Shooting for the STARS: The Sustainability Movement in Higher Education

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies

Of Bard College By

David B. Gookin

Annandale-On-Hudson, New York

May 2013

Acknowledgements

This Senior Project has been a very challenging endeavor for me personally. I am

very grateful to have had the opportunity to attend Bard College. I am extremely blessed

to have attended to an institution that has allowed me to form great friendships that will

last a lifetime and provided me with some of the best professors in the country. Attending

Bard College has allowed me to learn life lessons, grow as an individual (academically,

socially, physically, emotionally) and provided me with opportunities that no other higher

education institution could. My time at Bard College has been extremely memorable and

without the support from my family, friends, and the professional staff it wouldnt have

been possible.

I would first like to thank my academic and Senior Project advisor, Mark Lytle,

for all of his support and aid over the past few years. Professor Lytle has been one of the

best professors I have had the opportunity to work with and learn from in a classroom

setting. He has been supportive of my academic pursuits and is always a wonderful

person to have a conversation with. I cant thank him enough for all that he has done for

me.

I would like to also thank my other Senior Project board members for being on

my team and taking the time to read through my project. Thank you to Noah Chasin for

providing me with an incredible experience in his Sustainable Urbanism course. This

course was one that I thoroughly enjoyed and learned many new things. Thank you to

Gidon Eshel who provided me with different insight to Environmental Science that was

both enjoyable and valuable for expanding my knowledge of the subject.

I additionally would like to thank the numerous professors who have made

learning a truly enjoyable experience while attending Bard. You all have had an impact

on my life and will not be forgotten. Thank you to Christopher Lindner, Kris Feder,

William Mullen, Robert Culp, Susan Merriam, and Susan Aberth.

Thank you to David Shein for his help during my time at Bard and his support for

this project as well as my other academic pursuits. He has played a crucial supportive role

in my academic career at Bard.

I also need to thank Gretchen Perry for her help that has allowed me to grow as an

individual. She has been very supportive during my time at Bard and without her

assistance I would not be the person I am today. Thank you for everything you have done

for me.

My family has played a critical role in my life and academic career. I cant thank

each and every one of them enough for all their love and support throughout my life. I

love you all and have you to thank for the man I am today. Youre all amazing people

and I am so glad to be a part of this family.

Lastly, I would like to thank all of my friends that I have made at Bard. Without

all of you, I wouldnt be where I am today. You have supported me through thick and

thin and I cant be more grateful for that. Every one of you has had an impact on my life

and has made it more enjoyable and interesting. You guys are amazing people. I am truly

blessed to call you friends. Heres to the next chapter!

Table of Contents

Introduction............................................................................................................................ Chapter 1: A Time Line Approach To The History of Sustainability .................................1 Chapter 2: The History of Sustainability in Higher Education..........................................23 Chapter 3: The History of AASHE and The STARS Rating Program..............................39 Chapter 4: Assessing Bard Colleges Campus Sustainability STARS Results .................51 Chapter 5: Bard Campus Sustainability Compared to Similar Higher Ed Institutions......75 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................

Introduction

In 2013, the term sustainability is a very well known term. That has not always

been the case, however. At the end of World War II, people in industrialized countries

were trying to put the tragedy behind them and get back to rebuilding their infrastructures

and economies. With cheap labor and a belief that resources were unlimited, nations were

happy to be back at work and not thinking about pollution or people in foreign lands. The

results of that chugging along came to be devastating to the environment. Over the course

of the last sixty-five years, people all over the world, not just in the more developed

north, became increasingly aware and troubled about the fate of the planet and those who

inhabited it. With that thought in mind, one will come to understand the measures that

were taken to come up with the just and equitable term that we now know as

sustainability. In 1987, the United Nations sponsored World Commission on

Environment and Development (WCED) unveiled its long awaited document, Our

Common Future, or the Brundtland Report, which defines the term, Sustainable

development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising

the ability of future generations to meet their own needs,1 Many dollars were spent on

summits, conferences and education teaching about sustainability and implementing this

concept, which, while popular, will be found to not be universally achieved or embraced.

Governments, businesses and higher education institutions all play a role in shaping

sustainability. Significant progress has been made in the field of education for

1 Our Common Future: The Brundtland Report, ANPED, Northern Alliance for Sustainability, 4 Jan. 2013, http://anped.org/index.php?part=176

sustainability and that will be seen in detail. Of great interest to many in the sustainability

field is the attempt that higher education institutions play and will continue to play in the

field through the STARS program.

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Chapter 1: A Time Line Approach to The History of Sustainable Development

Sustainability, or the concept of sustainable development did not just happen or

appear over night, rather, it evolved as a result of many factors, including, but not limited

to: environmental catastrophes, surging populations, poverty, historical events and

climate changes. In December 1983, The United Nations recognized the need to create a

solid, universal plan to deal with economic and environmental issues, to rethink

environmentalism and bring something new to the international community. With that

purpose in mind, twenty-two representatives from both highly industrialized nations as

well as developing countries joined together to form the World Conference on

Environment and Development (WCED).2 Commonly referred to as the Brundtland

Commission after its Norwegian Leader, Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, this group was

comprised of leaders in the fields of education, industry, and government3 from Algeria,

Brazil, Canada, Columbia, Cote dIvoire, The Federal Republic of Germany, Guyana,

Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Norway, The Peoples Republic

of China, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, The United States, The Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and

Zimbabwe.4 This group might be thought of as the originators of sustainability. In her

Chairmans Forward, Dr. Brundtland wrote that the WCED was asked to propose a

2 Jennifer A. Elliott, Am Introduction to Sustainable Development Third Edition (London:Rutledge 2006) 8. 3 Michael Keating, Environment and Sustainability Chronology, The Sustainability Report 15 Jan. 2013, http://sustreport.org/environment-and-sustainability-chronology/. 4, Bringing Rio Closer-Brundtland Commission, SustainAbility Whats Next, 22 Jan. 2013 http://theregenerationroadmap.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Bringing_Rio_Closer_Brundtland_Commission.pdf.

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global agenda for change.5 According to Brundtland, The General Assembly was

desperate:

* to propose long-term environmental strategies for achieving sustainable development by the year 2000 and beyond;

* to recommend ways concern for the environment may be translated into greater co-operation among countries of the global South and between countries at different stages of economical and social development and lead to the achievement of common and mutually supportive objectives that take account of the interrelationships between people, resources, environment, and development; * to consider ways and means by which the international community can deal more effectively with environment concerns; and * to help define shared perceptions of long-term environmental issues and the

appropriate efforts needed to deal successfully with the problems of protecting and enhancing the environment, a long term agenda for action during the coming decades, and aspirational goals for the world community.6

One may ask why the United Nations was so intent upon an international summit to

promote social and economic changes and aid the environment. In this chapter, a time

line approach will discuss historic events and beliefs that created a great need for the

UNs urgent attempt to provide the international community with a safe, prosperous and

fair earth where everyone can live and prosper.

World War II literally ended with a bang. Uranium and plutonium enriched

bombs, nicknamed Little Boy and Fat Man caused the surrender of the Japanese on

August 15, 1945. Over 100,000 people were instantly terminated with at least that many

lives compromised by radiation and possible future genetic alterations.7 Nuclear

aggression and its threat of fallout and mass destruction certainly compromise any plans

for sustainability. In the May -June 2012 issue of Audubon Magazine, it was written:

5 Our Common Future: The Brundtland Report, ANPED, Northern Alliance for Sustainability, 4 Jan. 2013, http://anped.org/index.php?part=176. 6 ANPED, 4 Jan. 2013. 7 The Manhattan Project, 5 Jan. 2013, http://gk12.rice.edu/trs/science/Atom/man.htm.

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Between 1945 and 1960, a string of multi-megaton thermonuclear detonations all

in the name of weapons supremacy vis--vis the Soviet Union had released massive amounts of radioactive fallout in the atmosphere. During the Eisenhower era, America wasnt just the preeminent superpower, it became the worlds leading hyper-industrial giant. This brought Americans a lot of economic life- style benefits. But it came at a high cost.8

While the United Nations officially began in 1945, the world would live in fear

of nuclear testing and war, the greatest threat to its survival, for decades. (North Korea

poses a threat even today.) It will be almost three decades before the United Nations can

begin to bring nations and regions together to work for sustainability.

