Gone are the days when green campus initiatives were a balm to the soul and a drain on the wallet. Today's environmental initiatives are all about saving lots of green--in every sense of the word. The environmental benefits of green campus projects--whether wind turbines or better insulation--are pretty clear. Unfortunately, in today's…

As colleges push for increased efficiencies, facilities departments nationwide are turning more and more to high-tech approaches. Nowhere has this trend been more visible than in the realm of energy consumption, where managers hope to extract significant cost savings. Technology is helping facilities managers achieve significant efficiencies,…

In the world of higher education, even the most ambitious sustainability plans often begin with tiny steps taken by individual departments. Michael Crowley, a program manager for Environmental Health & Engineering (EH&E) and former assistant director of the Harvard (Massachusetts) Green Campus Initiative, explains that going for small wins through…

Colleges and universities have been among the leaders nationwide in adopting green initiatives, partly due to their demographics, but also because they are facing their own budget pressures. Virtualization has become the poster child of many schools' efforts, because it provides significant bang for the buck. However, more and more higher…

Technologies like solar, wind, and geothermal are exciting, but relatively new and untested in the context of universities, many of which are large enough to be cities unto themselves. And, like cities, universities count on a reliable, uninterruptible source of power. It is imperative, too, that precious dollars are wisely invested in the right…

State-of-the-art, energy-efficient facilities are now emerging on campuses across the US, and for a variety of reasons: One practical consideration is that such buildings bring down energy costs, which are now soaring. Facing rising expenditures and a tightening of potential revenue, universities are looking for ways to reduce operating costs, and…

Even if one does not believe--and it is getting increasingly difficult not to--that the "green revolution" on college campuses is akin to the great movements for social change that rocked universities in the 1960s and '70s, there is no denying that it has taken root in such a way that no campus administrator can afford to ignore it. And unlike the…

Many colleges and universities are doing their part to react to environmental challenges without breaking the bank. For most, intelligent response involves technology. Schools such as Pennsylvania State University, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Adelphi University (New York), Hamilton College (New York), and Fairfield University…