Over the last several years, Huston-Tillotson University (HT) in Austin, TX has been steadily improving its environmental profile. Highlights include the introduction of an Environmental Studies major, a 240 kW rooftop solar installation, environmental education and outreach via the Dumpster Project, the activities of sustainability student group Green is the New Black, and attendance at the United Nations COP21 climate conference in Paris. This progress is just part of what we hope is a broad campus transformation. Building a green identity requires clear self-reflection; we continually ask “what does it really mean for a university to be green?” For a historically black institution like HT, a large part of the answer lies in the intersection between the school’s history and the practice of environmental justice. Read more »

Growing up in a family of architects, I was always interested in culture and the built environment – how nature has shaped human behavior, how human activities have influenced the environment, and how the relationship between culture and nature evolved throughout history. I found myself constantly pondering these questions in terms of anthropology, ecology, and aesthetics. Naturally, I applied for architecture degrees at universities in the United States, hoping to learn more about the built environment. However, there must have been a glitch in the application system, since I got admitted into a landscape architecture degree program in the University of Illinois. Since the school has a great reputation, I decided to accept the offer and switch my major right after I got in... Read more »

If you attended our June 16 webinar, you already know that computer networks and data centers present numerous opportunities to reduce energy costs. For example, configuring computers to automatically drop into a low power “sleep mode” when inactive saves $10-100 per computer annually, according to Energy Star. However, it can be very challenging for sustainability professionals with no background in IT management to advocate for changes within their IT organization. That’s why we want to remind you about the Energy Star Low Carbon IT Campaign, a nationwide effort to assist and recognize organizations for reducing the energy consumed by their IT equipment. Read more »