Smog in Los Angeles and London, and pollution in Pittsburghs Monongahela

Valley from steel production, were all signs of growth and prosperity after the end of

World War II. Despite the fact that pollution was so bad in Pittsburgh that people died

during stagnant air conditions in October 1948, and streetlights had to be on during the

daylight hours due to low visibility9, industrialized nations were happy to be back at work

and prosperous. Referencing the 1969 (as opposed to the 1862,1912, 1936 or 1952)10 fire

on Clevelands pollution laden Cuyahoga River as well as other filthy rivers in the United

States, Time Magazines August 1, 1969 article was titled, Americas Sewage system

and the Price of Optimism.11 In 1962, 750 deaths attributed to air pollution occurred in

8 Douglas Brinkley, RACHEL CARSON AND JFK, AN ENVIRONMENTAL TAG TEAM, Audubon Magazine, May-June 2012, 27 Dec. 2012, http://www.audubonmagazine.org/articles/conservation/rachel-carson-and-jfk-environmental-tag-team. 9 Donora, Pennsylvania, Pollution Issues, 2 Feb. 2013, http://www.pollutionissues.com/Co-Ea/Donora-Pennsylvania.html. 10 Ted Nordhaus & Michael Shellenberger, Break Through: From the Death of Environmentalism to the Politics of Possibility, (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2007) 22. 11 Americas Sewage System and the Price of Optimism, Time Magazine, 1Aug. 1969, 2 Feb.2013, http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,901182,00.html.

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London,12 as conservationist Rachel Carsons Silent Spring was drawing attention to the

perils of nuclear testing and the toxicity of the pesticide, DDT.13All of these incidents

helped to shed light on a growing problem in the industrialized world.

It was not until the decade of the nifty fifties were over and the 1960s were in

full swing that the start of political and social unrest would come to affect the

environment. People found their voices, whether it was a sit in protesting civil rights at

the whites only lunch counters, student demonstrations on hundreds of college campuses

from New Yorks Columbia University to the UC Berkeley where the Free Speech

Movement was created14 to hundreds of anti Viet-Nam war protests, actions were

being taken that were meant to raise awareness and send messages of unhappiness to

governments about long standing policies and disregard for citizens rights and concerns.

This would include the environment. The 1960s taught some valuable lessons. The

setting needed to be right and causes needed strong supporters. Rachel Carson found her

champion in fellow ocean lover and Democratic President, John F. Kennedy. She took on

the powerful chemical companies, American Cyanamid, Monsanto and Velsicol,

eventually getting the harmful pesticide, DDT banned.15 Environmentalists would take

notice of the importance of having the support of government on their side.

In their book, Break Through: From the Death of Environmentalism to the

Politics of Possibility, authors Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger discuss the

importance of timing and affluence on the environment and the sustainability movement.

12 The Sixties, Environmental History Timeline, 2 Feb. 2013 . 13 Brinkley, 27 Dec. 2012. 14 The Free Speech Movement calisphere, The University of California, 27 Dec. 2013, http://www.calisphere.universityofcalifornia.edu/themed_collections/subtopic6b.html. 15 Ibid.

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Thus, despite the fact that the Cuyahoga River fire of 1952 was much more serious than the fire of 1969, the time was not yet right for regulations and restrictive laws as the world was still recovering from an international conflict and The United States was enjoying capitalism, a fruitful cooperation between industry and labor unions as well as being anti-international and especially anti-communist.16 The United States would not be

ready for a national policy until the late 1960s and early 1970s.

After the Cuyahoga River caught fire in 1969, people demanded cleaner air and

water. With the passage of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) later that

year, According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the purpose of

the NEPA was, to foster and promote the general welfare, to create and maintain

conditions under which man and nature can exist in productive harmony and fulfill the

social, economic and other requirements of present and future generations.17 Republican

President Richard M. Nixon signed into law something that was looking like

sustainability!

Under the 1970 reorganized, Environmental Protection Agency, the environment

would be protected as it was charged to improve and protect the quality of the

environment, both national and global. The EPA works to protect human health and the

natural resources on which all human activity depends.18 Now there was a government

agency that was empowered and ready to uphold future laws as well as those already on

the books that were meant to protect the environment for all. 16 Norddhaus & Shellenberger, 29. 17 United States Evironmental Protection Agency (EPA), History of Sustainability (Seattle:Region10: The Pacific Northwest) 12 Feb. 2012. http://yosemite.epa.gov/r10/oi.nsf/8bb15fe43a5fb81788256b58005ff079/398761d6c3c7184988256fc40078499b!OpenDocument. 18 EPA, 12 Feb. 2013.

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On April 22, 1970, the first Earth Day was celebrated in the United States. Liberal

Wisconsin Senator, Gaylord Nelson, sickened by oil spills off of the California Coast

knew that the time was right to capitalize on the spirit of change and protest. He

acknowledged that the idea of a national teach-in on the environment19 would have

more success if it had bipartisan backing. Senator Nelson enlisted the help of a

Republican named Pete McCloskey, an anti-war Congressman from California, former

Marine stationed in Korea and an attorney who eventually specialized in environmental

concerns.20 Organizer Denis Hayes, Stanford graduate, activist and west coaster, saw his

hard work pay off on April 22, 1970 when:

thousands of college and universities organized protest against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values.21 Earth Day certainly reminded people about the environmental problems that people and

Businesses helped to create. The timing of Earth Day and the start of the revised

Environmental Protection Agency in December 1970 was not coincidental. Citizens

realized they needed legal support to make changes.

Jennifer A. Elliott, social scientist and author, states in her book, An Introduction

to Sustainability, that prior to the 1970s, the global development problem was

conceived as one in which less developed nations needed to catch up with the West and

enter the modern age of capitalism and liberal democracy.22 It was often

19 Earth Day: The History of A Movement, Earth Day Network, 28 Dec. 2012. http://www.earthday.org/earth-day-history-movement. 20 Stephen Most, Pete McCloskey Leading From The Front 12 Feb 2013. . 21 Earth Day, 4 Jan. 2013.

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hoped that second and third world shortages could be solved easily through the transfer

of finance, technology and experience from the developed countries,23 By

the time the Stockholm Conference was held in 1972, this philosophy was being

challenged. Known officially as the United Nations Conference on the Human

Environment, this conference was a global meeting where both advanced and developing

nations had their say:

developed nations expressed concern about the environmental consequences of increasing global development, while nations that were still developing raised their own continuing needs for economic development. Thus, the concept of sustainable development was born out of an attempt to find a compromise between the development needs of the nations in the Southern Hemisphere and the conservation demands of the developed nations in the North.24

According to Andres R. Edwards, sustainability consultant and author of The

Sustainability Revolution, The Stockholm Conference, headed by Canadian Maurice

Strong was a keystone of sustainability and sustainable development. About this

conference he stated, This gathering internationalized the concepts of American Earth

Day. [it] began the attempt to find positive links between environmental concerns and

economic issues such as development, growth and employment. 25 This was a very

important international meeting on economic and environmental topics and, as a result of

the Stockholm Conference, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) was

established in 1973 with the mission that, a new intergovernmental body should be

22 Elliott, 14. 23 Elliott, 16. 24 EPA,15 Feb. 2013. 25 Edwards, 15.

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established within the UN to focus environmental action and to serve as an international

environmental watchdog to be responsible for the monitoring of global change.26

It had the support of the United Nations to make suggestions to agencies and countries

regarding use of resources and growth.

Environmentalism at this point was not really just about the environment

anymore. It was, however the soil in which sustainability was planted. Sustainability was

a concept that was beginning to branch into other concerns even before the Brundtland

Report. During an interview with Joshua J. Yates, in the Summer 2012 issue of The

Hedgehog Review, (The University of Virginia) Wes Jackson, founder and President of

Kansas based The Land Institute talks about agriculture and sustainability. During the

late 1970s, Jackson authored a paper originally titled The Search for a Permanent

Agriculture,27 then he changed it to The Search for a Sustainable Agriculture. He

addressed the change of title with Yates:

Id read about the Catholic Churchs idea of permanence as a kind of virtue. But permanence wasnt quite right. When I published the paper outside The Land Report, I changed the title to The Search for a Sustainable Agriculture. The term must have been floating around in 1978.28 When he was asked to define sustainability, Jackson says, My response has been,

well, give me a definition of justice. The idea of justice arose in a historical moment,

probably out of the idea of fairness, or the perceived lack of fairness.29 It was thought

26 Elliott, 33. 27 Joshua J. Yates, A Conversation with Wendell Berry and Wes Jackson, The Hedgehog Review, Summer 2012, Vol.14, Issue 2. 4 Jan. 2013, http://www.iasc-culture.org/THR/THR_article_2012_Summer_Interview_Berry_Jackson.php. 28 Yates, 4 Jan. 2013. 29 Ibid.

