At the University of Wisconsin Madison, Slow Food UW opens a cafe once per week, offering fresh, local, homemade lunch options. Image credit Amy Verhey.

The 2012 additions to the database come at a time when 661 college and university presidents have signed the Climate Commitment, and 476 of those institutions have Climate Action Plans, committing to reducing carbon emissions and addressing sustainability at all levels of campus operations. This year’s case studies represent institutions that have been practicing campus greening for a substantial amount of time, as well as campuses that are just getting started; thus the projects described span the spectrum, from the installation of solar arrays to the distribution of travel mugs to freshmen. The case study database, searchable by year, state, topic or institution, allows visitors to learn from their peers and colleagues–to gain perspective and fresh ideas for campus sustainability, and to promote solutions to common obstacles along the road to green.

University of New England studied the feasibility of providing a river ferry service for commuters to the Biddeford Campus of UNE across the Saco River. Image credit Dick Buhr.

View the list of campuses that submitted case studies

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be highlighting select campus sustainability projects on the blog, so keep checking back!

Have you found inspiration from our case study database? What is your favorite project, and why? 

Like Campus Ecology on Facebook and follow @CampusEcology and @YouthforClimate on Twitter.

Credit: Stuart Seeger

NWF’s Campus Ecology program has released its anticipated study of Generation E: Students Leading for a Sustainable, Clean Energy Future, which highlights the unique and critical role college students play in the climate flight.

Published just weeks before the international climate negotiations kick off in Copenhagen, Generation E is a story of student and youth leadership.The report highlights 165 college and university examples in 46 states, covering 35 categories of creative student effort. American students are stepping up and responding to the challenge of climate change.

Generation E illustrates the creative ways our campuses are responding to the shift toward a sustainable, clean energy future.

“‘Generation E’” stands for the three “E’s” of sustainability: ecology, sustainable economics, and social equity,” said Julian Keniry, Senior Director of Campus and Community Leadership. “It also stands for a tremendous amount of energy and excitement on college campuses today. The values of sustainability define and unite the current generation like no other issue of our time.”

An executive summary and the full Generation E report, including a list of 165 highlighted schools, are available online at www.nwf.org/GenE.

Campuses featured in Generation E and all other schools are encouraged to enter NWF’s Chill Out competition this fall. Chill Out: Campus Solutions to Global Warming is a competition that rewards and recognizes all the cool things campuses are doing to reduce the impacts of global warming.

To enter, students, faculty and staff need to submit a two minute video that shows how their college or university is working to reduce global warming pollution. Entry forms are at CampusChillout.org.

Don’t get me wrong: it was nice to spend four years analyzing Paul Gauguin paintings and Alfred Hitchcock movies. I just wish my schooling could have better prepared me for a life of DOING.

Luckily, more than a hundred colleges and organizations are calling on Congress to help people be a vital part of the coming clean energy economy rather than watching from the sidelines. They want strong energy legislation, with a special emphasis on training and educating the pros of tomorrow, be they engineers, architects, or scientists.

Wednesday, the National Wildlife Federation and our partners delivered a letter to Congress signed by groups representing community colleges, universities, and education consortiums, all pushing for a bill that invests in new energy technology and training. The list is impressive: 130 strong, everything from the Pocatello Zoo to the Temple University Student Peace Alliance (full list of orgs here). To put it mildly, this is a goal with broad appeal. More on that in a second.

Behind the scenes, college presidents and other bigwigs met with congressional offices, highlighting the importance of a pollution-limiting, economy-stimulating, education-driving plan.

On the environmental side:

“Now is the time to pass climate legislation that invests in new clean energy technology and solutions. At the same time we must invest in our nation’s education and training infrastructure—at every level—to ensure Americans are prepared for the new jobs that will be created by the climate bill. This is what the college presidents are in Washington to support today,” said Kevin Coyle, Vice President for Education and Training at the National Wildlife Federation. “To ensure America’s competitiveness in a global economy, we must prepare the next generation through curricula, training and programming that incorporates clean energy and sustainability,”

On the college side:

“The clean energy economy is our future, and further investment through the climate bill is essential. Every profession and sector will be affected by this green transformation. America’s community colleges can be a vital resource to prepare the workforce of tomorrow,” said George R. Boggs, President and CEO of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), the primary advocacy organization for the nation’s almost 1,200 community colleges.

Key point, that; the broad appeal. Every profession and sector. Not just solar panel installers, a common refrain among defeatists. In the words of Jim Elder, director of the Campaign for Environmental Literacy, we’ll also be needing–and needing to train–carpenters, engineers steelworkers, scientists, entrepreneurs, small business owners, et al. I wonder if there’s any room for blogger-cum-nonprofit workers…

A special emphasis on education and training might also help fly the flag for the broader economic possibilities of legislation. Worriers: this won’t limit us. A clean energy economy–with a stronger training infrastructure–offers us our best chance at continuing to be competitive in the international marketplace.

You can view the full letter here.

Photo via Flickr’s TogetherGreen