their aircraft can soon visit a kiosk inside San Francisco International Airport where they can purchase certified carbon offsets, thanks to a program that will be launched this spring.

This new program will make the San Francisco the first airport in the United States - possibly the first airport in the world - to offer this program that enables travelers to purchase carbon offsets, which will counteract the pollution created by their flights.

"We'd like people to stop and consider the impacts of flying...Obviously, people need to fly sometimes. No one expects them to stop, but they should consider taking steps to reduce their impacts" explained Steve McDougal In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle.

McDougal is the executive vice president for 3Degrees, the San Francisco company that will be supplying the kiosks to San Franciso International Airport. 3Degrees sells investment certificates for programs and projects that promote renewable energy and work toward carbon reduction. These small investments are known as "carbon offsets."

How Will the Carbon Offset Kiosks Work?

More than $160,000 is reportedly being spent on the kiosks, which are similar to an ATM machine or those kiosks used for self check-in at the airport.

Travelers will enter their destination into the kiosk and the software will calculate the carbon emissions that the flight will create during the trip. The software then determines the amount of carbon emissions that that one passenger is responsible for, and based on this figure, the kiosk will provide the air traveler with the cost of an investment that will offset the air pollution that will be created by the flight.

Hottest Green College Degrees Around

Eco-Friendly, Environmental and Sustainability Education Programs

Getting ready to go to college and wondering what to study? Here are some thoughts about environment-friendly degrees and education programs.

College students and high school graduates all over are preparing to return to school very soon and are looking at what their futures might hold. With all the talk about sustainability and its importance to the planet as well as everyone's very lives, many want to do more than just incorporate social responsibility activities into their time in school. They want to incorporate good citizenship into their careers.

While for many this may mean pursuing traditional degree programs and then obtaining employment with organizations in the field of sustainability, for others it means receiving a degree specifically related to sustainability. What many of these majors often do is allow students who want to take the traditional business route to incorporate social responsibility into their major program. So what are the trendiest eco-degrees around?

Sustainable and Environmental College Degree Programs

Taking care of the environment is not just about recycling any more. There are a ton of undergrad and graduate degrees out there which offer a focus on the global environment. They include everything from old standbys such as environmental health or environmental engineering to majors in topics such as environmental conservation or environmental and natural resources law.

Or for students thinking they would rather have sustainability as a major, there are several options, too. Today’s colleges offer degrees in topics such as sustainable business, sustainable living, and sustainable architecture. Or how about sustainable urbanism?

Actually a certificate program, rather than a degree, sustainable urbanism is offered by Texas A&M and is meant to explore “sustainability and urban design in a rapidly urbanizing world.” It is part of the College of Architecture program and allows students to earn credits toward the study abroad program.

Another popular sustainability degree is sustainable design, which actually may have different meanings depending on the university. For instance, at Boston Architectural College sustainable design focuses on architecture and landscaping, while at Huxley College of the Environment at Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA, the focus is on products and processes that promote long-term economic, social and ecological values.

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Other Eco, Green, and Organic Degrees

For students who still haven’t found the degree they seek, there are plenty of others out there labeled ecology, green and even organic. Degrees in subjects such as ecotourism, geothermal development, green interior design, and organic agriculture, for instance.

For students who think wind energy technology might be up their alley, there are a variety of clean-energy career programs that range from one-year technical diplomas to graduate degrees. And the demand for wind turbine technicians and mechanics is increasing. Studies in solar energy and hydrology (the study of water) are also gaining in popularity.

The fact is that colleges throughout the nation offer a wide range of environment-focused education programs. Students just need to find one that aligns with their favorite eco-, environmentally- or sustainability-friendly degree major.

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