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that agriculture, the feeding of the poor and addressing the inequity and injustice of

poverty were concepts that were need of being addressed both nationally and globally.

It was this lack of fairness that was coming to the forefront in the minds of world

leaders at the United Nations. Certainly issues such as acid rain, agriculture,

deforestation, desertification in Africa, depletion of natural resources, economics,

employment, growth, industrialized growth in the Southern Hemisphere or lack of it,

nuclear test bans, the OPEC oil situation, population explosions, poverty, and the ozone

layer, were starting to be seen as situations that needed to be addressed, as well as clean

air and water. During the 1970s and early 1980s, the world saw accidents that were

frightful as well as toxic. Niagara Falls Love Canals toxicity was believed to have

caused birth defects and destroyed an entire community as well as having spawned the

creation of Superfund, officially known as the Comprehensive Environmental Response,

Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980.30 This allowed people to be

compensated for injuries and damages that were caused by the companies that created

adverse situations and pollution; in this case, conglomerate, Occidental Petroleum, owner

of original polluter, Hooker Chemical.31 The EPA had the opportunity here to showcase

its might as it sued Occidental Petroleum in 1995. 1979s Three Mile Island meltdown in

Pennsylvania and Chernobyl, Ukrainian SSRs 1986 nuclear explosion were of

international importance, reminding the worlds 5 billion people how fragile the world

was, as many people were experiencing draughts and food shortages.32 During this time,

30 It All Started With Love Canal, Hofstra University, Federal Environmental Law, 12 Jan.2013, http://people.hofstra.edu/j_b_bennington/121notes/pdfs/Superfund.pdf. 31Justin Ripple, Love Canal Disaster and the origin of CERCLA:Part 1, Environmental Prose, 11 Jan. 2013, 20 Feb. 2013, http://www.banksinfo.com/blog/love-canal-disaster-origin-cercla/. 32 Keating, 20 Feb. 2013.

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countries also became increasingly concerned with acid rain and protecting the ozone

layer. Individual nations have their own programs to address issues. In 1980, Canada and

the United States agree to work towards a reduction in acid rain, and they join Sweden

and Norway in a ban on aerosol cans that emit chlorofluorocarbons, which are harmful to

the ozone layer.33 It is time to get serious about cooperation and protecting the earth.

In 1980, sustainability was beginning to take shape. Willy Brandt, Chancellor of

West Germany oversaw the North-South Commission that recommended in its report,

North-South: A Programme for Survival, that wealthy countries increase their

development financial aid to 0.7 per cent of GDP by 198534 Informally known as

Stockholm Plus Ten, The United Nations second gathering on the topic of the

environment was held in 1982. It was significant that it was held in Nairobi, Kenya. It

was during this meeting that international leaders reaffirmed the belief that there was a

huge gap between the theory and the practice of environmental protection.35 Finally, The

United Nations Environmental Program and the International Union for the Conservation

of Nature joined with the World Wildlife Fund to write The World Conservation

Strategy.36 The Sustainability Report says of the report and its purpose that it:

promote(s) the idea of environmental protection in the self-interest of the human species. It warns that the destruction of natural resources eliminates future sources of food, medicines and industrial products. It encourages sustainable forms of development and the conservation of essential life processes for the

benefit of humanity as well as other species. It is another major step in launching a public debate about sustainable development.37

33 Keating, 21 Feb.2013. 34 Keating, 22 Feb.2013. 35 SustainAbility Whats Next, 22 Jan. 2013. 36 Keating, 22 Feb. 2013. 37 Keating, 23 Feb.2013.

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The next major event on the sustainability timeline is the Brundtland Report. The

stage had been set. In 1963, highway beautifier and First Lady of the United States, Lady

Bird Johnson echoed growing concern for the environment: For the environment after

all is where we all meet; where we all have a mutual interest; it is one thing that all of us

share. It is not only a mirror of ourselves, but a focusing lens on what we can become.38

By the late 1970s and early 1980s, the concern for the environment had mushroomed

into concerns for the ability to provide adequate housing, food, and water for citizens as

well as providing a method by which countries could grow and develop industries and

use raw materials and natural resources which whose finite limits were being recognized.

The questions of justice and fairness were being recognized and considered. Countries,

regions and hemispheres were being asked to consider others. International groups

were seeking equitable solutions that emerging and developed nations could like.

In December, 1983, Javier Perez de Cuellar, The United Nations Secretary

General, Peruvian, acted on behalf of the General Assembly when he appointed Dr. Gro

Harlem Brundtland of Norway and Dr. Mansour Khalid, of the Sudan to lead a new

summit on how to incorporate the developing world into the concepts of

environmentalism and economic equity. The time was ripe for more than just a concern

for clean air and clean water. All of the members of the commission served as

individuals, not as representatives of their governments.39 At the end of the three years

that met in Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America, where they listened to

attendees who were businessmen, scientists, economists, leaders of non- governmental

38 In Lady Birds Own Words On The Environment, Celebrating Lady Bird Johnson Centennial, 22 Mar.2013, http://ladybirdjohnson.org/quotes/. 39 SustainAbility Whats Next, 3 Mar.2013.

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organizations speak about economics, social, political and environmental concerns, they

published their 10,000 page report known as Our Common Future. 40 This commission

took its role very seriously and did indeed come up with a report that was meant to be a

working handbook for sustainable practices and development. Underdeveloped nations

were concerned with issues such as poverty, growth and development. It became

transparent that the topic of development had to be part of the definition, thus, the term

sustainable development. That this commission popularized the concept of sustainability

is a given. Every printed book, report or search on the topic of sustainability or

sustainable growth includes the definition that the Brundtland Report put forth in 1987.

Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of

future generations to meet their own needs41 has become the very well known and

accepted definition. Furthermore, it states that tackling the issue of poverty should be

given priority as well as considering the environment when dealing with all decisions

concerning agriculture, building, business, construction, distribution and consumption of

limited natural resources.42 (In short, anything to do with the economy. The

Commissions overall concern for equity and compassion echoes that of Wes Jacksons

belief that sustainability had to have a component of justice to it.

Referring to poverty, human needs and improving the standard of living for many in

undeveloped nations, the report claims:

A world in which poverty and inequity are endemic will always be prone to other crises. Sustainable development requires meeting the basic needs of of all and extending to all the opportunity to satisfy their aspirations for a

40 SustainAbility Whats Next, 4 Mar. 2013. 41 United Nations, Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future 1987 4 Nov.2012, http://www.un-documents.net/our-common-future.pdf. 42 Elliott, 35.

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better life.43 Themes that were discussed included economic cooperation, environmental management,

food security, industry, international cooperation, population control and human

settlement.44 They were all discussed within the framework of sustainability and still are

today.

Canadian Jim MacNeill was the Secretary General of the United Nations World

Commission on Environment and Development. On Feb. 4, 2013, when reflecting on the

Brundtland Report twenty five years later in his article, Brundtland Revisited, he wrote,

Einstein once said you cant solve problems using the same kind of thinking you used

when you came up with them.45 To accomplish the goals established by the

Brundtland Commission, nations would surely have to behave and think differently. A

spirit of cooperation would be required. Jennifer A. Elliott states:

A more prosperous, more just and more secure global future was seen to depend on new norms of behaviour at all levels and in the interests of all. The conditions for such a future encompass all areas of human activity, in production of trade, technology and politics, for example, and encompass cooperative and mutually supportive actions on behalf of individuals and nations at all levels of economic development.46 The Brundtland Report truly believed in the importance of cooperation and change. In the United States Environmental Protections History of Sustainability, they quote selected lines in the report pertaining to change:

Attempts to maintain social and ecological stability through old approaches to development will increase instability. Security must be sought through change

43 United Nations, 45. 44 SustanAbility,Whats Next, 3 Mar.2013 45 Jim MacNeill, Brundtland Revisited Open Canada.Org, 4 Feb.2013, 4 Mar.2013 http://opencanada.org/features/the-think-tank/essays/brundtland-revisited/. 46 Elliott,11.

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We are unanimous in our conviction that the security, well being and very survival of the planet depend on such changes, now.47

Additionally, the Brundtland Report created the concept of the Three Es. The

Commission believed that a sustainable earth must be seen in light of the areas of

environment as well as economics and equality and that they are all inter-related. Andres

R. Edwards notes that the Three Es are:

the first articulation of the key to contemporary sustainability ~ the importance of evaluating any proposed initiative with reference to the interaction of three fundamental criteria: ecology/environment, economy/employment and equity/equality.48

Figure A: The Three Spheres of Sustainability49 With everyone in total agreement that changes in attitudes and though processes

needed to happen, that nations needed to consider other regions, economies, industries

and markets, how successful was this commission? The Brundtland Report was well

received by economists and environmentalist but not by the public or voters:

47 EPA, 15 Feb. 2013. 48 Edwards,17. 49 Joshua J. Yates, Abundance on Trial: The Cultural Significance of Sustainability, The Hedgehog Review, Summer 2012, 12 Jan. 2013 http://www.iasc-culture.org/THR/THR_article_2012_Yates.php.

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many politicians in the developed world felt no pressure to take action. US President Regans office responded that, there are themes in that report we are very supportive of and there are themes that we dont agree with [such as] the conclusion that there must be a transfer of resources from the wealthy industrial countries to the poorer developing nations. The Regan White House explained that the issues developed by the Brundtland Commission were the proper responsibility of the World Bank.50 MacNeill quoted the right wing, American delegate, Bill Ruckelshaus, sustainable development implies a revolution in the way we now do business.51 ( Totally

unacceptable!) in theory, MacNeill wrote in February 2013 that he was surprised that

the Brundtland Commission suggestions:

would be endorsed by the UN system and virtually every other international body of significance, including all the multilateral banksthat they would begin to reshape curricula in universities and graduate schools and become a preoccupation of a growing number of leading companies worldwide.that within three years, many governments in Europe, Asia, and elsewhere, including Canada, would not only respond officially to our recommendations, but would also commit themselves to the policy reforms and other measures needed to Institutionalize sustainability.52

MacNeill acknowledges that the Brundtland Commission did bring to light the

importance of envisioning the environment not as a separate entity, but one that must be

seen in conjunction with the economy, industry and government. The commission

realized that every nation needed to live within natures limits, keeping consumption at

levels that are within the bounds of ecologically possible.53 As with any plan,

implementation and a good follow up are important for success.

This follow up meeting would be known as the United Nations Conference on

Environment and Development (UNCED) and the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. Lead by

50 SustainAbility Whats Next, 4 Mar. 2013. 51 MacNeill, 4 Mar. 2013. 52 MacNeill 4 Mar. 2013. 53 MacNeill, 6 Mar. 2013.

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Canadian businessman and Brundtland representative Maurice Strong, the Earth Summit

was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992. Many leaders attended (Margaret Thatcher,

George H.W. Bush, Francoise Mitterrand, Helmut Kohl and Brian Mulroney) and while

The Earth Summit was a heralded success, politically, it failed to really make headways

because the recommendations were only suggestions and carried no weight or

consequences, says MacNeill.54 With many nations struggling to feed their poor,

concepts that were mere suggestions would not have been a top priority. The Rio

Declaration did reinforce Brundtlands notion of sustainability when it proclaimed, we

can no longer think of environment and economic and social development as isolated

fields.55Andres R. Edwards does credit the Earth Summit with creating:

A comprehensive blueprint for a global partnership, Agenda 21 strives to reconcile the twin requirements of a high quality environment and a healthy economy for all people of the world, while identifying key areas of responsibility as well as offering preliminary cost estimates for success.56

At this gathering, The United Nations also formally adopted into its bylaws the

Brundtland Reports definition of sustainable development and created Agenda 21, a 900-

page document detailing how to implement sustainability in the 21sst century.57 Agenda

21 asked all countries to work on sustainability plans and asks governments worldwide

to establish a framework at the local level through which local authorities would work

towards implementation of Agenda 21 through the development of their own sustainable

54 MacNeill 7 Mar. 2003. 55 Edwards, 18. 56 Ibid. 57 Chris Moore, Origin of Sustainability Movement Leads To Current Challenges, Sustainable Land Development Initiative, Triple Pundit, 2 Aug.2010 , 3 Mar.2013, http://www.triplepundit.com/2010/08/origin-of-sustainability-movement-leads-to-current-challenges/.

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development plan.58 In 2002, South African President, Thabo Mbeki said, Sadly, we

have not made much progress in realizing the grand vision contained in Agenda 21 It is

no secret that the global community has not yet demonstrated the will to implement the

decisions it has freely adopted.59 Money was certainly a key issue, however, the future

would show a resistance to Agenda 21 in the United States at the local level.

Another important timeline notation was the 1997 Kyoto Climate Agreement.

According to the EPAs web site, the importance of the Kyoto Climate agreement was

that, For the first time, nations agreed to place legally binding limits to their emissions

of heat trapping greenhouse gases.60 Not unsurprisingly, President Bush did not sign

this protocol, however, fifty-five nations did in fact sign this agreement to reduce their

emissions of six greenhouse gases to 5% below the 1990 emission levels by the year

2012.61 According to Jennifer A. Elliott, self-interests were still brought to light as

nations sought to adjust their quota of pollution, 62She discusses the United States

stance:

The refusal in 2001 of the US (accounting for 5 per cent of the worlds carbon emissions in that year) to sign the protocol on the basis that it would harm its domestic economy and that it unfavoured developing countries, illustrates how multilateral agreements are always threatened by more narrow national interests.63

According to Elliott, The Kyoto Climate Agreement required 55 countries making over

half of the worlds greenhouse gas to sign to be legally binding. Australia also failed to

join and that it was left to Russia to decide the fate of the Kyoto Climate Agreement. In

58 Elliott,127. 59 Moore, 3 Mar. 2013. 60 EPA, 20 Feb, 2013. 61 EPA, 22 Feb. 2013. 62 Elliott, 86. 63 Elliott, 96.

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November 2004, it became official, as Russia was the key signer.64 This agreement

highlights a key obstacle to sustainability and sustainable development: the conflict

between concerns for the global environment and economy and that of national self

interest.

In 2002, the United Nations tried again, this time, the World Summit on

Sustainable Development (WSSD) was held in Johannesburg, South Africa from August

26 to September 4th. According to the Environmental Protection Agencys timeline, this

summit, highlighted water, energy, health, agriculture and biodiversity, and they were

had defining support and cooperation.65 As of the revised timeline on February 1, 2013,

The United States Environmental Protection claims that the United States has been

involved with:

Congo Basin Partnership, Clean Energy Initiative, Water for Poor Signature Initiative, Initiative to Cut Hunger in Africa, Africa Education Partnership, Geographic Information for Sustainable Development, White Water to Blue Water Initiative and Investing in Health: Fighting Infectious Disease for Sustainable Development.66

It would not appear that any of these partnerships would greatly impact the way our

country does business! The (WSSD) also happened almost a year after the World trade

Center attacks on 9/11. Americans were still reeling from that assault and efforts were put

towards internal healing and not towards international concerns. Despite the damages

suffered on American soil, the world does not stand still.

In the decade of the 2000s, there are many issues of note before the Rio +20

conference in 2012. In 2000, water and biological diversity were key issues with The

64 Ibid. 65 EPA, 22 Feb. 2013. 66 EPA, 20 Feb.2013.

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World Water Vision Report released in 2000 by the Second World Water Forum in

Holland. and the idea of genetically modified organisms (GMO) is addressed at the

Biosafety Protocol to the Convention on Biological Diversity where biological diversitys

future was discussed 67 Causing alarm over global warming were the 2002 break away of

the 32,000 square kilometer section of the Larsen B ice shelf of the Antarctic Peninsula

from the main land and NASAs 2006 report that the hole that forms every year in the

ozone layer above Antarctic which was the largest to date.68 In 2007, folks could

judge for themselves the effects pollutants have had on the planet while watching An

Inconvenient Truth, Al Gores Oscar worthy documentary; while concerns about banks,

bankruptcies, home foreclosures, unemployment and the economy weigh more heavily on

the mind of many Americans than acid rain and ice sheet losses in 2009.69 Perhaps the

time was right for nations to get creative. On October 17, 2009, television stations

around the world reported on the meeting held under water by the Maldives Cabinet

members. The BBC reported that:

President Mohamed Nasheed and his cabinet signed a document calling for global cuts in carbon emissionsThe President said the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen this December cannot be allowed to failWere now actually trying to send our message, let the world know what is happening, and what will happen to the Maldives, if climate change is not checked, President Nasheed said. If the Maldives cannot be saved today we do not feel there is much of a chance for the rest of the world, he added.70 The Presidents goal for the Maldives, a group of islands in the Indian Ocean, average of

about seven feet above sea level and are at risk of being over taken by water as a result of

67 Keating, 2Apr. 2013. 68 Keating, 3 Apr. 2013. 69 Keating, 2Apr. 2013. 70 BBC, Maldives cabinet makes a splash, 17 Oct. 2009, 2 Apr. 2013 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8311838.stm.

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the melting polar ice caps due to warming from greenhouse gases, is to be the first

carbon-neutral nation with in a decade.71 They really have incentive! Once again,

sustainability is challenged as a result of nations putting their self-interests above that of

global equity. Wealthy nations want broad emissions cut from all countries, while

poorer ones say industrialized countries should carry most of the burden, reports NBC.72

Sadly, the decade ended and the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen

produces no positive results. President Nasheed of the Maldives had better get ready to

spendas he had already announced plans for a fund to buy a new homeland for his

people if the 1,192 low-lying corals islands are submerged.73 By the end of the decade,

with billions of people on earth, everyone is wondering if it possible for so many people

to share such limited resources equitably?

The timeline is almost up to date. In 2012, Rio +20 was held again in Rio. In

twenty years, much has stayed the same. Nations were still talking about how to become

more sustainable and equitable. Some nations still did not really want to share. At this

UN Conference, the main ideas were, how to build a green economy to achieve

sustainable development and lift people out of poverty; and how to improve international

coordination for sustainable development.74 While terms such as green may be new, the

problems are not. Finally, this sustainability highlights comes full circle as the last event

was inspired by mercury toxicity in Japan. In 2013, nations gathered in Geneva for the

United Nations Environmental Programmes Minamata Convention on Mercury.

71 NBC News, Cabinet makes splash with under water meeting, 17 Oct. 2009 2 Apr. 2013 http://www.nbcnews.com/id/33354627/ns/world_news-weird_news/t/cabinet-makes-splash-underwater-meeting/#.UW8QOiviomY. 72 NBC News, 2 Apr. 2013. 73 NBC, 2 Apr.2013. 74 Keating, 2 Apr. 2013.

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Minanata, Japan had significant mercury issues and health damages from emissions and

water contamination, and this binding treaty will seek to control the mining and

distribution of mercury as well as the storage of mercury waste75. Between the images of

mushroom clouds over Hiroshima and Nagasaki to smoke stacks emitting toxic emissions

from smoke stacks in Minamata, a lot has happened in the field of environmental studies.

From the environmentalism of the 1960s thru the search for sustainable development that

is present in 2013, nations, regions and the world look for solutions.

It is hard to imagine our world without the word sustainability in it or the concept

of sustainable development. For some, it is difficult to comprehend the desire for it, for

others, it is definitely a concept that is not to be mandated by perceived foreigners. On

June 4, 2012, Alex Newman wrote in The New American about the state of Alabama that

had just outlawed Agenda 21:

Alabama became the first state to adopt a tough law protecting private property and due process by prohibiting any government involvement with or participation in a controversial United Nations scheme known as Agenda 21The people of Alabama have the authority to develop the states environmental policiesTherefore, infringements on the property rights of citizens linked to any other international law or ancillary plan of action that contravenes the Constitution of the United States or the Constitution of the State of Alabama are also prohibitedThis billis intended to shelter Alabamians from the United Nations Agenda 21, a sustainable development initiative that some conservatives see as a precursor for the creation of a world government. The Republican National Committee (RNC) adopted a resolution earlier this year blasting the global scheme.76

That certainly makes sustainability political! It also makes one realize that self-interests

are more important to some than international cooperation. Other states that must 75 Minamata Convention Agreed by Nations, United Nations Environment Programme, 19 Jan. 2013, 22 Jan.2013. http://www.unep.org/newscentre/default.aspx?DocumentID=2702&ArticleID=9373. 76 Alex Newman, Alabama Adopts First Official State Ban on UN Agenda 21, The New American, 4 June,2012, 20 Feb. 2013, http://www.thenewamerican.com/tech/environment/item/11592-alabama-adopts-first-official-state-ban-on-un-agenda-21.

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certainly is thinking of doing the same.

Many businesses have taken on the issue of sustainability and are proud to share

their accomplishments and goals, particularly on line. One need only research sustainable

corporations to find countless corporate websites. As of January 24, 2013, the Smart

Planet lists the top 100 sustainable companies with Canadas Canadian National Rail

Road and Royal Bank of Canada and the United States Intel, The Clorox Company and

General Electric making the cut. In fact, Canada and The United States both have ten

companies on the list.77 Multinational corporations such as Caterpillar, Coca-Cola, Heinz,

IBM, PPG Industries, and Royal Dutch Petroleum all provide information on their

websites about their commitment to the Three Es of sustainability as detailed in the

Brundtland Report. Many of these companies are listed on the popular Dow Jones Index

as well as the world Dow Jones Sustainability World Index launched in 1999. Each one is

assessed upon their commitment to the environment, and equality as well as economic

successes. Many investors are truly dedicated to sustainability and other corporations can

learn about sustainability from those companies that are listed 78

With the politics of sustainability making it difficult to often find equitable

solutions to not only environmental concerns, but gender equality, poverty, gun control,

and other social issues, perhaps governments need to step aside and let corporations and

higher education try their hands. As seen by the long list of conferences, summits and

treaties, it is, as David W. Orr, renowned author and chair of Environmental Studies at

Oberlin College says, it is easyto offer long lists of solutions and still not solve the 77 Tyler Falk, Top 100 most sustainable corporations in the world, Smart Planet, 24 Jan. 2013, 2 Apr. 2013 http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/bulletin/top-100-most-sustainable-corporations-in-the-world/10936.. 78 DJSI Index Family Overview, Dow Jones Sustainability Indices in collaboration with ROBECOSAM, 21 Feb.2013, 2 Apr.2013, http://www.sustainability-indices.com/.

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larger problem.79 Maybe traditional thought of might makes right, bullying and days of

demanding governments and nations take actions are over. Could it be up to a new

generation to find a better way?

79 David W. Orr, Four Challenges of Sustainability, 3 Apr. 2003, 27 Dec. 2012, http://www.ratical.org/co-globalize/4CofS.html.

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Chapter 2: The History of Sustainability in Higher Education The concept of sustainability and sustainable development may have arisen out of

environmentalism and gatherings of multinational organizations, but Chapter One shows

that it morphed into a much larger, multifaceted concept that has spilled forth into the

discipline of higher education. While the 1960s saw millions of students out protesting

for a clean environment on the first Earth Day, this generation has the capability to reach

hundreds of millions via social media, including, but not limited to, Facebook, the

Internet, Twitter and Webinars. Higher Education has that connectivity as well. To gain

a more complete understanding of the sustainability movement, it is important to know

more about the history of sustainability in the field of higher education.

The study of biology, ecology and environmental studies have been part of the

curricula of higher education for decades, however the study of sustainability and the

implementation of sustainable practices were relatively new concepts prior to the

beginning of this millennium. Just as there were events that led up to the Brundtland

Report that popularized and defined sustainable development, there were also events that

led up to the well known historical signing of the Talloires Declaration in 1990.

In her 2002 article, Definitions and frameworks for environmental sustainability

in higher education, published in Higher Education Policy, Canadian Instructor, Tarah

S.A. Wright states that there were two important documents that were signed before the

Talloires Declaration. The Stockholm Conference, held in Sweden in 1972, was the first

declaration to make reference to sustainability in higher education, albeit in an indirect

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way.[and Principle 19]stated the need for environmental education from grade school

to adulthood.80

Whether one considers that as a basis for sustainability in higher education can certainly

be debated, however, the message of education was indeed included. Of the Tbilisi

Conference, held in Tbilisi, Georgia (USSR) in the fall of 1977, Wright claims that it

was:

One of the most important moments in the evolution of international sustainability declarations related to educationThis conference is considered to be one of the starting points for formal international environmental education initiatives. Environmental education should be provided to people of all ages, all levels of academic aptitude and must be delivered in both formal and non-formal environments.81 The 265 conference attendees came to Tbilisi to attend The worlds first

Intergovernmental Conference on Environmental Education, organized by UNESCO

in cooperation United Nations Environment Programme. 82 This conference spoke of the

importance of educating people about the environment, but also believed that

environmental education should teach skills that enable people to act with ethical

valuesBy adopting a holistic approach, rooted in a broad interdisciplinary approach.83

It is of note that these two declarations were mirroring the concern for the environment

around the globe that people were experiencing.

It was not until 1990 that the Talloires Declaration was drafted in Talloires,

France. According to the University Leaders for a Sustainable Futures (ULSF) webpage

this meeting was organized by Tufts President, Jean Mayer, and held at the Tufts

80 Tarah S.A.Wright, Definitions and frameworks for environmental sustainability in higher education, Higher Education Policy, 15 2002: 105. 81 Wright, 106. 82 The Tbilisi Declaration, United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), 13. 29 Dec. 2012, http://resources.spaces3.com/a30712b7-da01-43c2-9ff0-b66e85b8c428.pdf. 83 UNEP, 13-14.

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University European Center, and was attended by 31 university presidents from around

the world, representing the countries such as Brazil, Costa Rica, France, Ghana, India,

Lebanon, Mexico, Nigeria, Peoples republic of China, Russia, Thailand, The Union of

South Africa, The U.S.S.R. and The United States. ULSF said of the role higher

education institutions need to play:

Universities educate most of the people who develop and manage societys institutions. For this reason, universities bear profound responsibilities to increase the awareness, technologies, and tools to create an environmentally sustainable futurePracticing professionals, decision-makers at major institutions, and the general public must be given the training, expertise and tools to encourage environmentally sustainable actions.84

By signing the Talloires Declaration, it was assumed that universities would not only implement sustainability plans on campuses, but would also develop curriculum dealing with environmental education and sustainability in various content areas such as English as well as the social sciences. As of early 2012, over 430 university leaders in over 40 countries around the globe have agreed to the principles of the Talloires Declaration.85 When discussing the success of the Talloires Declaration, Wright states that Many presidents just signed to sign, some leaders made mediocre attempts to

implement Policies, and institutions truly are making a go at being leaders in

sustainability in higher education.86 Universities such as Emory universitys Piedmont

Project and Oberlin Colleges Sustainability Department to find great examples of the

Talloires Declaration in action. In fact, Oberlin was awarded the Best of Green Schools

84Talloires Declaration, University Leaders for a Sustainable Future (ULSF), 29 Jan. 2013, http://www.ulsf.org/programs_talloires_history.html. 85 ULSF, 29 Jan. 2013. 86 Wright, 106-107.

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2012 by the U.S. Green Building Council Center for Green Schools in 2012.87 A

universal problem that seems to plague universities as well as nations dealing with

sustainability issues is that of cost. The final questions always come around to cost and

who will pay for what. The lack of funding has been a major stumbling block in both

sustainable education and development.

In 1992 and 1993, there were several important conferences that impacted

sustainability in higher education. First, Agenda 21, held in Brazil in 1992, touched on

sustainability in higher education. Chapter 36 specifically addresses education. It paid

built upon the fundamental beliefs of the Talloires Declaration, that of focusing education

on sustainable concepts and practices, teaching about sustainability to all communities

and expanding the knowledge of university staff regarding sustainability and noted that

every institution would have to design and follow sustainability programs that were right

for their own institution, as well as educate people on and off campus about

sustainability.88 In 1993, The Kyoto Declaration, called upon institutions to make their

physical plants sustainable.89 COPERNICUS, (short for CO-operation Programme in

Europe for Research on Nature and Industry through Coordinated University Studies)

was a European approach to incorporate sustainability into higher education; making

certain that every discipline included sustainability, and that all teaching materials would

eventually include the concept of sustainability and encourage its distribution to those in

87 Oberlin Tops Center for Green Schools Best of Green Schools 2012 List, Oberlin College, Office of Environmental Sustainaability 22 Jan. 2013, 30 Jan. 2013, http://new.oberlin.edu/office/environmental-sustainability/update_detail.dot?id=5021555. 88 Wright, 109. 89 Wright, 109.

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the fields of finance and politics across Europe.90 By the mid 1990s, the concept of

sustainability had really caught on in the university settings around the globe.

While not a treaty or summit, the establishment of Second Nature in 1993 has

certainly been important to supporting the reality of sustainable education at our nations

colleges and universities. Established by Sen. John Kerry, Teresa Heinz Kerry, Dr.

Anthony Cortese and Bruce Droste, this organization strives to promote education for

sustainability, (EFS) and create change that would have students prepared for character

and citizenship as well as commerce and career in the 21st century. 91 Second Natures

amazing Internet site defines EFS:

building momentum, leveraging collaboration, and catalyzing change to move higher education toward sustainability. We believe that creating a thriving enduring society is the fundamental purpose of all learning and that sustainability should be a fundamental principle of higher educationWe mobilize higher education leaders and policy makers to advance sustainability imperatives and inspire the sector to embrace sustainability as a core concept.92

Second Nature provides the tools that institutions need to help make our planet healthier

and society more equitable.

In the United States from 1994-1996, there were several key conferences that

helped to spread the importance and influence of sustainability on college campuses. The

Campus Earth Summit was held in New Haven, Connecticut in 1994 at Yale University,

90 COPERNICUS, The University Charter for Sustainable Development (Geneva: May 1994), 21 Jan. 2013, http://www.iisd.org/educate/declarat/coper.htm. 91 Second Nature, Education for Sustainability, Mission, 5 Feb. 2013, http://www.secondnature.org/mission/history. 92 Second Nature, Education for Sustainability, Impact, 5 Feb. 2013 http://www.secondnature.org/mission/impact.

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alma mater of Sen. John Kerry and the late Sen. John Heinz, whose Heinz Family

Foundation, provided much of the start up funds.93 The Blueprint for a Green Campus

was the result of collaboration of 400 people involved in higher education. Made up of

students, instructors and staff members from 22 countries and every state in the Union,

the conference suggested, that sustainability learning and issues be addressed in all

disciplines, in physical plants, and all economics decisions made by institutions.94

Sustainability should always be considered in every decision.

The next conference, 1995s Workshop on the Principles of Sustainability in

Higher Education, tried to include a justice component to what was already being spoken

about. It also attempted to have old ways replaced by new, more sustainable practices in

teaching as well as managing physical plants. This meeting also tried to conceptualize

what it would look like it Agenda 21s Chapter 36 would be fully put into action at all

universities.95 Nathan Cummings, philanthropist, art collector and head of the Sara Lee

Company, has a foundation that has a strong interest in business, education, innovation

and social justice.96 The Class of 2000 report of the Nathan Cummings Foundation was

written in 1996 and repeated the values of the Blueprint for a Green Campus but added

that there should be student activism beyond the campus.97 That there was a call for

campus to embrace sustainability cannot be denied. It was hoped that course work would

educate about sustainability and its practices. Campuses could become less wasteful, use

93Rusty Callier, Operations: A Campus Environmental Audit at University Wisconsin-River Falls University Leaders for a Sustainable Future, Vol.4, No.2 May 2001, 29 Dec. 2012 http://www.ulsf.org/pub_declaration_opsvol42.htm. 94 Wynn Calder and Richard M. Clugston, 4 Jan. 2013, http://www.ulsf.org/dernbach/history.htm. 95Wynn Calder and Richard M. Clugston, 5 Jan. 2013. 96 Nathan Cummings, The Nathan Cumming Foundation, 2 Feb.2013, http://www.nathancummings.org/about-the-foundation/nathan-cummings. 97 Wynn Calder and Richard M. Clugston, 6 Jan. 2013.

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energy better and could be more accurate when purchasing supplies. Educators and

students could convey these new practices to the outside community, and graduates could

bring their outlook on and experience with sustainability to their new jobs and positions

in society. It was also hoped that students would speak up in their towns and at the voting

booth for the environment and sustainability.

It must be said that during this time of conferences and growth of the

sustainability movement, not all educators were well read about sustainability or had a

positive belief in its necessity. When researching sustainability in higher education, Anna

Reid and Peter Petocz confirmed this in their article, University lecturers understanding

of sustainability, written in 2006. Citing Swedens Goteborg University, they write:

many university staff members and even university policies-do not hold sustainable development as a core value, and that for change to occur people with different views are simply by-passed. Unfortunately, the results seem to be in line with this less optimistic viewwe need to investigate the different ways that academics struggle (or dont struggle) with the problems of sustainability, and how they seek to integrate ideas relating to sustainable development into their curriculum.98 While each institution can have its own idea of sustainability, Reid and Petocz

conclude, sustainable development within the curriculum can only be done if there is a

common language and understanding about its importance.99 Each discipline should

embrace sustainability as well as each campus and community. This should be done

while still maintaining the institutions own profile and individuality. How about that for

some lofty goals? Peggy Barlett, Professor of Anthropology at Emory University, echoed

98 Anna Reid and Peter Petocz, University Lecturers Understanding of Sustainability, Higher Education, Vol.51, No.1, Jan., 2006: 106. 99 Reid and Petocz, 121.

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Reid and Petoczs concern in her article, Reason and Reenchantment in Cultural

Change: Sustainability in Higher Education:

Sustainability leaders on many U.S. campuses recognize that getting faculty involved is one of their toughest challenges. The workload, the reward system, time constraints and selection for those who enjoy highly focused academic expertise all militate against campus involvement.100

Barlett does recommend Emory Universitys renowned Piedmont Project, (begun in

2001), to help instructors with their concerns about sustainability. Emorys Center for

Faculty Development and Excellence is involved with the Piedmont Project to develop

and train faculty on ways to integrate sustainability in their teaching as well as the

community. Dr. Barlett is a founder of the Piedmont Project and was awarded the first

Faculty Sustainability Leadership Award from the Association for the Advancement of

Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) for contributions to sustainability projects

in higher education.101 While sustainability has become a vast and complex concept

politically and in the sphere of higher education, there are still some coincidences, such

as the relationship of Dr. Barlett to the AASHE program and the Heinzs Foundations

involvement with The Campus Earth Summits Blueprint for a Green Campus.

On December 2002, the United Nations formally threw its hat into the EFS

ring. The United Nations General Assembly declared the UN Decade (2005-2014) for Sustainable Development (DESD) during its 57th Session.102 (With an 100 Peggy F. Barlett, Reason and Reenchantment in Cultural Change, Sustainability in Higher Education, Current Anthropology Vol.49, No.6, 6 Nov.2008:1079. 101 Piedmont Project infuses sustainability into curriculum, Emory Report, 9 Nov. 2011 http://sustainability.emory.edu/uploads/press/2010/11/2010111107372064/BarlettReenchantment08.pdf. 102 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Astrolabe, A Guide to Education for Sustainable Development Coordination in Asia and the Pacific, (Bangkok: 2011) 7 13 Mar. 2013 http://www.unescobkk.org/resources/e-library/publications/article/astrolabe-a-guide-to-education-for-sustainable-development-coordination-in-asia-and-the-pacific/.

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emphasis on education, the request of the UN looked very similar to the goals of the Brundtland Reports original Three Es, to encourage educational efforts that will

promote changes in behavior to create a more sustainable future in terms of environmental integrity, economic viability, and a just society for present and future generations.103Being aware of the history of the sustainable development movement has been helpful in understanding the role that the UN had in declaring that education must

play a key role in learning for change and learning to change.104 The UN, with the

Brundtland Report and Agenda 21, for example, called on nations to see differently, to

behave differently, and to change wasteful and unjust practices. Different nations as well

as different universities would achieve various results, pursue different programs and

have a variety of different outcomes.

During the Decade for Sustainable Development, several pertinent events and

commissions formed that have left an impact upon sustainability in higher education.

Bard College has the opportunity to support at least two of these programs.

In 2001, The Education for Sustainability Western Network (EFS West) was

organized with the aid of the Compton Foundation and the Heinz Foundations Second

Nature and despite the fact that it was a regional group in the Pacific Northwest and

Canada, it gained national recognition as an outstanding organization, hosting the first

North American Conference on Sustainability in Higher Education in 2004.105 Renamed

Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, AASHE had

103 UNESCO,7. 104 UNESCO,3. 105 Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), 22 Feb.2013 http://www.climateneutralcampus.com/vol2/lower.php?url=solution-providers&provider=association-for-the-advancement-of-sustainability-in-higher-ducation.

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over six hundred and fifty people attend its first conference in 2006 in Tempe, as it

became the first professional higher education association for the campus sustainability

community.106 This year, over 2000 attendees are expected to share ideas, learn new

strategies, participate in workshops, listen to outstanding speakers, discuss changes in

curriculum, set goals, and increase their understanding of sustainability in higher

education. While the 2013 conference will be held in Nashville, Denver, Los Angeles,

Pittsburgh (home of the H.J.Heinz Company) and Raleigh have had the honor of hosting

this important gathering.107 One of AASHEs many programs is the self reporting system

known as Stars, (Sustainability Tracking and Rating System) It is this rating system that

will be the basis of the bulk of this project. While the idea for a rating system was

formulated in 2006, the STARS 0.4 document was not released by AASHE until

September 2007, with the latest report STARS1.0 officially released in January 2010,

with Bard College being a member.108This system provides enables those involved and

interested in sustainability in higher education to determine how well a specific

institution is doing with their specific plans towards sustainability and provide

comparison with other colleges and universities. A visit to the AASHE website details the

many contributions to sustainability education this organization provides and the

numerous opportunities to get involved.

According to Second Natures blog, on November 3, 2011, The American College

and University Presidents Climate Commitment owes its existence to AASHE. When

106 AASHE, 24 Feb. 2013. 107 AASHE, Conferences: resiliency and adaptation, 7 Apr. 2013, . 108 Historic Documents, STARS, a program of AASHE 24 Feb. 2013 .

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the initial committee met in Tempe, Arizona, in 2006, representatives from AASHE,

ecoAmerica and Second Nature met with university presidents to work toward common

goals, which was to, accelerate progress towards climate neutrality and sustainability by

empowering the higher education sector to educate students, create solutions, and provide

leadership-by-example for the rest of society.109 To address the fundamental issue of

global warming, leaders committed to reduce or neutralize their campuses greenhouse

gases. There was also a commitment to educate students on ways to improve climate and

to make institutions more sustainable. This group had a self-reporting system as well,

known as the ACUPCC Reporting System. Twenty-Three university leaders were

members of the steering committee and as of 2013 there are over 650 American colleges

(including Bard), representing every state in the union, as well as several international

universities. Bard has submitted all three reports, which include Greenhouse Gas

Inventory (GHG) Climate Action Plan and Progress Reports.110 Hopefully, greenhouse

gases will be significantly reduced and the rest of society will take notice and follow in

the footsteps of successful institutions.

In 2008, students from around the world formed the World Student

Environmental Network (WSEN) to aid in the attempt to make a positive impact on

climate change and to make the world more sustainable. Students realize how their voices

can be heard by, lobbying universities, local communities, and international governance

109 Meghan Fay Zahniser, STARS & the ACUPCC: A History of Collaboration, The Second Nature Blog 11 Nov. 2011, 7 Apr. 2013, http://www.secondnature.org/blog/20111/stars-acupcc-history-collaboration. 110 American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, (ACUPCC), 7 Apr. 2013 http://www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org/.

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bodies towards sustainable approaches while breaking the cross-cultural barriers of

campus-based collaboration.111

One final gathering occurred in June 2012 in Rio, de Janeiro, Brazil, at the Rio

+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development at Universities. Colleges,

such as Macalester University sent representatives to this meeting that met at the same

time as the UNs conference on Sustainable Development was taking place in Rio. Just as

in the last chapter, meetings took place and reiterated and fine tuned previous summits,

this was also true of this event. Research, plans and curriculum were shared, as were

methods of making campuses and communities more sustainable. The results of the

conference were to be included as Volume 34 in the work, Sustainable Development at

Universities: New Horizons.112 It was decided that it would be beneficial to continue

with the Teach-In-Day program. On Friday, February 8, 2013, the second world

Sustainable Development Teach-In Day was held for university students around the

globe. It is part of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable

Development.113 This is just another example of using the internet and power point

presentations to work with students and university staff members to promote

sustainability.

One needs only to look at a college or universitys web site to view its

commitment to sustainability. There are substantial programs at Emory, Oberlin,

Princeton University, Portland State University, The College of New Jersey, and Tufts. In

111 The WSEN, The World Student environmental Network, The WSEN, 7 Apr. 2013 http://www.wsen.org/?q=wsen. 112 World Symposium on Sustainable Development at Universities, (WSSDU) 5-6 June, 2012, 22 Mar. 2013, http://www.macalester.edu/sustainability/press/WorldSyposium2012.pdf. 113 WSSDU, 22 Mar. 2013.

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1999, Bard College opened the Bard Center for Environmental Policy, hoping to prepare

students to be leaders who have an understanding of areas such as the Three Es that they

can take with them into their chosen professions as they tackle difficult environmental

and sustainability challenges.114 It is also true that during the Decade of Education for

Sustainable Development, there were hundreds of courses and departments that were

established to varying degrees that deal with sustainability at specific colleges and

universities. One need just look at the over 650 signatories of the American College and

One Presidents Climate Commitment list to view each institutions commitment to

sustainability on campus and around the community.

However admirable, desirable or necessary sustainability might be on college

campuses, the major question of funding must be addressed. This is true whether the

issue deals with funding for international political commitments or sustainable

development or sustainability activities on college campuses. How will each institution

pay for the changes that need to be put into place to green a campus or retrofit a

building? Who wants to pay for staff development or teach supply purchasers new

methods? How will institutions afford to send staff and students to conferences or pay for

Teach-In videos and power point presentations? These questions all are affected by

endowments, tuition, student activity fees, foundations, grants, and corporate and private

contributions. Foundations such as The Heinz Familys contribution can never be under

appreciated. The MacArthur Foundations Global Security and Sustainability Program

donated an average of $ 2.5 million dollars to four Nigerian Universities in 2001 to stem

114 About CEP, Bard Center For Environmental Policy, 24 Apr. 2013, http://www.bard.edu/cep/about_bcep/.

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poverty and provide a better education for this very heavily populated country.115 An

Internet search shows that Cornell University benefits from its partnership with the

Carnegie Foundation and The Kresge Foundation aided Second Nature, which in turn

partners with other groups such as AASHE. In 2012, The Alcoa Foundation and

Microsoft teamed with creator, Net Impact, to fund a promising program that is available

to college students who wish to participate. Small Steps, Big Wins Campus Challenge

creates a fun way for students to compete and track their contributions to sustainability on

campus. Turning off lights, recycling, bike sharing, and other activities are tracked on

Facebook and the Challenge website. A totally voluntary program, winners are awarded

prizes supplied by REI and Pepsi.116 (While not on campus in the winter, it was fun to

watch various posts.) Sustainability and sustainable development will always require

massive funding from the public and private sectors as well as from governments.

In 2003, Dr. Anthony Cortese created a picture that shows what the ideal

institution would look like. It would be all encompassing, with the intersecting of

education (teaching content areas such as architecture, economics, environmental studies,

ethics, logic, math, religion etc.) with university operations (retro-fitting existing

buildings, recycling, using bio-fuels, ride sharing, smart purchasing skills) with research

(information exchange with other institutions, policy development, freedom to

experiment with new ideas and concepts, creative freedom for professors,) with the

external community (provide good programs for locals, seminars on sustainable practices

115 Higher Education in Russia and Africa: Assessment of MacArthur Foundation Support to Nigerian Universities, MacArthur Foundation, Nov. 2005, 12 Apr. 2013. http://www.macfound.org/press/publications/assessment-macarthur-foundation-support-nigerian-universities/. 116 Small Steps, Big Wins, Net Impact Campus Challenge, Net Impact, 2 Feb.2013, http://smallsteps.netimpact.org/.

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and practical knowledge, community service done by students) to form a true working

system.

117

This perfect picture includes a responsibility of institutions to educate students, staff,

teachers and town people about sustainable ways, to increase their skills and highlight

good morals and values that promote and achieve goals, so that every generation can

enjoy life on the Hudson River as well as knowing that thousands of miles away, polar

bears with cubs are roaming the Arctic, instead of being captive on a broken off sheet of

ice, and that the people of the Maldives are safe from literally being washed up. Higher

Education has been charged with teaching and fostering a spirit of cooperation as it has

the freedom to be idealistic, to experiment, to challenge old ideas and create new

concepts. This perfect picture is why so much money has been poured into international

conferences, programs like The Piedmont Project and AASHE, and why so much time,

energy and talent has studied this topic now for several decades.

On April 22 2013, students will once again have the opportunity to celebrate

Earth Day. People marvel at its longevity, celebrate its beginnings and cling to hope that

117 Anthony D. Cortese, The Crucial Role of Higher Education in Creating a Sustainable Future, Planning for Higher Education. March-May 2003: 18.

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Earth Days actions, beliefs and spirit will inspire students, faculty, staff and town people

to join together as one, to make changes, to be just and to care about others and the Earth.

The higher education community should be leaders in the field of sustainability and

sustainable development. The foundation is in place. The ability to reach millions is a

tweet or webinar away. The time is now because if those involved in higher education

dont take the lead, work towards a sustainable future, and educate the next generation to

come, who will?

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Chapter 3: The History of the AASHE and the STARS Program

The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education

(AASHE) was founded in 2005 to assist in the coordination and support of campus

sustainability efforts for higher education institutions across the country. AASHE

evolved from a regional organization that served campuses in the Western United States

and Canada. Anthony Cortese, the president of Second Nature, was a key facilitator in

founding the organization known as the Education for Sustainability Western Network

(EFS) in 2001. ESF West was established with the funding from the Compton Foundation

and support from the organization Second Nature. A few years after the organizations

formation in 2004, ESF West held the inaugural North American Conference on

Sustainability in Higher Education in Portland, Oregon. Due to the conferences success,

the increase in demand for the resources and services that EFS West offered to higher

education institutions was in need of expansion. This demand for services allowed the

regional organization to expand and evolve into an association that would assist not just

colleges in the Western United States, but encompass all North American higher

education institutions. This expansion would lead to the eventual development of

AASHE in 2005. AASHE became the first professional association in the country to act

as a base of knowledge and a center for campus sustainability. The formation of AASHE

would revolutionize the way in which higher education institutions addressed campus

sustainability.

The mission of AASHE is to provide the necessary tools for higher education

institutions to become leaders in further developing campus sustainability. This mission

is made possible by providing resources, professional advice/training, and a supportive

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network that allows for higher education institutions to become involved with all aspects

that sustainability addresses from operations of buildings to education and research.118

The vision of AASHE is to generate ideas that allow for the environment to

successfully prosper in a diverse world that is also healthy and sustainable. By engaging

interdisciplinary study in higher education, AASHE understands that education plays a

pivotal role in sustainable awareness, and generates a thoughtful understanding of the

interactions between the environmental, social, and economic spheres that play a large

role in addressing the issues of sustainability.119 The environmental, social, and economic

spheres interact on a daily basis and are highly depended on one another. Unity among

these spheres is crucial for any project that involves aspects of sustainability.

To increase its credibility and influential position as a think tank for sustainable

thought in higher education, the organization has set forth a group of five goals to

accomplish by 2015, which coincides with the end of the decade for Sustainable

Development. Although the AASHE is already a primary resource for assisting in

campus sustainability across the United States, the organization wishes to extend its

leadership role as a think tank for sustainability in higher education.

According to the AASHE website, the first goal is to deliver services to members.

This will allow for significant increases in